Virtualisation & Container Platforms

Design the platform around its workloads and the people who will operate it.

We design, migrate and improve virtualisation and container platforms around the applications they need to run. The approach accounts for dependencies, performance, licensing, security, deployment practices and day-two ownership.

Discuss Your Platform

Engineers working with virtualised server and container platform components.

Make day-two operation part of the architecture

Virtualisation and containers can consolidate workloads and make releases more repeatable, but only when storage, networking, identity, observability, backup, capacity and lifecycle work are considered together. Otherwise they move complexity rather than reducing it.

We begin with the applications and operating environment. Some workloads may suit containers, others may remain as virtual machines, and some may need changes before either route is appropriate. The architecture, migration sequence, deployment tooling, and ongoing operating model follow from those findings.

This can include:

Workload, dependency, and suitability assessment to decide what should remain, migrate, or be containerised
Virtualisation and cluster architecture aligned to compute, storage, network, availability, and licensing requirements
Container runtime and orchestration standards selected according to workload behaviour and operational capability
Isolation, identity, and network controls designed around tenant, application, and administrative boundaries
Deployment, validation, and rollback automation to make releases and infrastructure changes repeatable
Monitoring, patching, backup, and lifecycle processes so the platform remains supportable after migration
Staged migration with documented ownership to limit disruption and leave the operating team in control

If application constraints make platform change difficult, existing and legacy system engineering can address the application-level work alongside the infrastructure programme.

Technology selected for workload and operating fit

Virtualisation

KVM, QEMU, XCP-ng, Xen, oVirt
Application & System Containers

Docker, Podman, LXC, LXD
Container Runtimes

containerd
Orchestration & Cluster Management

Nomad, Kubernetes, OpenShift, Rancher, Docker Swarm
Existing & Migration Platforms

VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox VE

Where virtualisation and containers can improve control and supportability

Changes are assessed against the complete workload environment, not treated as an isolated technology refresh.

Virtualisation Platform Migration
Move workloads from ageing, constrained, or costly hypervisors to an appropriate target through dependency mapping, staged cutovers, validation, and rollback.

Application Containerisation
Package suitable applications with explicit runtime, storage, network, and configuration requirements while preserving the behaviour the service needs.

Cluster Lifecycle & Day-Two Operation
Define patching, upgrades, node replacement, capacity, backup, recovery, observability, and runbooks before the platform becomes operationally critical.

Deployment & Rollback Automation
Standardise builds, configuration, releases, validation, and recovery so change is repeatable across environments and providers.

Workload Isolation & Access Control
Reduce lateral movement and unintended access through tenant boundaries, network policy, service identity, and least-privilege administration.

Capacity & Resource Management
Use workload evidence, thresholds and quotas to allocate CPU, memory, storage and network capacity deliberately, with a defined resource buffer.

On-Premises, Hosted & Hybrid Operation
Apply consistent deployment, monitoring, access, and lifecycle practices where workloads span existing infrastructure, data centres, or hosting providers.

What the platform needs to make more predictable

The objective is not containerisation or consolidation for its own sake. It is safer change, appropriate isolation, clearer capacity, repeatable deployment, and an operating model the organisation can sustain.

Explicit Workload Isolation
Tenant, application, network, and administrative boundaries are matched to the actual security requirement.
Measured Resource Allocation
CPU, memory, storage and network resources are adjusted against workload demand while preserving the operating margin agreed for the platform.
Consistent Platform Management
Monitoring, patching, lifecycle work, and troubleshooting follow understood processes across hosts and clusters.
Repeatable Deployment & Recovery
Standardised pipelines, validation, and rollback reduce manual variation during releases and updates.
Capacity That Can Change Deliberately
Hosts, nodes, replicas, and workloads can be adjusted through tested processes as demand changes.
Integration With Existing Operations
The platform works with established identity, monitoring, backup, release, and support workflows rather than creating a separate operational island.

Design migration and day-two operation together

We begin with workload behaviour, dependencies, licensing, risk, current tooling, and the skills available to run the environment. Technology selection follows from those factors.

1

Workload & Platform Baseline

We examine applications, virtual machines, dependencies, performance, storage, networking, identity, compliance, licensing, release practices, and current operating constraints.
2

Architecture & Migration Sequence

We define the target platform, workload placement, isolation, availability, lifecycle processes, and staged migration. Decisions account for vendor constraints, ownership, cost, and expected demand.
3

Build, Test & Migrate

We prepare and test the platform, automate repeatable deployment and rollback, then move workloads in controlled stages with service validation at each point.
4

Handover & Day-Two Ownership

We provide architecture records, runbooks, and knowledge transfer for the operating team, with responsibilities for monitoring, maintenance, incidents, and future platform changes made clear.

Containerised service operation with coordinated failover

Case study: High-Availability SIP Infrastructure for a Live Voice Service

Containers used as part of an active/standby SIP service stack.

