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May 2025 Releases

Sizer Sprint Release Announcement (20 May 2025)

Hello Sizer Users,

We’re excited to announce the latest enhancements from our May 2025 sprints, designed to make your infrastructure planning even smoother and more efficient!

✨ Key Enhancements:

1. In-App Hardware Vendor Request for Partners

  • We’ve streamlined the process for Partners to request hardware vendor access directly within the Sizer application, significantly reducing friction.
  • This functionality is also available for customers and prospects who wish to perform sizing with their preferred hardware vendors.  
  • All requests will undergo a review and due diligence process before access is granted. 
  • Our Sizer FAQs have been updated to reflect this new process.

2. Shift to SPEC 2017 Integer Rates

  • Sizer has transitioned from using SPEC 2006 Integer Rates to the more current SPEC 2017 Integer Rates. 
  • While the 2017 values are generally lower, this change does not impact any existing or future sizings, ensuring consistency and accuracy.

3. Other enhancements

  • NAI Licensing Option: The licensing dropdown now includes the option to select NAI licenses, providing more comprehensive configuration choices.
  • Hybrid Nodes for Large FSVM: Sizer now supports hybrid nodes for large FSVMs, expanding beyond small-Str, Small, and Medium FSVMs to offer greater flexibility. 
  • Strip Size Details: Striping details will now be displayed in Sizer solutions when EC (Erasure Coding) savings are applicable, offering more transparency into storage efficiency. 
  • Generate CCW File: CCW File generation has been extended to support multi-cluster solutions and clusters with mixed nodes, making it simpler to import into Cisco CCW and produce comprehensive quotes.
  • Thermal restriction guardrails for XC7625-24N – it has the same thermal restrictions as XC7625-24

🐛Bug Fixes:

We’ve also squashed a few bugs to improve your experience:

  • Resolved an issue where NX-9151-G9 with drives could not be configured as an HCI node.
  • Fixed the automatic closure of the bulk edit dialog upon enabling Sync Rep.
  • Corrected the download failure for single-node solution proposals.

🚀 New Models Launched This Month:

  • We’re expanding our supported hardware with the addition of new OVHcloud models:
    • OVHcloud-Scale-i1-G2-EMR-01
    • OVHcloud-Scale-i2-G2-EMR-01
    • OVHcloud-Scale-i3-G2-EMR-01

👂 Your Feedback Matters!

Your input is invaluable as we continuously strive to make Sizer the best tool for your infrastructure planning. Please share any suggestions, questions, or issues you encounter.

You can reach out to the Sizer team via Sizer Help or alternatively, you can reach us via the Nutanix Community Page – Sizer Configuration Estimator

Thank you for your ongoing support and for being a valued member of the Sizer community!

Best regards,
The Sizer Team

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TVAP 4- Smarter Renewal Uplift Strategy

TVAP 4 introduces an intelligent reduction in renewal uplift, based on:

  • Prior deal quality for Software products – Based on factors like Zone, floor & recommended values for the prior net unit price (considering pricing multipliers) , Deals are categorized as Good, average & Bad. Each deal is classified into one of three categories. 

🟢 Good Deal → Lowest Uplift

🟡 Average Deal → Moderate Uplift

🔴 Bad Deal → Highest Uplift

  • The uplifts in TVAP4 are always lower than TVAP 3
  • Prior term consideration while determining the uplift.
  • Appreciation uplift is linear and not compounded as before(V3) and capped at 4 yrs. appreciation.

This dynamic approach ensures that uplift percentages are aligned with the value of the original deal and the customer’s contract history.

🎯 Business Impact: This change is designed to:

  • ✅ Reduce customer churn by offering more predictable and reasonable renewal pricing with lower term uplifts & appreciation uplifts.
  • ✅ Ease pressure on expansion conversations by eliminating friction from aggressive uplift practices
  • ✅ Promote long-term retention by rewarding high-quality initial deals with fair renewal treatment

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Sales Program & Deal Structure

The objective of this project is to ensure Sales Programs and Deal Structures are recorded separately and accurately to enable precise reporting on the effectiveness of our promotions and deal strategies. 

