Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026
Ledger
Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026
Portworx: Virtualization Storage Ledger 2026 Scorecard
KubeVirt VM storage with live migration and zero-RPO sync DR since 3.4.0; the free tier is gone and most release lines get six months of support.
Edition October 16, 20268 min read
Where Portworx put its effort, 2016 to 2026
Each square is one capability area in one year. The brighter it is, the more the area gained in the Virtualization Storage Ledger that year; 1, 2 and 3 mark that year's biggest pushes.
| ’16 | ’17 | ’18 | ’19 | ’20 | ’21 | ’22 | ’23 | ’24 | ’25 | ’26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data services core | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| Resilience and HA | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||
| Performance and protocols | 2 | ||||||||||
| Hypervisor integration | 1 | ||||||||||
| Scale and topology | 3 | ||||||||||
| Data protection and DR | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
| Security | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Operations and automation | 3 | ||||||||||
| Hardware and deployment freedom | |||||||||||
| Kubernetes and containers | 1 | 3 |
no change+0.5+1+1.5 or moreScores out of 5 per area.
Biggest pushes overall: Hypervisor integration (+3.5), Data protection and DR (+3.5), Kubernetes and containers (+3.5). Already strong in 2015: Hardware and deployment freedom, Scale and topology, Operations and automation.
Top focus each year: 2016 Resilience and HA; 2018 Kubernetes and containers; 2019 Security; 2023 Data services core; 2024 Security; 2025 Hypervisor integration; 2026 Security. 4 of 11 years show no gain in any area.
Part of the Virtualization Storage Ledger (edition 2026-10-16). How the scores work: methodology.
Snapshot
- Type: product
- Owner: Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE: PSTG), which announced the Portworx acquisition on 2020-09-16; Pure rebranded as Everpure on 2026-02-23 per a distributor notice
- Licence: commercial, closed source, subscription; metric not published; Portworx Essentials (free, 5 nodes) discontinued 2025-02-10; 30-day trial
- Latest release: 3.7.1 (2026-09-30); feature release 3.7.0 (2026-09-08)
- Support lifecycle: 90 days active plus 90 days maintenance per feature release; one Extended Maintenance Release a year with 18 months (3.6.n EOL 2027-10-06); 3.5.n ended 2026-08-19
- Next milestone: Portworx with Pure Fusion 'approaching general availability' (Pure Accelerate 2026); Edge SKU announced without a price; no dated roadmap
- Hypervisors: KubeVirt only: OpenShift Virtualization 4.15 and later (RWX block docs) and SUSE Virtualization (3.5.0 release notes); no VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox VE, XCP-ng or AHV
- Tier: Kubernetes-native storage
- Archetype: Dependable builder
- Evidence grade: B. The 3.x release notes, the support policy table and the KubeVirt documentation were read from the vendor docs and forum. The 2015 to 2022 history comes from press reports, the acquisition from a news site, and the licence metric and prices were not found (the licensing docs page returned 404).
Scope of the scores: Portworx is Kubernetes-native storage. It is in this Ledger because it serves KubeVirt VMs through OpenShift Virtualization and SUSE Virtualization with shared RWX block volumes, live migration and synchronous DR, all GA since 3.4.0 (2025-09-08) and 3.5.0. It does not serve a classic hypervisor, so the hypervisor integration line is capped by breadth.
Scorecard
| Dimension | Score | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Capability today | 71.3 / 100 | higher is better |
| Momentum since end of 2022 | +27.2 points (2015 to 2022: +24.0) | higher is better |
| Credibility | 16.0 / 25 | higher is better |
| Commercial risk | 13.5 / 25 | lower is better |
| Technical lock-in | 12.0 / 25 | lower is better |
| Integrator fit | 11.5 / 20 | higher is better |
| AI leverage | 5.0 / 20 | higher is better |
| Ledger Index | 60.8 / 100 | balanced weights; see the methodology |
Capability by domain, 2015 to today
Scores 0 to 5 against fixed anchors; total is weighted to 100.
