英国零售巨头乐购（Tesco）似乎已决定在其门店中以 Proxmox 取代 VMware。一份关于“边缘平台软件工程主管”职位的招聘广告显示，该工作涉及领导“两项主要的、相互关联的工程优先事项：通过从 VMware 迁移到 Proxmox 来实现乐购边缘虚拟化资产的现代化，并构建一个稳健、可扩展的软件驱动型边缘管理平台，以在整个生命周期内配置、管理、监控和维护零售边缘资产。”
UK retail giant Tesco appears to have decided to replace VMware with Proxmox in its stores. A job ad for a new Head of Software Engineering: Edge Platform role says the gig involves leading “two major, interconnected engineering priorities: modernising Tesco’s edge virtualisation estate through the migration from VMware to Proxmox, and building a robust, scalable software-driven Edge Management Platform to provision, manage, monitor and maintain the retail edge estate throughout its lifecycle.”
鉴于该招聘广告称乐购的边缘平台“提供了使应用程序能够在我们门店运行的基础计算环境和软件能力”，此举意义重大。“尽管存在连接中断、本地资源受限以及在数千个地点管理软件和基础设施变更的复杂性，门店技术必须保持可靠。故障或执行不力的变更可能会直接影响门店运营、员工生产力和客户体验。”无论谁获得这份工作，都将“负责乐购边缘资产从 VMware 迁移到 Proxmox 的工程战略和执行，提供一个安全、可靠且具有成本效益的替代虚拟化平台”——且工作地点位于印度班加罗尔。
The stakes are high because the job ad says Tesco’s Edge Platform “provides the underlying computing environment and software capabilities that enable applications to run across our stores.”“Store technology must remain dependable despite connectivity disruptions, constrained local resources and the complexity of managing software and infrastructure changes across thousands of locations. Failures or poorly executed changes can directly affect store operations, colleague productivity and customer experience.”Whoever scores the job will “own the engineering strategy and execution of Tesco’s migration from VMware to Proxmox across the edge estate, delivering a secure, reliable and cost-effective alternative virtualisation platform” - and do it from Bengaluru, India.
其中一个关键绩效指标（KPI）是“从 VMware 到 Proxmox 的安全且可预测的迁移、对所需门店配置的成功验证、减少对旧系统的依赖以及有效的运营移交。”
One KPI is “Safe and predictable migration from VMware to Proxmox, successful validation of required store configurations, reduced legacy dependencies and effective operational handover.”
如果您刚开始关注此事，Proxmox 是一家奥地利公司提供的开源虚拟化平台。作为边缘、超融合和基础服务器虚拟化场景中 VMware 的替代方案，该产品已引起了相当大的关注。Proxmox 也正试图成长为全软件定义数据中心领域的竞争者。独立分析师迈克尔·沃里洛（Michael Warrilow）认为 [PDF] Proxmox 技术实力雄厚，但警告潜在用户需要寻找支持合作伙伴，因为直到最近，该公司仅在奥地利的工作时间内提供支持。
In case you came in late, Proxmox is an open-source virtualization platform offered by an Austrian company. The product has gained considerable interest as a VMware alternative for edge, hyperconverged, and basic server virtualization scenarios. Proxmox is trying to grow into a full software-defined datacenter contender, too. Independent analyst Michael Warrilow rates [PDF] Proxmox as technically strong but warns would-be users will need to find a support partner because until recently the company only offered support during business hours in Austria.
这种情况在 9 月份发生了变化，当时 Proxmox 宣布为企业客户提供 24/7 全天候支持。沃里洛在给《The Register》的一封电子邮件中表示：“现代化是减少对 VMware 依赖的关键：在减少旧系统的同时，为新计划增加增量价值。”“超市和一般商品零售业非常适合这样做，尤其是考虑到它们是 VMware 竞争较多且差异化较少的领域。”
That changed in September when Proxmox announced 24/7 support for enterprise customers. In an email to The, Warrilow said “Modernisation is the key to reducing the dependence on VMware: reduce legacy whilst adding incremental value to a new initiative.”“Supermarkets and general merchandise are ripe for this, more so given they are a location where VMware had more competition and less differentiation.”
他补充道：“乐购的职位描述具备了下一代云启发式店内体验的许多要素。API 驱动的、‘可编程的’基础设施允许快速部署并为客户提供更好的体验。”
“The Tesco job spec has many of the ingredients for a next-gen, cloud-inspired instore experience,” he added. “API-driven, ‘programmable’ infrastructure that allows rapid deployment and a better experience for customers.”
乐购在全球经营着 5000 多家门店。我们已要求这家零售巨头说明其计划中的 Proxmox 推广范围。有传言称，乐购将采用微软的 Hyper-V 来处理其核心工作负载。然而，VMware 向《The Register》表示，它并不认为乐购已无可挽回。
Tesco operates over 5,000 stores around the world. We’ve asked the retail giant to enumerate the extent of its planned Proxmox rollout. Scuttlebutt suggests Tesco will adopt Microsoft’s Hyper-V for its core workloads. VMware, however, has indicated to The it does not consider Tesco a lost cause.
乐购是在起诉 VMware 合同纠纷后采取这一行动的。该零售商声称，VMware 有义务支持其在永久许可下获得的软件，并升级部分软件。这家虚拟化巨头反驳称，它不再生产乐购想要升级到的那种软件。乐购表示，在谈判期间，VMware 提出的报价相当于涨价 175%。此事仍在法庭审理中，听证会可能会在 2027 年举行。
Court cases continue Tesco is making the move after suing VMware over a contract dispute. The retailer claims VMware is bound to support software it acquired under a perpetual license, and to upgrade some software. The virtualization giant retorted that it no longer makes the software Tesco wants to upgrade to. Tesco says that during negotiations, VMware made an offer that represented a 175 percent price increase. The matter remains before the courts, with hearings likely in 2027.
VMware 与几家西门子（Siemens）公司的纠纷也在继续。在该案中，VMware 指控西门子通过使用超出其许可范围的软件来滥用版权。西门子的母公司西门子股份公司（Siemens AG）似乎已于近期退出了该案，这是一个重要的变化，因为该公司总部位于德国，而案件正在美国审理。其余被告上周提交了辩护状，否认了 VMware 的指控。
VMware’s dispute with several Siemens companies also continues. In that case, VMware alleged Siemens abused copyright by using more software than its licenses permitted. Siemens’ parent company, Siemens AG, appears to have recently exited the case, an important change as it is Germany-based and the case is being heard in the USA. The remaining defendants last week filed a defence that denies VMware’s claims.
对 VMware 来说，好消息是它上周宣布与日本运营商 NTT Docomo 达成了一项为期十年的协议，并继续与运输巨头联邦快递（FedEx）保持合作。两家公司都将使用 VMware 的旗舰产品 Cloud Foundation 私有云套件来支持其运营。
In better news for VMware, it last week announced a ten-year agreement with Japanese carrier NTT Docomo and a continued engagement at transport giant FedEx. Both companies will use VMware’s flagship Cloud Foundation private cloud bundle to power their operations. ®