Key Features:

  • Currently, the “Sales Program” field was used to capture both sales programs and deal structures within an opportunity, leading to inaccurate deal reporting.
  • A Sales Program is a structured program or limited promotion that the business implements to promote and sell our products to customers.
  • Deal Structure refers to the specific nonstandard terms and conditions of the deal. It outlines how the deal will be executed, how the parties will interact, and any dependencies.
  • As part of this project, “Deal Structure” is Introduced and all the existing guardrails & processes those were used for the deal structure values under “sales program”, analyzed from each business functions (SFDC, FL, RE, Licensing) to ensure alignment with business expectations and continued functionality.
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Marketplace Private Offer Workflow Automation

Background

The Marketplace private offer selling motion differs from the standard 2-Tier channel motion, requiring new processes and system capabilities. Private offer transactions occur directly within the Marketplace portal, either to a Reseller or directly to the Customer, with the Marketplace provider handling invoicing and payment collection.

Marketplace Private Offer Quote-to-Cash Process Flow

Creating a Quote for a Private Offer in Frontline: Guided Experience

Frontline provides a guided quoting experience tailored for creating Marketplace private offers involving term licenses and professional services, which include both standard offerings and custom engagements based on Statements of Work (SOWs). As part of the quote creation process, users are prompted to input Marketplace-specific information, such as AWS or Azure account IDs and other required customer or deployment details.

Marketplace Account Details

When a quote is designated as a “Marketplace quote”, the system dynamically displays additional fields relevant to private offer transactions. Users can specify the Marketplace provider—AWS or Azure—and indicate whether the offer is intended for a direct customer or a reseller. Both reseller and buyer account IDs must be entered directly on the quote page, as these are essential for resale authorization/private offer publication in Marketplace portal.

Offer Expiry Date and Agreement Start Date

Each quote for private offer includes an expiry date, which defines the deadline for customer acceptance of the private offer in Marketplace portal. This date is set in UTC. AWS permits cancellations up to 48 hours after acceptance, while Azure allows cancellations within 72 hours. The agreement start date is determined by the customer’s acceptance of the offer, with sales order creation initiated 48 hours later for AWS and 72 hours later for Azure.

Delayed License Fulfillment Date

For scenarios requiring a delayed fulfillment start date, the “ship hold” process—managed by Sales Support Ops—has replaced the previous method of using quote to provide delayed start dates. The ship-hold process aligns with the new automated workflow that prevents changes to quotes once a private offer is published, while still allowing flexibility in start dates without requiring revisions. For more information, contact Sales Support Ops.

Selecting Product or Professional Services

In both AWS and Azure Marketplaces, software products and professional services are listed separately, hence they must be offered as two distinct private offers each requiring its own corresponding quote to be attached. The quoting system enforces mutual exclusivity between product and professional service selections—once one is chosen, the other cannot be added. 

Only software products currently listed on the Marketplace will be available for selection. All professional service SKUs—standard and custom—are eligible for private offers. Custom SKUs are managed in admin mode, and Sales Support Ops can assist with adding or editing SKUs and attaching the SOW before quote approval. 

For Azure, professional services are only available via direct private offers to customers in the US, UK, and Canada, and not through resellers.

Pricing and Discounting

Both the Marketplace discount and total net price fields in the quote are editable. The Marketplace discount is typically lower than the base discount which takes into account transaction fee. Deal approval routing is based on the base discount. The total net price reflects the Marketplace TCV extended to the reseller or customer.

Primary and Approved Quote for Private Offer

Only one Marketplace quote per opportunity should be marked as “primary” and “approved” for private offer publication. While multiple quotes can be approved, only the primary quote is eligible for publishing. Once approved, the Sales Representative initiates the publishing process by emailing Sales Support Ops with the quote number.

If overage consumption is required for an NC2 deployment, this should be included in the Sales Rep’s email. Overage support requires an NC2 subscription and will be enabled in Phase 2 of Marketplace automation. After accepting the offer on AWS or Azure Marketplace, customers must complete their setup in the Nutanix Portal.

Publishing a Private Offer

Sales Support Operations uses Raft, a home-grown SaaS application, to manage the end-to-end process of creating and publishing private offers in the Marketplace. When a Sales Representative initiates a request by email, including the quote number, Raft enables users to retrieve the corresponding quote details and legal documents in PDF format.

Once all validations are complete, Sales Support Ops either creates the private offer in draft mode or publish directly to the Marketplace portal with a one-click action. If a draft is created, it must be published through Raft when ready.

Sales Order Creation (Post Customer Private Offer Acceptance)

Once a private offer is accepted by the customer and the Marketplace agreement is created, a cancellation grace period applies—48 hours for AWS and 72 hours for Azure. This grace period allows the customer to cancel the offer if needed.