| Domain (weight) | 2015 | 2019 | 2022 | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data services core (15) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Resilience and HA (15) | 1 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Performance and protocols (12) | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Hypervisor integration (12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 |
| Scale and topology (10) | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Data protection and DR (10) | 0.5 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Security (8) | 0.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Operations and automation (8) | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Hardware and deployment freedom (5) | 3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Kubernetes and containers (5) | 1.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Total / 100 | 20.1 | 44.1 | 44.1 | 71.3 |
Year by year: 2015: 20.1 · 2016: 31.3 · 2017: 31.3 · 2018: 38.4 · 2019: 44.1 · 2020: 44.1 · 2021: 44.1 · 2022: 44.1 · 2023: 53.3 · 2024: 54.1 · 2025: 70.5 · 2026: 71.3
What moved the score
| Year | Domain | Change | Points | Trigger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Data services core | 1 → 2 | +3.0 | PX-Enterprise (June 2016): replicated volumes with snapshots for stateful containers (press report) |
| 2016 | Hardware and deployment freedom | 3 → 3.5 | +0.5 | PX-Enterprise: bare metal, VM and cloud hosts; Arm not verified |
| 2016 | Performance and protocols | 1 → 1.5 | +1.2 | PX-Enterprise: replicated block with IO profiles |
| 2016 | Resilience and HA | 1 → 2.5 | +4.5 | PX-Enterprise: synchronous replicas across nodes with failover |
| 2016 | Scale and topology | 1.5 → 2.5 | +2.0 | PX-Enterprise: multi-node clusters, HCI on the Kubernetes hosts |
| 2018 | Data protection and DR | 0.5 → 2 | +3.0 | 2.0: PX-Motion migration between clusters |
| 2018 | Kubernetes and containers | 1.5 → 4 | +2.5 | 2.0: PX-Motion and PX-Central, Kubernetes-native management |
| 2018 | Operations and automation | 1.5 → 2.5 | +1.6 | 2.0: PX-Central management |
| 2019 | Data protection and DR | 2 → 3 | +2.0 | 2.1: PX-DR asynchronous and synchronous disaster recovery |
| 2019 | Kubernetes and containers | 4 → 4.5 | +0.5 | 2.1: PX-DR and PX-Security as Kubernetes objects |
| 2019 | Security | 0.5 → 2.5 | +3.2 | 2.1: PX-Security RBAC (press report); volume encryption with KMS and Vault followed (date not read) |
| 2023 | Data services core | 2 → 3 | +3.0 | 3.0.0: PX-StoreV2 backend; application IO control QoS and clones already present; no deduplication, inline compression or erasure coding |
| 2023 | Kubernetes and containers | 4.5 → 5 | +0.5 | 3.0.0: operator, CSI, topology awareness and migration; the Kubernetes-native reference in this group |
| 2023 | Operations and automation | 2.5 → 3 | +0.8 | 3.0.0: operator upgrades with licence extensions for blue-green cluster upgrades |
| 2023 | Performance and protocols | 1.5 → 2.5 | +2.4 | 3.0.0: PX-StoreV2 backend built for NVMe drives |
| 2023 | Resilience and HA | 2.5 → 3 | +1.5 | 3.0.0: FlashArray topology awareness next to failure domains and kvdb quorum |
| 2023 | Scale and topology | 2.5 → 3 | +1.0 | 3.0.0: FlashArray-backed disaggregated pools next to HCI |
| 2024 | Security | 2.5 → 3 | +0.8 | 3.2.0: realms for tenant separation on FlashArray |
| 2025 | Data protection and DR | 3 → 4 | +2.0 | 3.4.0: zero-RPO synchronous DR for KubeVirt VMs on OpenShift 4.18.5 and later; Portworx Backup is VM aware; immutability not verified |
| 2025 | Hypervisor integration | 0 → 3.5 | +8.4 | 3.4.0 and 3.5.0: RWX block live migration and synchronous DR for OpenShift Virtualization, RWX block live migration with SUSE Harvester; KubeVirt platforms only |
