GuestKit — industry use cases & platform context
Product: Offline VM intelligence and migration assurance
Cross-reference: User stories · Migration assurance · README
What GuestKit does (simple terms)
Before you migrate a VM from VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, or public cloud to KVM, Proxmox, KubeVirt, AWS, Azure, GCP, or private OpenStack, GuestKit inspects the disk image without booting the VM and answers:
| Question | GuestKit capability |
|---|---|
| Will this VM boot after migration? | guestkit doctor — boot assurance score, blockers, warnings |
| What drivers/configs are missing? | Evidence snapshot + migration scoring |
| What needs fixing before cutover? | Blockers with remediation hints, --explain root-cause |
| Can we generate a fix/migration plan? | guestkit migrate-plan --export plan.yaml |
| Can we scan a whole fleet of images? | guestkit fleet analyze |
GuestKit is the pre-flight assurance layer. It does not replace hyper2kvm, Proxmox import, or KubeVirt — it de-risks migration before those tools run.
Real industry use cases
1. VMware → Proxmox / KVM migration
A company wants to reduce VMware licensing cost and move hundreds of VMs to Proxmox or KVM.
GuestKit inspects .vmdk / .qcow2 files offline and checks VirtIO drivers, bootloader, fstab, disk layout, and migration blockers.
Business value: Fewer failed migrations, less weekend firefighting, predictable cutover planning.
guestkit doctor app-server.vmdk --target proxmox --explain
guestkit migrate-plan app-server.vmdk --target proxmox --export plan.yaml
2. Bank or insurance data-center modernization
Banks run legacy Windows/Linux VMs with strict downtime windows. Before moving workloads to a private cloud, teams need assurance that every VM will boot after migration.
GuestKit scores boot readiness and surfaces BitLocker, missing drivers, domain/RDP issues, VMware Tools dependency, boot partition problems, and Linux mount issues.
Business value: Classify VMs into green / yellow / red before touching production.
3. Healthcare or government offline compliance
Regulated sectors cannot freely boot production images in test environments (patient, citizen, or classified data).
GuestKit inspects disk images offline — OS version, filesystem, bootability, security posture, migration readiness — without powering on the guest.
4. Cloud migration factory
Enterprises and migration partners receive thousands of VM exports. They need automation to gate which VMs are ready for AWS, Azure, GCP, or private cloud.
guestkit doctor user-vm.qcow2 --target aws -o json --fail-below 80
Business value: Repeatable migration gate in CI/CD instead of manual VM checks.
5. KubeVirt / OpenShift Virtualization readiness
Teams moving VMs into Kubernetes-based virtualization validate stopped VM disks before import.
GuestKit pairs with the in-repo Zyvor web stack and KubeVirt hooks (crates/zyvor-api, docs/features/kubevirt-integration.md) for API-style boot inspect on stopped VMs.
6. Managed service provider (MSP) migration assessment
MSPs run GuestKit on user exports and deliver readiness reports: assurance score, blockers, warnings, target recommendation, fix plan, migration risk.
Business value: Paid migration assessment before the migration project.
7. Security forensics and drift detection
guestkit fleet analyze and forensic diff compare images before/after incidents or against golden baselines.
Use case: Config drift, suspicious persistence, changed boot files, ransomware-related indicators.
8. Manufacturing / retail edge VM migration
Factories and stores run legacy VMs for POS, inventory, and machine control. Downtime is expensive.
GuestKit inspects disk images offline before moving workloads to newer edge infrastructure.
Business value: Prevents branch / store / factory outages from failed boot after migration.
Product manager view
| Buyer / user | Why GuestKit |
|---|---|
| Migration engineer | Pre-cutover confidence |
| Cloud transformation team | Batch readiness at scale |
| SRE / platform team | Fleet drift + CI gates |
| MSP migration team | Assessment deliverable |
| Private cloud / KubeVirt team | Stopped-VM validation |
| Security / forensics team | Offline evidence, forensic diff |
Core value proposition:
Know whether a VM will boot after migration before you actually migrate it.
Failed VM migrations are expensive, stressful, and usually happen in tight downtime windows. GuestKit shifts discovery left — offline, automatable, and CI-friendly.