After the grace period expires, Sales Operations initiates the sales order creation using a one-click action in the Raft application. This action automatically generates a sales order in Salesforce, where it enters a pending state.

Following this, Sales Support Operations notifies Order Operations of the newly created sales order number. Order Operations is then responsible for validating the sales order and submitting it for fulfillment and invoicing. A Netsuite Sales Order is created.

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MSP- Phase 2 (FL quoting automation)

The objective of this initiative is to standardize the MSP quoting process in Frontline, replacing the existing manual quoting process with an automated, streamlined system. 

Key Features:

  • Standard Quoting Process – Eliminate manual effort by setting up a standardized quoting process in Frontline for both Minimum-Commitment & PAYG MSP quotes. The enhanced quoting experience enables a seamless and efficient process by incorporating key elements such as commitment schedules, rate cards, promotion/credit schedules, and discounting, ensuring accurate and flexible pricing.
  • Enhance Approval Process – The standard “Role-Based Approval System” ensures that deals follow a structured approval workflow based on predefined rules. This feature automates the approval process by assigning approval steps based on deal parameters such as discount thresholds, contract value, and other parameters.
  • Seamless Integration of Quoting with Sales, Subscriptions, and Billing System – Integrate the quoting system with Opportunity, active subscription, invoicing, and payment collection. Enable accurate forecasting, revenue recognition, and reporting as all the Commitment schedule, rate-cards, actual consumption, subscription-updates, credit schedule are captured in SFDC.
  • Flexible Payment Option — The “Advance Payment Option” in MSP quoting allows customers to choose their preferred billing frequency, providing flexibility while ensuring predictable revenue recognition. This feature streamlines the quoting and invoicing process by offering the Monthly, Quarterly & Annual payment options.

Business Goal & Success KPI:

  • Quoting: 100% of quoting will be moved to frontline and Reduce quote turnaround time and increase sales team productivity.
  • Our KPI is to onboard 100 MSP customers by the end of 12 months following the general availability (GA) date 5th Feb 2025. This target aligns with our goal of expanding our customer base while delivering value through the streamlined quote-to-cash workflow and enhanced service offerings.
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Renewal Discounting Visualization

The objective of Renewal Discounts Visualization is to offer a clear and intuitive view of how various discounting and pricing strategies influence customer renewal pricing. 

Key Features:

  • Provide a transparent view of discount/uplift factors(Term Compression%, Appreciation, Incumbency & One-time Adjustment), enhancing visibility and empowering representatives with better negotiation capabilities to drive optimal renewal outcomes.
  • It enables RQE/CS teams to seamlessly adjust key factors with inline edit on quote-line and Bulk edit, ensuring an optimized renewal price while maintaining a smooth and efficient user experience in Frontline.
  • With dynamic formulas built into the Renewal Engine, this eliminates the need for manually creating the 120×120 matrix, streamlining the process for the pricing team whenever a new TVAP version is introduced. This automation enhances efficiency, accuracy, and scalability in pricing adjustments.

Business Goals:

  • Decrease in manual intervention when computing discounting for the RQR, Field, CSR, Deal Desk, and Finance
  • Increase in quote time turnaround.
  • Increase in deal economic exposure driving better negotiation and lower discounts.
  • Pricing model changes due to exposure of discounting impacts.
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Exception Based Pricing

The objective of Exception Based Price Quoting is to offer a feature in Frontline to Auto Approve the Non DR partner’s quote with eligible discount.

In Exception Based Price Quoting, Frontline will ensure DR policies inside Exception Based Pricing scenarios are upheld automatically resolving potential legal issues, eradicating errors, and decreasing the number of quotes requiring lengthy research, review, and approval cycles. Additionally, ensure the ExceptionDiscounting only with a DR policy is automatically upheld in a quote.

Key Features:

  • Exception Based Price on a quote would trigger only when a non DR quote has been applied a discount greater than desired discount to be given.
  • Once the system finds the discount is higher than desired discount , Frontline’s exception pricing discount rules triggers to correct discount and Auto Approve the quote.
  • When a Non DR quote is compared against a DR quote in opportunity, multiple factors considers like product, Quantity , Term , a valid DR , license and supportagainst the DR quote,
  • A Non DR quote will also be “Auto Rejected” when it does not meet the rules of exception based pricing against a DR quote,
  • In addition Frontline has automated the PIF discount to be updated  in a Non DR quote. 

