If you're moving workloads to Zadara, you have more options than most people realize. This comparison covers every mainstream approach: Z-Move, Zadara's own V2Z tool, Cirrus Data, and Zadara's manual migration guide. Each has a legitimate use case — and each has limitations that matter in production.
| Feature | Z-Move | Zadara V2Z | Cirrus Data | Manual (qemu-img) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agent required on source VM | ✓ Zero agents | ~ Tool install required | ✓ Zero footprint | ✓ No agent (but VM must stop) |
| VM downtime required | ✓ No downtime during transfer Z-Move wins | ~ Snapshot-based (brief quiesce) | ✓ Near-zero downtime | ✗ VM must be stopped |
| Supported source clouds | Zadara, AWS, Azure Z-Move wins | VMware vCenter/ESXi, Hyper-V only | Any block storage source | Any (manual export) |
| Supported target | Zadara, AWS, Azure | Zadara zCompute only | Zadara (primary use case) | Zadara zCompute |
| Works for AWS → Zadara | ✓ Tested in production | ✗ VMware/Hyper-V only | ~ Possible (block-level) | ~ Manual export possible |
| Works for Azure → Zadara | ✓ API-based | ✗ Not supported | ~ Possible (block-level) | ~ VHD export + convert |
| Intercontinental migration | ✓ Tested: Angola → US, US → Africa | ~ Possible via NFS (slow) | ~ Network dependent | ✗ Limited by bandwidth/tooling |
| SAP HANA / multi-disk support | ✓ 7-disk SAP HANA in production | ~ Possible, disk-by-disk | ~ Block-level — possible | ✗ Complex, error-prone at scale |
| Coordination with Zadara Ops team | ✓ Self-service | ✗ Required for NFS setup | ~ Not specified | ✓ Self-service |
| Disk format conversion required | ✓ Automatic | ✓ Automatic (virt-v2v) | ✓ Automatic | ✗ Manual (qemu-img / virt-v2v) |
| Post-migration infra cleanup | ✓ Auto-destroyed every job | ~ Manual importer VM cleanup | ~ Not specified | ✓ No infra (manual process) |
| Pricing model | $0.05/GB — transparent | Free (included with Zadara) | Not disclosed publicly | Free (your time + storage) |
| Ideal for | Cloud-to-cloud migrations (AWS, Azure, Zadara) | VMware/Hyper-V environments moving to Zadara | Large-scale storage migrations | 1-2 small VMs, technical teams |
Z-Move operates entirely at the cloud API layer. It authenticates with your source and target clouds, provisions ephemeral workers to handle the data transfer, streams disks in parallel, and destroys all infrastructure after the job completes. No software is installed inside your VMs.
V2Z is Zadara's own migration utility, specifically designed for moving VMware and Hyper-V virtual machines into zCompute. It uses either an NFS share (recommended, faster) or the vSphere API (slower) to convert and import VMDK files.
Cirrus Data is a storage migration platform that operates at the block level. Their "zero footprint" approach means no virtual appliances and no intermediate storage. The platform is designed for large-scale, live data mobility — migrating storage while workloads remain running.
Zadara's own migration guide recommends a manual process: stop the VM, export the VHD/VMDK, convert it with qemu-img (simple Linux VMs) or virt-v2v (Windows or complex configs), upload to Zadara Object Storage, and launch a new instance. It works, but it requires your VMs to be offline during export.
💡 Moving from AWS or Azure to Zadara? V2Z doesn't support these sources. The manual method requires downtime. Z-Move is the only API-native, no-downtime option for cloud-to-Zadara migrations.
Best choice: Z-Move. V2Z only handles VMware/Hyper-V sources. The manual method requires exporting from AWS (which means stopping the instance or using a snapshot manually), converting, and uploading — error-prone at scale. Z-Move authenticates with AWS and Zadara APIs and handles the entire process automatically.
Best choice: Z-Move (for multiple VMs) or manual (for 1-2 VMs with acceptable downtime). Zadara's own blog documents the manual VHD export + conversion approach for Azure, which requires stopping VMs. For production workloads or multiple instances, Z-Move handles it via the Azure API without requiring a maintenance window.
Best choice: Zadara V2Z (if you have Zadara support) or Z-Move (if your VMware environment has API access). V2Z is built specifically for this path and is free. The trade-off is that it requires Zadara Ops coordination for the NFS setup. Z-Move can also handle VMware-originated workloads if the source is already on a cloud provider, or via its API layer for compatible environments.
Best choice: Cirrus Data. For pure storage migrations — moving terabytes of block data between storage systems while maintaining live application access — Cirrus Data's iQoS throttling and block-level approach is designed for that use case. Z-Move is optimized for cloud VM migration, not SAN/NAS-to-SAN/NAS workloads.
Best choice: Manual method (free) or Z-Move ($0.05/GB). If you have a planned maintenance window, a small VM, and Linux expertise, the manual qemu-img route works. For anything larger or more complex, the time and risk cost of manual migration outweighs Z-Move's $0.05/GB fee.
Zadara is growing its cloud footprint in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe — regions where data sovereignty matters and hyperscaler alternatives are actively being evaluated. The migration tools ecosystem is catching up, but the reality is:
If you're running production workloads on AWS or Azure and want to evaluate Zadara — for cost, sovereignty, or performance reasons — Z-Move is currently the only purpose-built tool that handles that migration path without agents, without downtime, and with transparent per-GB pricing.
Tell us your source environment (AWS, Azure, or other) and we'll scope the migration — cost estimate included.
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