Waterloo Public Library: VMware to Hyper-V Migration

Waterloo Public Library needed a cost-effective alternative to rising VMware renewal costs, but could not risk service disruption to frontline operations.

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The environment was significant and tightly coupled: a three-node VMware cluster running 43 virtual machines with roughly 10TB of storage usage, all residing on a single datastore volume. That single-volume constraint increased migration risk because there was little margin for error if anything went sideways during cutover and validation. The organization needed a move that was controlled, testable, and proven step by step before scaling beyond initial workloads.

BITSUMMIT delivered a phased VMware to Hyper-V migration approach designed to reduce risk early, validate stability at each stage, and leave Waterloo Public Library with a Microsoft-native platform that could scale.

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Discovery and migration planning

• Assessed the existing VMware environment across compute, networking, storage, and VM inventory.
• Produced a migration plan with defined sequencing, validation checkpoints, and rollback considerations, aligned to operational windows.

Hyper-V platform build

• Built and configured the Hyper-V host using available infrastructure, ensuring platform readiness before any production workloads moved.
• Prepared networking and storage to support clean workload transitions with minimal operational impact.

Staged transitions with validation gates

• Migrated a pilot set of non-critical virtual machines first to prove the approach in a low-risk way.
• Confirmed stability after each stage through post-migration testing, cleanup, and tuning so the next step was based on evidence, not assumptions.

Documentation and handover

• Delivered as-configured documentation and knowledge transfer sessions so the internal team could manage the environment confidently and continue migrations with a repeatable playbook.

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The engagement gave Waterloo Public Library a future-ready virtualization foundation while reducing dependency on VMware.

• A Microsoft-native Hyper-V platform was established for long-term scalability.
• A staged migration process was proven in the live environment through the successful transition of a pilot set of non-critical workloads before expanding further.
• Licensing cost pressure was reduced by moving away from VMware renewal dependency and shifting toward a Microsoft-aligned platform model.
• Ongoing operations were simplified through a cleaner, Microsoft-native management approach and documented handover for internal continuity.

If VMware renewals are forcing hard decisions, BITSUMMIT helps you transition cleanly to Hyper-V with a validation-led plan that protects uptime, reduces licensing pressure, and sets you up with a scalable Microsoft-native platform.