Key Benefits:

  • Improved Turnaround Time: With instant quote dispositions, the automation allows for faster quote processing and delivery to customers.
  • Enhanced Accuracy: The system ensures that all discounts adhere to the allowable discount levels, eliminating confusion and preventing approval errors.
  • Streamlined Process: By automating the approval process for non-DR quotes, we can reduce manual intervention and expedite the overall workflow.

We are confident that this new feature will provide a more efficient and seamless experience for our users. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to enhance our systems.

         

Automating the quote approval process for non-DR quotes will enhance the user experience by providing instant quote dispositions, allowing for faster turnaround and delivery to customers. This automation ensures accuracy in allowable discount levels, eliminating confusion and preventing approval errors that could violate a DR holder’s discount advantage.

All exception-based pricing requires a deal registration, In Phase 2 of quote automation, launching on February 05, 2025, the focus will be on automating non-DR quotes under opportunities with an approved deal registration.

Exception priced quotes under opportunities without an approved deal registration will continue to be routed to quote approvers, with guidance to reject the quote unless it qualifies for an allowable exception. Auto-rejection of these quotes will be automated in the next phase of quote automation.

Discounting Methodology for Non-DR Quotes

Non-DR exception discount approval is variable, based on the software discounts of the approved DR Quote

  • All distributors have access to standard non-DR discounts, which are determined by the zone and term bucket of the software.
  • When a DR quote is approved for exception pricing, non-DR quotes with the same configuration are also permitted to enter into exception pricing, following the discount advantage guidelines.
  • The permissible discount level for non-DR quotes is determined by the discount advantage guidelines outlined for deal registration.
  • To view the permissible software and PIF discount levels for non-DR quotes, please refer to the Distributor Transfer Pricing for PnP 2.0 SPOT page. Discounts are listed by term bucket and price zone.
  • The Non-DR exception pricing automation is based on NCP (2.0) software SKUs, NX HW Support and the platform integration fee (PIF) on NX & DX quotes
  • Legacy products and services SKUs follow standard quote approval routing

Discount Guidelines for Non-DR Quotes

Automated Quote Comparison – Product, SKU, Qty and Term

  • During the quote process, the deal registration must be valid and approved
  • The BOM is compared first on configuration (SKUs), followed by quantity and then term bucket
  • When there are multiple DR quotes with similar configurations, the automation will use the quote with the highest overall discount to compare the Non-DR thresholds against (see here for example)
  • When a DR quote has multiple quote lines for the same SKU with different discounts, automation will use the lowest discount to calculate the Non-DR discount threshold (see here for example)
  • Every quote line is individually compared against the following scenarios

Auto Approved Quotes

  • Same BOM: Number of unique software products on both quotes are the same
  • Same SKUs: The Unique software product License tier and support type on the quotes are the same
  • Same Quantity
  • Two Term Buckets at a line level: 1 to 35 months (1) and 36 or greater (2)
    • Non-DR quotes with Term Bucket 2 can be approved against Term Bucket 1 but not vice versa
  • Discounts on the Non-DR quote must adhere to or be below the discount advantage guideline
    • When the SKU, quantity, and term on the non-DR quote match the DR quote, but the discount on the non-DR quote exceeds the discount advantage guideline, the system will automatically adjust the discount to the acceptable level and proceed to auto-approve the non-DR quote

Quotes Routed for Approval

  • Non-DR quotes that meet the auto-approval criteria but are missing a required services SKUs will be routed for approval review instead of auto approving
    • Any discount adjustment required for auto-approval will be made before the quote is routed for approval review
  • Non-DR quotes that meet the auto-approval criteria but have a Sales Program on the Opportunity will be routed for approval review instead of auto approving
    • Any discount adjustment required for auto-approval will be made before the quote is routed for approval review
  • Quotes identified on the exclusion list will be routed for approval (see Exclusions and Exceptions section below)
  • Quotes with an exception selected will be routed for approval (see Exclusions and Exceptions section below)

Auto Rejected Quotes

Exception-based pricing quotes will be automatically rejected if they do not meet the qualifications outlined in the guardrails or the following scenarios.

  • Auto-rejection will be a quote status (e.g., Approved, Expired, Void, etc.)
  • Auto-rejection will be included in the quote history tracking in Frontline
  • Auto-rejection is recorded as a “System Rejection” rather than an “ApproverRejection”
  • Users cannot manually tag a quote with’Auto-Rejection’ status
  • During cloning, if the original quote is in ‘Auto-Rejection’ status, the new cloned quote will be in Draft status.
  • When a quote is auto-rejected, a pop-up message will appear in Frontline to the quote submitter —regardless of channel, internal, quote creator/editor, etc. Additionally, an email notification will be sent.

