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Build your own cloud: replace VMware — then run AI and GPUs on it

One day, mostly at the keyboard. You migrate a real virtual machine off VMware with your own hands, in a live environment — and you see how the very same platform serves AI and GPUs. You leave with a working migration plan — and see how the cloud you just built also becomes your AI/GPU platform, on hardware you own.

  • Free with registration
  • Seats are limited
  • In person or online
Register for your city See the program
Timur Tukaev — workshop host

What is happening to VMware

After Broadcom bought VMware, the familiar model ended: perpetual licenses are no longer sold, only subscriptions remain, and renewal bills have grown severalfold — not by percentages, but by multiples. Support for vSphere 7 ended in the autumn of 2025, so "leaving everything as is" stopped being a free option too.

Meanwhile, your infrastructure works, your team knows it, and nobody wants to break it. The real question sounds different: what can replace VMware without losing your data, your people, or your control — and without ending up dependent on the next vendor.

Where to migrate: meet Cozystack

Cozystack is an open virtualization platform built as a VMware replacement: virtual machines, networking, storage, monitoring, and backups in one system. The platform is free, its code is open, and the project is hosted by the CNCF — the same foundation that stewards Kubernetes.

You don't have to take this on faith: the entire workshop runs inside Cozystack. You will work with the platform hands-on and decide for yourself whether it fits.

  • Virtual machines
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Monitoring
  • Backups
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The same cloud is also your AI/GPU platform

Here is the part most VMware replacements leave out. Once your machines run on an open platform, the same platform can carve up the GPUs you own into isolated tenant clusters, and serve a model behind a plain inference endpoint — the building blocks of an AI/GPU cloud, without a second stack to learn or a second vendor to sign with.

We won't build this with our hands at the workshop — it's a short live demo. The point is simple: the cloud you leave with isn't only a way off VMware — it's the foundation for the AI and GPU work your organization is likely planning. You own the hardware; you own the AI platform on top of it.

  • GPUs, pooled and shared
  • Isolated tenant clusters
  • Inference endpoint
  • On hardware you own

What you will do

No three-hour slide decks. Every participant gets a personal working environment on a real cluster, and that is where you spend almost all of the time.

00:00

How we got here

talk

What happened to VMware's prices and support — and what it means for your infrastructure. The only slide block of the day.

00:15

Meeting the platform

hands-on

You open your personal working environment and find everything familiar in it: storage, networking, live migration, monitoring.

00:40

Migrating a virtual machine

hands-on

You export a machine straight from a running VMware server, convert it, and start it on the new platform. It answers requests — your first migrated VM.

01:30

Building the infrastructure around it

hands-on

A database in a couple of minutes, a service published to the network, monitoring and backups. At the end, the whole setup comes back up from a single file.

02:20

The same cloud, now for AI and GPUs

live demo

A short live demo, not a hands-on lab: the same platform turns GPUs into tenant clusters and serves a model behind an inference endpoint. This is where a VMware replacement becomes an AI/GPU platform — on infrastructure you own.

02:45

An honest conversation about limitations

discussion

What will not move one-to-one, and who should not migrate. Tell us about your hardest machine — and get a straight answer.

03:05

A migration plan for your infrastructure

talk

Where to start at home: the first non-critical workload, the stages of the move, and the support you get after the workshop.

What you leave with

01

A virtual machine you migrated yourself — the first practical step of your migration.

02

A step-by-step plan: where to start, what to move first, and how to split the move into stages.

03

Clarity about VMware: what will migrate, what won't, and when staying is the wiser choice.

04

Working skills with an open platform — plus a first look at pooling GPUs and serving inference on the same cloud.

05

Materials and cheat sheets to work with at home — plus a month of support after the workshop.

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Who should come

VMware administrator / sysadmin

  • Everything is explained through concepts you already know — no Kubernetes required.
  • You migrate a machine yourself and take the working cheat sheet home.
  • A test environment and a maintainer chat for another month afterwards.

Infrastructure lead

  • The full migration picture, including the limitations — we state them first.
  • A pilot plan tied to your renewal date.
  • Come together with one of your engineers: one sees the "how", the other decides the "when".

Technology executive

  • The economics of the move, without marketing promises.
  • Straight answers about risk: open code, independent support, no single-vendor dependency.
  • One platform that both replaces VMware and hosts your AI/GPU roadmap.

DevOps / platform engineer

  • Virtual machines and containers in one system, managed as code.
  • Databases, storage, and monitoring — built in, no manual assembly.
  • A path to GPU tenancy and inference on the same cluster.

A month of support and learning after the workshop

  • Your test environment stays with you for another 30 days — for experiments and certification prep.
  • Take-home lab exercises — with support from the Cozystack maintainers.
  • A chat where Cozystack maintainers answer your questions.
  • The opportunity to earn the Ænix Certification for Cozystack — Fundamentals certificate — free.
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Timur Tukaev

Your host

Timur Tukaev
Cozystack maintainer · Ænix co-founder

Timur is a maintainer of the open Cozystack platform and a co-founder of Ænix, the company behind it. The workshop format is his: no marketing slides, most of the time at the terminal, and the platform's weak points named before its strong ones.

Cities and dates

The program is the same in every city. Pick the one that suits you — then register in person or online below.

