Virtualisation and datacentre health
reviewed, host by host.
We review the health of your Hyper-V or VMware environment, using inventories and reports you choose to share, and give you a written report of patching, cluster, storage, snapshot, capacity, backup and recovery findings, plus options for moving to Azure or Azure Local.
Who it is for
Organisations running their own virtualisation hosts that want an independent health check, are planning hardware or licence changes, or want to compare staying on-premises with Azure or Azure Local.
What we review
- Host inventory and support status. hypervisor and operating system versions for every host compared with the vendor’s support dates. VMware items follow the vendor’s own documentation.
- Patching and firmware. patch cadence, drift between hosts, and BIOS and firmware age.
- Cluster health. for Windows failover clusters, nodes, quorum and evidence of tested failover. Microsoft describes failover clustering as monitoring clustered roles and failing over to remaining nodes. VMware clusters are reviewed against their own high-availability design.
- Storage. capacity headroom, redundancy, performance symptoms in the data you share, and monitoring.
- VM backup. which VMs are protected, whether backups are application-consistent where needed, and restore-test evidence.
- Snapshots and checkpoints. long-lived snapshots or checkpoints and their impact on storage and performance.
- Capacity and sizing. CPU and memory allocation against host capacity, headroom if a host fails, and the documented maximums for your platform, such as Microsoft’s Hyper-V scale limits.
- Licensing position. Windows Server and hypervisor licensing for the hosts and guests, using the licensing calculator for the inputs. No prices are promised.
- Disaster recovery. what protects against loss of a host or site. Microsoft notes Hyper-V Replica and failover clustering address related but different scenarios. VMware replication is reviewed against its own documentation. Recovery targets are compared with what is in place.
- Management plane security. who can administer the hosts, whether management interfaces sit on a separate network and whether administrator accounts use MFA where supported.
- Move-to-Azure and Azure Local options. Azure Migrate helps assess Azure readiness and cost; Azure Local extends Azure to customer-owned hardware and is priced per physical core plus consumption charges, according to Microsoft. The report frames the choices; our three-year cost guide shows how to compare.
What you get
A written report, delivered through the channel agreed in the quote. It contains:
- An executive summary in plain language
- A host and cluster health table
- Findings with severity and the evidence behind each one
- A short options paper: stay, move to Azure or move to Azure Local, with the questions to answer first
- A fix-first list, a 30/60/90-day plan, and a list of what was not checked
See the format in the fictional report sample (sample, fictional data).
What we need from you
- A named contact with authority over the hosts
- Inventories and reports named in the scope, such as host and VM lists, patch levels, cluster validation output, storage capacity and backup job reports
- Your recovery targets, or a note that none exist
How it works
- Send an enquiry. Tell us the question. Keep credentials and customer data out of it.
- Agree the written scope. We propose scope, fee and timing in writing. Nothing starts until both sides accept it.
- We review what you choose to share. We read only the inventories and reports in the agreed scope. We do not connect to hosts, vCenter or cluster tools.
- You get a written report. It says what was checked, what was not, and suggested next steps.
- Any change is approved separately. A report does not authorize changes; anything that changes needs its own written approval.
See what the report looks like: Read a fictional report sample (sample, fictional data). How we handle your information: Trust and data handling.
What we need from you. A named contact with authority, and a small set of evidence you choose to share through a channel we agree in writing first. Please do not send credentials, access tokens or customer exports through the enquiry form.
What we do not do. We do not connect to your hosts or management tools, patch, migrate, delete snapshots or change anything. We promise no performance, savings or availability.
What needs separate approval. Any patching, firmware update, snapshot clean-up, migration or DR test, and any follow-up check after changes.
Questions before an enquiry
Do you cover both Hyper-V and VMware?
Yes, for the platforms in your scope. Microsoft claims are based on Microsoft documentation; VMware items follow the vendor’s documentation, which you should check for current terms.
Will you tell us whether to move to Azure?
The report frames the options and the questions to answer, using the evidence. The decision depends on cost, latency, licensing and skills, and is yours.
Do you test failover?
No. We review evidence that failover was tested. A live test needs its own scope and your approval.
Will you delete old snapshots or patch hosts?
No. Those are changes for you to approve, or a separate written scope.
Does this include backup review?
It covers VM backup coverage and restore evidence. For a wider view see the backup and recovery readiness review.
Free tools, reading and vendor documentation
- Windows Server licensing calculator (free)
- Server inventory analyzer (free)
- Hyper-V vs Azure VMs vs Azure Local: three-year cost
- Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V upgrade
- Windows Server licensing: Standard vs Datacenter
Microsoft documentation (opens in a new tab). Product behaviour and licensing change, so check current Microsoft documentation before acting:
Ready to start?
Tell us what you need. We reply to confirm fit and to propose scope, fee and timing in writing.