Platform Integration Fee (PIF) – Quote Discounting

Standard Discount Quotes: PIF Discount = 0%

Exception Discount Quotes: PIF Discount = Variable (Based on the software discount)

To view the permissible software and PIF discount levels for non-DR quotes, please refer to the Distributor Transfer Pricing for PnP 2.0 SPOT page. Discounts are listed by term bucket and price zone.

Exclusions and Exceptions

The following types of quotes are automatically recognized in our system and do not require discount advantage discounting rules for exception pricing.

These exception priced quotes will continue to go through the approval process for review.

Quote TypesAccount TypesPublic Sector
Renewals QuotesInternal Orders QuotesQuotes for Public Sector, Public Tender (end user account that has“Public Sector” in the account segmentation field & the Opportunity RFX box is checked)
Upgrade QuotesDirect Customer Quotes
OEM Quotes 

Exceptions

Exception requests can be made for the following quote scenarios

In Frontline draft quotes, users can choose from the following exception reasons using a dropdown field to route the quote for approval review

Related Resources

Distributor Transfer Pricing for PnP 2.0Internal resource

Platform Integration Fee Internal resource

Performance+ Deal Registration Program Internal resource

Slack Channel: #non-dr-quote-automation Internal resource

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NKP Discovery Guidance (NEW 4/28/25)

Introduction – Please Read First

These questions are here to assist with ensuring that you’re gathering necessary information from a customer/prospect in order to put together an appropriate solution to meet their requirements in addition to capturing specific metrics from tools like Collector or RVTools. 

This list is not exhaustive, but should be used as a guide to make sure you’ve done proper and thorough discovery.  Also, it is imperative that you don’t just ask a question without understanding the reason why it is being asked.  We’ve structured these questions with not only the question that should be asked, but why we are asking the customer to provide an answer to that question and why it matters to provide an optimal solution. 

Questions marked with an asterisk (*) will likely require reaching out to a specialist/Solution Architect resource at Nutanix to go deeper with the customer on that topic/question.  Make sure you use the answers to these questions in the Scenario Objectives in Sizer when you create a new Scenario.  These questions should help guide you as to what the customer requirements, constraints, assumptions, and risks are for your opportunity. 

This is a live document, and questions will be expand and update over time.

PUBLICATION HISTORY

4/28/25 – Initial Publication – Bruce Jacobs

OPPORTUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Question 1. Is this a budgeted initiative?

Question 2. What is the budget?

Question 3. What is the purchase timeframe?

Question 4. Who is the decision maker?

Question 5. Are they a Nutanix customer? – SFDC Link

Question 6. What is the sf opp# 

Question 7. Does the customer have containers deployed today, if so what platform(s) select all that apply.

Question 8. What is the reason for changing their existing platform?

Question 9. What is the scale or core count of the opportunity?

STRATEGIC DISCOVERY

Question 1. What is your organization’s cloud native transformation goals? How are you planning to reach them?

Why Ask? This question will give you context into why they are doing what they do, as well as what they are planning.

Why Nutanix? NKP accelerates cloud-native transformation by providing a consistent Kubernetes experience, whether on-premises or in the cloud, allowing seamless application deployment and management.

Question 2. How does your organization view digital transformation and modernization? What roles does Kubernetes play in this strategy?

Why Ask? This question can lead you to how mature the customer is in their strategy? And where you can provide influence.

Why Nutanix? NKP enables modernization through a unified Kubernetes platform that accelerates application development and deployment, reducing time to market and supporting digital initiatives.

Question 3. What does application mobility and portability look like today for your current applications?  How do you handle this portability with persistent data?

Why Ask? This question can lead to uncovering if there is a need for app portability?

Why Nutanix? With NKP, applications can be ported across different environments without reconfiguration, enhancing flexibility and enabling you to choose the optimal deployment location.

LICENSING AND COST CONSIDERATIONS

Question 1. What budget do you have allocated for your Kubernetes or infrastructure needs?

Why Ask? This helps to establish a budget run rate for scaling conversations.

Why Nutanix? NKP offers flexible, predictable licensing models based on core usage, allowing you to scale Kubernetes deployments without incurring hidden costs.

