Webglobe, a provider of hosting, server, and cloud services, migrated its virtualization platform from VMware to Proxmox Virtual Environment to standardize virtualization across multiple countries and operational environments while addressing rising licensing uncertainty. The gradual transition established a unified foundation for Webglobe’s continued expansion of large-scale virtualization infrastructure.

As Webglobe expanded its services across multiple markets and operational environments, the need for a consistent and scalable virtualization foundation became increasingly important. At the same time, changes in VMware licensing models introduced uncertainty around future infrastructure costs and long-term platform decisions. Webglobe therefore began looking for an alternative virtualization platform that matched the requirements of its evolving infrastructure.

The challenge of scaling virtualization infrastructure across environments

Operating diverse virtualization environments across multiple countries created the need for a standardized approach that could support different service models. Webglobe required a unified virtualization platform capable of managing dedicated customer clusters, shared-service environments, web hosting services, and virtual servers while maintaining operational flexibility and scalability.

At the same time, changes to VMware’s licensing model made long-term cost planning less predictable. For Webglobe, this reinforced the need for a virtualization platform that would reduce vendor dependency, support different service environments, and give the company greater control over its infrastructure strategy.

Building a standardized virtualization platform with Proxmox VE

To implement a virtualization platform better suited to its infrastructure, Webglobe gradually migrated its VMware environments to Proxmox VE. The implementation was carried out across individual environments, starting with pilot clusters for internal validation and testing before moving into production deployments.

The migration was managed entirely by Webglobe’s internal virtualization and infrastructure teams. Different types of workloads were migrated, including internal systems, customer virtual servers, and hosting platforms. Each migration was planned according to workload criticality, with a focus on minimizing service interruptions during the transition.

Running hosting and cloud services on a large-scale infrastructure

Today, Webglobe operates both dedicated customer clusters and shared virtualization environments across multiple data centers, allowing the company to efficiently support a wide range of customer workloads and service requirements. Dedicated environments can be tailored to individual customer needs, while shared-service platforms help Webglobe deliver hosting and infrastructure services at scale. High availability across these environments is supported through the clustering capabilities of Proxmox VE.

For dedicated customer clusters, Webglobe integrates Proxmox Backup Server as one of its backup solutions. By incorporating backup and disaster recovery processes into its standard operational procedures, Webglobe strengthens the operational reliability and consistency of its customer environments.

Benefits of a unified virtualization platform

The migration to Proxmox VE delivered a range of operational and strategic benefits across Webglobe’s virtualization infrastructure:

• Improved cost predictability compared to the previous licensing model
• Reduced vendor dependency through an open virtualization platform
• Standardized operations across countries, data centers, and service environments
• Faster provisioning and easier scaling of customer services
• Stable and scalable platform for both dedicated customer clusters and shared-service environments

For Webglobe, these benefits are especially important because the company operates different types of virtualization environments on the same technology stack, from dedicated customer clusters to large shared-service platforms. This gives Webglobe the ability to adapt infrastructure designs to specific customer and workload requirements while maintaining consistency across its operations. 

Driving future infrastructure expansion with Proxmox VE

Looking ahead, Webglobe sees Proxmox VE as an integral part of its ongoing infrastructure evolution. “Proxmox solutions will continue to play an important role in the future development of our virtualization infrastructure. We plan to use Proxmox VE for new projects as well as for the ongoing expansion of existing clusters.” says Tomáš Kostka, Director of Custom Business Solutions at Webglobe. With the Proxmox ecosystem, Webglobe is ready for whatever comes next.

Tomáš Kostka
Director of Custom Business Solutions at Webglobe

About Webglobe
Webglobe is a leading Slovak provider of domain registration, web hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, cloud infrastructure, and managed services. Founded in 1999, the company operates its own virtualization platform and delivers infrastructure solutions to businesses across multiple European markets.