View Case Study

For a UK communications provider, we built a high-availability SIP service using separate components for routing, call handling, media anchoring and real-time event translation. The services ran in containers across active/standby pairs, with explicit startup ordering and stable virtual endpoints.

The database started before the SIP service and the virtual endpoints were enabled afterwards. Custom checks assessed the complete service stack, so a confirmed fault could move service to the standby as a coordinated unit rather than recover unrelated containers independently.

Application requirements remain visible

Platform decisions are tested against application state, data, network flows, integrations, release behaviour, and support needs. Containerisation is recommended only where those constraints can be handled properly.

Day-two work is part of the design

Patching, upgrades, monitoring, capacity, backup, recovery, access, and incident ownership are defined with the architecture so the platform remains manageable after migration.

Ownership comes before optional support

The platform is designed for the organisation's operating model, with documentation and tooling that support internal ownership. Ongoing Onyxsis support is available where useful, but it is not a substitute for a workable day-two design.

Defined cover is available through SLA-Based Technical Support, with agreed response, coverage, and escalation for applications and platforms. Engineering Support Hours are available for bounded maintenance, investigation, and improvement work.

Where the platform change also requires application or integration work, see systems and API integration and bespoke operational systems and tooling.

Discuss the Platform

Frequently Asked Questions

Which virtualisation platforms do you work with?

We work with platforms including KVM, QEMU, XCP-ng, Xen, oVirt, VMware, Hyper-V, and Proxmox VE. The right approach may be continued operation, integration, consolidation or migration, depending on the platforms and workloads already in place.

How do you decide whether an application should be containerised?

We assess application state, dependencies, storage, networking, configuration, licensing, security, release processes, and operational ownership. Containerisation is useful only where those requirements can be made explicit.

Can you operate platforms across on-premises and hosted environments?

Yes. We can design consistent provisioning, deployment, monitoring, access, and lifecycle practices across on-premises infrastructure, data centres, and hosting providers where the selected platforms support them.

How do you control resource allocation?

We use workload measurements, capacity thresholds, quotas and placement rules to manage CPU, memory, storage and network resources without running the platform at its practical limits.

Do you provide documentation and knowledge transfer?

Yes. Deliverables can include architecture records, build and deployment procedures, operating runbooks, recovery steps, configuration references, and sessions with the team responsible for the platform.

Can you migrate workloads with limited downtime?

We sequence migrations around application dependencies and allowable change windows, test the target, validate each stage, use parallel operation where justified, and retain rollback until the result is proven.

How do you secure containerised applications?

We apply workload and tenant isolation, controlled images and dependencies, network policy, service identity, secrets handling, and least-privilege access according to the application and threat model.

Can identity controls span clusters, hosts, and applications?

Yes. We design administrative and service access boundaries around the environment. Where identity must be coordinated across systems, identity and access integration can address the wider requirement.

How are vulnerabilities, patches, and upgrades managed?

We define inventory, assessment, testing, maintenance windows, exception handling, rollout, validation, and rollback according to workload criticality and the organisation's change controls.

How do you approach backup and recovery?

We distinguish disposable platform components from persistent application data, then design snapshots, backups, replication, retention, and tested restore procedures around agreed recovery objectives.

Can you enforce role-based access across clusters and hosts?

Yes. We implement role-based, least-privilege access aligned to organisational responsibilities, with auditable administrative changes and explicit routes for exceptional access.

How do application integrations affect platform design?

APIs, queues, databases, identity, network flows, and external services influence workload placement and migration order. Systems and API integration can address changes beyond the platform boundary.

How do you right-size virtual machines and containers?

We measure workload demand and tune allocations, requests, limits and placement while retaining enough capacity to meet agreed performance and resilience requirements.

Can scaling be automated?

Where workload behaviour and metrics justify it, orchestration can adjust replicas or resources within defined limits. We also account for state, dependencies, startup behaviour, and downstream capacity before enabling automation.

Does virtualisation or containerisation affect performance?

It can. The effect depends on compute scheduling, storage, networking, isolation, workload shape, and resource policy. We benchmark relevant paths and tune the platform against the service requirement.

Can you improve deployment and rollback processes?

Yes. We can standardise images, configuration, pipelines, release validation, and rollback so platform and application changes are repeatable and easier to diagnose.

What support is available for day-two operation?

We design for organisational ownership first, with operating procedures for monitoring, maintenance, patching, incidents and platform change. Any further engineering work is scoped around the agreed ownership model and workload requirements.

Have a question about a workload or platform requirement? Tell us what you need.

Plan the platform around its workloads and operating constraints

We can review the current environment, determine what should remain, migrate, or be containerised, and define an architecture with deployment, rollback, lifecycle work, and ownership made explicit.

Virtualisation & Container Platforms

Make day-two operation part of the architecture

Technology selected for workload and operating fit

Virtualisation

Application & System Containers

Container Runtimes

Orchestration & Cluster Management

Existing & Migration Platforms