Question 2. Do you prefer to work with fewer vendors, especially if a vendor can provide a comprehensive Kubernetes platform?

Why Ask? This question will help to ascertain if NCP can provide additional value.

Why Nutanix? Nutanix is the best platform for running virtualized and containerized workloads. NKP is an all-in-one solution, reducing the need for multiple vendors and simplifying the Kubernetes stack with a single, integrated platform that offers full lifecycle management.

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Question 1. How comfortable is your team with managing Kubernetes operations and infrastructure on their own?

Why Ask? This question can help you to understand their skillset and where NCP provides value and benefit.

Why Nutanix? NKP simplifies Kubernetes with AI driven operations, user-friendly tools, built-in automation, and robust support, making it accessible even to teams with limited Kubernetes experience.

Question 2. How are you handling data backup and disaster recovery for your applications today?

Why Ask? This question will help you to understand the backup ecosystem and integrations that might be necessary. It can also help to set up NKPs features and benefits.

Why Nutanix? NKP provides integrated backup and disaster recovery capabilities, ensuring data protection and business continuity without requiring additional third-party solutions.

UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMER ENVIRONMENT

Question 1. What infrastructure are you currently using to run your containerized applications (e.g., on-premises, cloud, hybrid)?

Why Ask? This question will help you to understand the incumbent if there is one.

Why Nutanix? NKP supports a range of deployment options (on-prem, hybrid, and multi-cloud) with seamless scalability, enabling you to run workloads where they make the most sense for your organization.

Question 2. What types of workloads are you running or planning to run (e.g., development, testing, production)?

Why Ask? This will help you to understand what the use case is.

Why Nutanix? NKP offers robust support for diverse workloads, ensuring consistent performance and security across development, test, and production environments, all managed within a single platform.

Question 3. How are your teams deploying containerized applications?

Why Ask? This question will help you to understand the incumbent, if there is one, as well as lead you to possible pain points that the customer might have.

Why Nutanix? NKP offers built in GitOps for consistent application delivery across on premise and cloud.

Question 4. Are you utilizing a multi-cloud strategy? If yes, which cloud providers are you currently working with?

Why Ask? This question will help you to understand what integrations and challenges a customer might be faced with.

Why Nutanix? NKP supports multi-cloud and hybrid environments, making it easy to deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters across on-premises and public clouds with consistent tools and workflows.

ASSESSING PAIN POINTS

Question 1. What challenges are you facing with managing your current infrastructure or Kubernetes environment?

Why ask? This question helps to uncover possible pain points the customer might have.

Why Nutanix? NKP’s centralized management console reduces complexity by consolidating infrastructure and Kubernetes management, giving IT teams better control and visibility across environments.

Question 2. Can you tell me how you manage resource utilization, scaling and cost governance today in your current environment?

Why Ask? Managing and scaling resources can be a major paint point to customers, especially those who “build, not buy”.

Why Nutaix? NKP optimizes resource usage and offers flexible scaling, allowing you to control costs by deploying only the resources you need. Its simplified licensing also ensures predictable costs based on core usage. NKP Includes built in FinOps for analyzing and controlling costs wherever your workloads run.

Question 3. How are you managing the complexity of your Kubernetes clusters and infrastructure today?

Why Ask? Kubernetes environments can get extremely complex as the customer’s developers deploy an increasing number of applications.

Why Nutanix? NKP automates many operational tasks and provides built-in monitoring, making it easier for teams to manage clusters without specialized Kubernetes expertise.

Question 4. How do you handle security, data protection, and compliance requirements for your applications and data?

Why Ask? Without an integrated solution, security, data protection, and compliance can be standalone operations and systems. Which further increases complexity.

Why Nutanix? NKP includes end-to-end security features, including role-based access control (RBAC), encryption, FIPS 140-2 and compliance tools, ensuring a secure environment for your Kubernetes workloads.

Question 5. Can you tell me how you currently integrate Kubernetes with other tools and services in your environment today?

Why Ask? Integrating with other tools and services can be especially complex and time consuming.

Why Nutanix? NKP is upstream and open Kubernetes, designed for compatibility and integrates with popular DevOps and monitoring tools, providing flexibility to incorporate it smoothly within your existing tech stack.

SCALABILITY AND GROWTH

Question 1. Do you anticipate an increase in Kubernetes workloads over the next 12-24 months? If so, what kind of growth are you expecting?

Why ask? Growth and scaling can be a pain point for customers unless they plan long before.