Technical architect view
Enterprise assurance pipeline
VM exports (VMDK / QCOW2 / RAW)
↓
GuestKit offline inspection
↓
Evidence snapshot
↓
Boot assurance score + migration score + blockers
↓
Fix plan / policy report / JSON output
↓
Migration platform: hyper2kvm · Proxmox · KubeVirt · cloud import
GuestKit sits above the migration executor — assurance in, validated images out.
Where GuestKit fits in the Zyvor / HyperSDK suite
From zyvor.dev — 15 products, one API fabric, one operating model for export → convert → inspect → deploy → operate:
Export HyperSDK Platform
↓
Convert hyper2kvm
↓
Inspect GuestKit ← you are here
↓
Build Veyron
↓
Deploy Aether
↓
Manage Zeus OS
↓
Automate Ragnarok
↓
Monitor PacketWolf
↓
Compute Forge
↓
Provision IronWolf
↓
Cluster HyperCluster
Supporting host and fabric layers: Machina (libvirt/KVM hypervisor OS), Zyvor Fabric (systemd-native private cloud), Hermes (application layer on Kubernetes).
Zyvor product stack (from zyvor.dev)
| Product | Role | Link |
|---|---|---|
| HyperSDK Platform | Multi-cloud VM export (11+ providers), APIs, scheduling | zyvor.dev/hypersdk |
| hyper2kvm | Hypervisor → KVM conversion, VirtIO/boot fixes, validation | zyvor.dev/hyper2kvm |
| GuestKit | Offline guest disk inspect, repair, migration assurance | zyvor.dev/guestkit |
| Veyron | KubeVirt VM command center, declarative templates | zyvor.dev/veyron |
| Aether | Universal runtime — Podman, K8s, bare metal; confidential computing | zyvor.dev/aether |
| Zeus OS | Cloud / KubeVirt control plane, VM fleet day-2 | zyvor.dev/zeus-os |
| Hermes | Application layer for Kubernetes | zyvor.dev/hermes |
| Machina | Physical hypervisor OS (libvirt/KVM), OpenStack day-2 | zyvor.dev/machina |
| Zyvor Fabric | systemd-native private cloud | zyvor.dev/zyvor-fabric |
| Ragnarok | AI infrastructure automation on Kubernetes | zyvor.dev/ragnarok |
| PacketWolf | Kernel-native network intelligence (eBPF) | zyvor.dev/packetwolf |
| Forge | GPU fabric on Kubernetes | zyvor.dev/forge |
| IronWolf | Bare-metal lifecycle (Metal3) | zyvor.dev/ironwolf |
| HyperCluster | Bare-metal Kubernetes bootstrap | zyvor.dev/hypercluster |
Suite categories (zyvor.dev)
| Category | Products |
|---|---|
| Migration & export | HyperSDK Platform, hyper2kvm, GuestKit |
| Kubernetes & VM management | Zeus OS, Veyron, Ragnarok, Machina, Zyvor Fabric |
| Networking & observability | Aether, PacketWolf |
| Compute & bare metal | Forge, IronWolf, HyperCluster |
Supported migration sources & targets
VMware vSphere · Nutanix AHV · AWS · Azure · Google Cloud · Hyper-V · Oracle Cloud · OpenStack · Alibaba Cloud · Proxmox · KubeVirt · KVM
Open source vs enterprise
| Open source (this repo) | Enterprise (zyvor.dev) | |
|---|---|---|
| GuestKit CLI/TUI | ✅ | Same codebase + SLA |
| Self-hosted web stack | ✅ GHCR / Helm | Hardened reference architectures |
| Migration programs | DIY / community | VMware exit, air-gap, regulated fleets |
| Support | GitHub | sales@zyvor.dev |
See ce-vs-enterprise.md and zyvor-enterprise.md.
Typical commands by scenario
| Scenario | Commands |
|---|---|
| Single VM pre-cutover | doctor → migrate-plan --export |
| CI migration gate | doctor -o json --fail-below 80 |
| Fleet readiness | fleet analyze ./exports --recursive -o json |
| Interactive review | guestctl tui vm.qcow2 |
| KubeVirt / Zeus (stopped VM) | Zyvor API boot-inspect — kubevirt-integration.md |
| Full VMware exit pipeline | HyperSDK export → hyper2kvm → GuestKit → Zeus OS import |