Sheetz ditches VMware for StorMagic, migrates 11,000 virtual machines

Sheetz, the US convenience store chain operating 838 locations, is moving off VMware entirely. The company is migrating 12-14 virtual machines (VMs) per store from VMware vSphere to StorMagic's SvHCI, totaling roughly 11,000 VMs. Scott Robertson, Sheetz's infrastructure team manager, cited Broadcom's post-acquisition changes—eliminating perpetual licenses in favor of mandatory subscriptions and five-year commitments—as the primary reason. The projected price hikes created too much uncertainty for long-term budgeting and increased vendor dependence, he told Ars Technica.

StorMagic's SvHCI was selected after Sheetz had already used StorMagic's SvSAN alongside VMware since 2019. The migration has been executed remotely at a pace of 200 stores per month, with over 600 stores already completed. Key challenges included operating in a 24/7/365 retail environment, requiring meticulous planning and heavy automation. Robertson noted that SvHCI's VM Import Utility and automation tools were vital, though API maturity required extra effort. The company expects to finish the entire migration within four months, saving significant costs by avoiding hardware upgrades. The move highlights growing discontent among VMware customers—Gartner estimates 35% of VMware workloads will migrate elsewhere by 2028.