Why Nutanix? NKP allows you to add and manage clusters seamlessly, supporting growth without the need to reconfigure your environment or migrate data, thus enabling easy scaling.

Question 2. Are experiencing challenges with scaling your infrastructure or application management?

Why Ask? Scaling can lead to downtime during reconfiguration and redesign.

Why Nutanix? NKP’s scalable architecture lets you expand resources with no downtime and configuration, supporting high availability and resilience even as workloads grow.

Question 3. How do you currently manage scaling across different environments today? (e.g., cloud and on-premises)?

Why Ask? Scaling across environments and clouds can be complex and time consuming.

Why Nutanix? NKP offers on-demand scalability across environments, with centralized management that simplifies workload portability between clouds and on-premises infrastructure.

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April 2025 Releases

Sizer Sprint Release Announcement (22 Apr 2025) 

Hello Sizer Users,
We’re thrilled to bring you the latest updates from our April 2025 sprint! This release focuses on enhancing your flexibility, optimizing storage efficiency, and expanding our support for modern infrastructure and AI workloads. Here’s a breakdown of the key improvements:

 Key Features & Enhancements:

1. Enhanced Disaster Recovery with Zero Compute MST:

  • Now, you can leverage the cost-effective Zero Compute deployment mode for remote snapshots via MST. This allows you to replicate snapshots directly from your on-premises clusters to object storage.
  • Nutanix Objects Support Extended: Configure remote snapshots via MST for Nutanix Objects in both Pilot Light and Zero Compute deployment modes. (Note: Nutanix Objects cluster sizing is currently manual).
  • Benefit: Achieve a more efficient and cost-effective disaster recovery strategy for your critical data.

2. More Accurate Power Planning for HPE DX Solutions:

  • We’ve updated the power requirements and PSU recommendations for HPE DX solutions to provide greater accuracy in your BOM.
  • Power calculations now assume fully populated memory and drive configurations for a given platform.
  • Important Note: Power requirements may vary if your configuration differs from fully populated memory and drives. Chassis, CPU, and GPU power requirements are based on actual HPE wattages. Other component estimations are detailed below:
    • Memory: 5W per DIMM
    • Drives: HDD (10W), SATA SSD (5W), SAS SSD (18W), NVMe (20W) per drive
    • NIC: 10W per card
  • Benefit: Plan your HPE DX deployments with more confidence and accuracy, ensuring you have the right power infrastructure.

3. Optimize Storage with Wide Stripping Support:

  • Sizer now supports wider striping options (6D, 2P & 8D, 2P) for Files and Objects use cases.
  • Sizer intelligently considers these new options to automatically determine the most storage-efficient strip size for your workloads.
  • Coming Soon: In a future release, Sizer will display the automatically selected strip size, providing even greater transparency.
  • Benefit: Maximize your storage utilization and efficiency for Files and Objects deployments.

4. Accelerate AI Initiatives with GPT-in-a-Box 2.0 Reference Scenario:

  • A new “GPT-in-a-Box 2.0” reference scenario is now available in the AI section.
  • This comprehensive scenario provides solution sizing for:
    • NKP Management Cluster
    • Control Plane & Worker Node Pool
    • NKP NAI – Managed Workload Cluster (GPU Node Pool, Control Plane & Worker Node Pool)
    • 10 TB of Files for GPT offering & Objects Worker Nodes
    • Scale-out Prism Central
  • Benefit: Streamline the sizing process for your GPT-in-a-Box 2.0 deployments, accelerating your AI initiatives.

5. Introducing Early Access to Licensing by Cluster:

  • We understand that multi-cluster environments have varying licensing needs.
  • We’re excited to offer early access to our new “Licensing by Cluster” feature!
  • Important: This is an opt-in feature and is not yet available to all users. Some minor updates are still in progress.
  • Call to Action: If you’re interested in exploring this new capability, simply comment “License by Cluster” below, and we’ll grant you access.
  • Benefit: Gain more granular control over licensing in your multi-cluster deployments.

 Improvements:

  • NUS Licensing Option: The licensing dropdown now includes the option to select the NUS license.
  • Data Lens Premium: The ‘Data Lens Premium’ add-on option is now available when the NUS license is chosen.
  • Flexible Prism Central Sizing: You can now specify the exact number of PC instances required when manually configuring the PC management cluster. @rob.buchanan
  • Simplified Manual Node & Component Editing: Easily adjust the quantity of nodes and components in manual mode using intuitive “+” and “-” buttons, similar to the automatic mode.
  • Nvidia H100 NVL GPU Support: The Nvidia H100 NVL GPU is now supported on the NX-3155-G9 model.
  • VMware Horizon Renamed: “VMware Horizon” has been updated to its new name, “Omnissa Horizon.”