France Paris Mon, 19 Oct 2026, 10:00–14:00 CEST Venue to be confirmed — registered attendees hear firstRegister Germany Berlin Fri, 23 Oct 2026, 10:00–14:00 CEST Venue to be confirmed — a short hop from GTC BerlinRegister Poland Warsaw Mon, 26 Oct 2026, 10:00–14:00 CET Venue to be confirmed — registered attendees hear firstRegister Denmark Copenhagen Wed, 28 Oct 2026, 10:00–14:00 CET Venue to be confirmed — registered attendees hear firstRegister Netherlands Amsterdam Fri, 30 Oct 2026, 10:00–14:00 CET Venue to be confirmed — registered attendees hear firstRegister Italy Milan Mon, 2 Nov 2026, 10:00–14:00 CET Venue to be confirmed — registered attendees hear firstRegister Spain Madrid Wed, 4 Nov 2026, 10:00–14:00 CET Venue to be confirmed — registered attendees hear firstRegister United Kingdom London Fri, 6 Nov 2026, 10:00–14:00 GMT Venue to be confirmed — registered attendees hear firstRegister

Register for your city

Choose your city, then register for the workshop — in person or online. Attendance is free; seats are limited.

Paris Mon, 19 Oct 2026, 10:00–14:00 CEST

Choose In person or Online right inside the form. You'll see a confirmation on screen, and we'll follow up by email with the venue and final details. The venue is being confirmed — registered attendees hear first.

About the workshop

This is a free hands-on workshop for people who run VMware and are deciding what to do next. In autumn 2026 it runs across eight European cities — Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Milan, Madrid, and London. In one day, you migrate a real virtual machine off a running VMware server onto Cozystack — an open virtualization platform hosted by the CNCF — with your own hands. Most of the time is practice in a personal working environment: migrating the machine, adding a database, monitoring, and backups. Then a short live demo shows the same platform running AI and GPUs, so a VMware replacement doubles as an AI/GPU platform on infrastructure you own. The workshop is led by Timur Tukaev, Cozystack maintainer and Ænix co-founder. You can attend in person or online, and afterwards every participant keeps a test environment for 30 days, a chat with the platform’s maintainers, take-home lab exercises, and the opportunity to earn the Ænix Certification for Cozystack — Fundamentals certificate. Attendance is free with registration; seats are limited.

Quick facts

  • Format An in-person or online workshop, about four hours: roughly three hours of hands-on practice, plus a short AI/GPU live demo and open conversation
  • Cities Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Milan, Madrid, London — October–November 2026
  • Price Free with registration; seats are limited
  • Language English
  • Who it's for VMware administrators, sysadmins, infrastructure leads, technology executives, DevOps and platform engineers
  • After the workshop A test environment for 30 days, a chat with Cozystack maintainers, take-home labs, and the opportunity to earn the Ænix Certification for Cozystack — Fundamentals certificate
  • Host Timur Tukaev — Cozystack maintainer, Ænix co-founder
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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost?

Nothing — attendance is free with registration. Seats are deliberately limited so everyone gets real time at the terminal and an assistant’s attention when needed.

Can I attend online instead of in person?

Yes. Every city has an online option — just choose ‘Online’ in the registration form. You get the same personal working environment and can do the hands-on labs from your own desk.

I run VMware but don't know Kubernetes. Will I keep up?

Yes. The workshop is built for exactly your profile: everything is explained through VMware concepts you already know, and assistants are there whenever something doesn’t work. Your experience is the foundation we build on.

Is the AI/GPU part hands-on too?

No — that part is a short live demo. You’ll see the same platform turn GPUs into tenant clusters and serve a model behind an inference endpoint, but the hands-on time is spent on the VMware migration. The point is to show that the cloud you build can also be your AI/GPU platform.

What language is the workshop in?

English. Commands and materials are in English too.

What should I bring?

A laptop with a browser — that’s all. Your working environment is prepared in advance; there is nothing to install.

Is this a sales presentation?

No. It is training: you spend most of the time working with your hands, and the program includes an honest conversation about what the platform cannot do and who should not migrate. No contracts, no pressure.

What exactly will I do with my own hands?

Move a virtual machine off a running VMware server, deploy a database, publish a service to the network, see how monitoring and backups work — and, at the end, bring the whole setup back up from a single file.

What happens after the workshop?

Your test environment stays with you for another 30 days, you receive take-home lab exercises, and you join a chat where Cozystack maintainers answer questions. Completing the labs earns you the Ænix Certification for Cozystack — Fundamentals certificate — also free.

We run Oracle, SAP, or specially licensed Windows. Will it migrate?

Maybe not — and we will say so directly. Vendor licensing restrictions are one of the topics of the honest-limitations conversation. Bring your hardest case and get a straight answer.

Can I bring my manager or a colleague?

Please do. The workshop works best in pairs — an engineer plus a manager: one leaves with hands-on experience, the other with a plan.

Can you send an official invitation letter for my employer?

Yes. On request after registration, we will send an invitation letter addressed to your company, so justifying a day out of the office is easy.

Europe · October–November 2026 · eight cities

Replace VMware — and run AI/GPU on the same cloud

Eight European cities, October to November 2026. Pick yours and register — in person or online. Attendance is free; seats are limited.

Register for your city