| 2025 | Operations and automation | 3 → 3.5 | +0.8 | 3.5.0: in-place PX-StoreV1 to V2 conversion, storage node autoscaling; Pure1 AI Copilot for Portworx |
| 2025 | Performance and protocols | 2.5 → 3 | +1.2 | 3.4.0: shared RWX raw block GA; 3.5.0: PX-StoreV2 default; no NVMe/TCP, iSCSI, FC or SMB export to outside hosts |
| 2025 | Resilience and HA | 3 → 4 | +3.0 | 3.4.0 and 3.5.0: zero-RPO synchronous DR for KubeVirt VMs, kvdb rebalancing, two-node edge with witness |
| 2025 | Scale and topology | 3 → 3.5 | +1.0 | 3.5.0: 1024 attachments per node, storage node autoscaling, two-node edge |
| 2026 | Security | 3 → 3.5 | +0.8 | 3.6.0: UEFI Secure Boot, Vault for array credentials, several secrets providers; RWX block volumes stay unencrypted |
Direction, 2023 to 2026
Each release item carries one theme and one driver (V vision, C customer need, M market window, U upstream, P portfolio).
| Date | Item | Theme | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-08 | 3.0.0: PX-StoreV2 backend (AWS first), faster async DR and PX-Migrate, FlashArray topology awareness | Performance | V |
| 2024-01 | 3.1: auto_journal IO profile, dynamic labels for volume placement strategies | Performance | C |
| 2024-10 | 3.2.0: realms for multi-tenancy on FlashArray, Storage vMotion support for vSphere cloud drives, defrag schedules | Security | P |
| 2025-01 | Portworx Essentials free tier discontinued, effective 2025-02-10; 30-day trial replaces it | Licensing | P |
| 2025-04 | Shared raw block RWX and Metro DR for KubeVirt announced for 3.3 | Hypervisor integration | M |
| 2025-05 | Portworx for KubeVirt offering announced with Red Hat; no GA date or price | Packaging | M |
| 2025-06 | 3.3.0: ActiveCluster sync replication on FlashArray Direct Access volumes, cgroup v2 IO control, early access RWX block for KubeVirt | Resilience | P |
| 2025-09 | 3.4.0: shared RWX block GA with live migration, synchronous DR for KubeVirt GA, pool drain GA, SUSE Virtualization early access | Hypervisor integration | M |
| 2025-11 | 3.5.0: PX-StoreV2 default, 1024 attachments per node, RWX block live migration with SUSE Harvester, storage node autoscaling, two-node edge with witness, PX-KV SKU | Scale | C |
| 2025-12 | Pure1 AI Copilot for Portworx reported GA in the Pure Q3 FY26 earnings release (month taken from the earnings cycle) | AI | V |
| 2026-04 | 3.6.0: UEFI Secure Boot, Vault for FlashArray and FlashBlade credentials, several secrets providers, dynamic resync bandwidth control | Security | C |
| 2026-06 | 3.6.1 and 3.6.2: Gardener installs, tenant OpenShift clusters on OpenShift Virtualization, FlashArray placement by array name | Kubernetes | C |
| 2026-09 | 3.7.0: KDS-aware StorageClasses for VMs, VM disks move between Kube Datastores, hosted OpenShift on KubeVirt, Auto Cordon, Pool Trim | Hypervisor integration | C |
| 2026-09 | 3.7.1: cross-array snapshots for FlashArray volumes | Data protection | P |
- Centre of gravity: Hypervisor integration (3), Performance (2), Security (2)
- Blind spots (no items): Data services, Operations, Hardware
- Driver mix: Vision 14%, Customer need 36%, Market window 21%, Upstream 0%, Portfolio 29%
- Idea-to-need index: 0.20 (0 = demand-pulled, 1 = thesis-pushed)
Credibility: 16.0 / 25
| Criterion | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Cadence | 4 | A feature release every three to six months (3.5 in 2025-11, 3.6 in 2026-04, 3.7 in 2026-09) with a published support table |
| Roadmap transparency | 2.5 | Public release notes and forum posts; no public dated feature roadmap |