 New Models Launched This Month:

  • NC2 on AWS: i7i.metal-24xl, i7i.metal-48xl, i7ie.metal-24xl, & i7ie.metal-48xl
  • Dell XC7625-24N

 Your Feedback Matters!
We are committed to making Sizer the best tool for your infrastructure planning needs. Your feedback is crucial to our continuous improvement. Please don’t hesitate to share your suggestions, questions, or any issues you encounter. You can reach out to the Sizer team via Sizer Help or alternatively, you can reach us via the Nutanix Community Page – Sizer Configuration Estimator

Thank you for your ongoing support and for being a valued member of the Sizer community!

Best regards,
The Sizer Team

Posted on

March 2025 Releases

Key Features & Enhancements

1. Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) – Beta Launch

  • Sizing for NKP (Cluster-based Sizing)
  • Flexibility in design Management and Managed cluster
  • Control Plane nodes and Worker Nodes resource defaults as per NKP license tier
  • End-to-end flow from building an NKP cluster to generating a BOM/quote with an NKP license.

2. Validator support for vSAN-ready nodes

  • Validator enhanced to support vSAN-ready nodes across – Dell PowerEdge & HPE DL Servers
  • Upload the BOM and get a quick report of Qualified Components, Unqualified Components, and components that need further review – avoiding painful manual validation.
  • Recommendations are suggested in case the SKU in the BOM is ambiguous.

3. CVM Storage Overhead Updates

  • Sizer is updated with the latest CVM Storage Overheads aligned with AOS test results.
  • The updated CVM Storage Overhead numbers reduce the overhead by 40% to 50%, resulting in higher usable storage per node.
  • Note: The changes apply to new sizings. Existing sizings will have to be resized to reflect CVM Storage Overhead savings.

4. Cluster Fault Tolerance (CFT) – 1N & 1D Support

  • Cluster Fault Tolerance of 1N & 1D introduced under RF3
  • In this configuration, two copies of data are placed on the same node but on different drives, and the third copy of data is placed on a different node.
  • The CFT 1N & 1D feature is designed to provide better fault tolerance for customers who need protection from multiple drive failures, such as edge deployments, without the significant cost increase associated with FT2.
  • With the CFT of 1N & 1D, we have introduced a new way to simulate failure dials in Sizer, allowing users to view resource utilizations in case of 1N failure and 1N & 1D failure in one pane.

5.Files Updates

  • NFS over RDMA support in Sizer for latency-sensitive and high-throughput requirements.
    • iSER is a prerequisite to configure “NFS over RDMA.”
    • As part of this change, we have introduced two new FSVM profiles
      • X-Large
      • XX-Large

6.Objects Updates

  • Sizer now ensures the minimum number of drives are suggested across Hybrid & All-Flash to meet the throughput requirements.
  • Option to configure inline EC vs post-process EC when defining Objects workload
  • Sizer factors (50% additional writes) in the throughput requirements when configuring the RF3 solution

         

  • Solution Updates
  • Database Optimized Solution (CO + SO) expanded to Dell 16G models
    • XC760-24N
    • XC660-12N

      

  • Intersight Managed Mode (IMM) support for Cisco M7 Rack Servers 
  • Option to configure solution without software SKUs – when sizing for a hardware refresh or when customers want to leverage unused licenses – 
  • Proposal updated with FY25 Q2 results

NC2 Updates

  • We continue to enhance upgrade & expansion sale scenarios for more hardware vendors
  • NC2 on AWS
  • NC2 on Azure
  • Lenovo

      

  • Flexibility to configure EBS volume quantity on NC2 models

NX Updates

  • CO nodes Zero-Drive configuration extended to NX-1175S, NX-8150, NX-8155 & NX-8170 – 
  • Option to opt for NRDK & NR-Node for NX hardware under hardware support

Usability Improvements

  • Ability to specify CVM resources in terms of vCPU or pCores
  • Ability to hide AMD/Intel alternate recommendation by selecting specific processor type – 
  • Ability to sort workloads by any column (live a couple of months ago)
  • New Nutanix branding colors on the Sizer login page & browser tabs

New Models launched recently

  • HX665 & 645
  • NC2 on Azure: AN64