| Say-do | 3.5 | KubeVirt RWX block and sync DR announced 2025-04, early access 2025-06, GA 2025-09; Pure Fusion integration slipped past its H1 FY27 target and MCP connectivity is still planned |
| Velocity | 4 | Several capabilities per feature release |
| Lifecycle stability | 2 | Six months of support per non-EMR line and 18 months for one EMR a year; Essentials removed and capped at 3.2.2.1 |
Commercial risk: 13.5 / 25 (lower is better)
| Criterion | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Price and licence volatility | 3 | Free tier removed 2025-02-10; new PX-KV and Edge SKUs; no public price list |
| Purchase constraints | 3.5 | Subscription only, quote based; 30-day trial is the only free option |
| Channel and access | 2 | Public docs and operator images; support tied to subscription; partner terms not found |
| Owner stability | 1.5 | Owned by a listed company since 2020; rebranded Everpure in 2026 with a strategy shift toward data management |
| Cost of staying supported | 3.5 | Most lines expire after six months; an EMR line must be chosen to get 18 months |
Technical lock-in: 12.0 / 25 (lower is better)
| Criterion | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Formats | 1.5 | Standard PVCs; KubeVirt disks are raw or qcow2 images on PVCs |
| Export path | 2 | CSI snapshots, CloudSnap to object stores and Portworx Backup; no export of VM disks to a non-Kubernetes target documented |
| Stack coupling | 3.5 | Needs a Kubernetes distribution and the Portworx data plane; KubeVirt platforms only |
| Hardware / cloud coupling | 2 | Software-defined on any drives, cloud drives or vSphere; ActiveCluster, cross-array snapshots and realms need Pure FlashArray |
| Skills and tooling coupling | 3 | Kubernetes plus pxctl and Portworx-specific tooling |
Integrator fit: 11.5 / 20
| Criterion | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Partner programme openness | 2.5 | Sold direct, through the Pure channel and with Red Hat; programme terms not found |
| Multi-tenancy and self-service | 3 | Realms on FlashArray, namespaces and RBAC, tenant OpenShift clusters on OpenShift Virtualization |
| API and infrastructure-as-code | 3.5 | Operator, CRDs, pxctl, REST and gRPC API; Terraform provider not verified |
| Skills and certification | 2.5 | Kubernetes certifications apply; Portworx-specific certification not found |
AI leverage: 5.0 / 20
How the product uses AI, scored per year like capability. Only GA counts.
| Criterion | 2019 | 2022 | Today | Latest step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI workload infrastructure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2015: None |
| AI platform stack | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2015: None |
| AI-assisted operations | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2025: Pure1 AI Copilot for Portworx GA per the Pure Q3 FY26 earnings release |
| Agent openness | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2015: REST and gRPC API, pxctl and CRDs; MCP connectivity planned for Pure1 in fiscal Q4 2026, none for Portworx |
Year by year: 2015: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2026: 5
AI say-do, 2023 to 2026: 3 AI items announced; 1 GA, 0 still preview, 2 pending, 0 dropped. Pure1 AI Copilot for Portworx is GA; MCP connectivity and the 2026 AI performance insights are pending.
Portworx's AI story is Pure1's: a GA Copilot that answers questions about Portworx telemetry and an MCP connection that is still a plan. The storage itself has no GPU or AI-workload feature verified, and agents drive it through its CRDs and API like any other Kubernetes resource.
Reading
Portworx is the strongest Kubernetes-native entry in this group on resilience, DR and Kubernetes depth, and since 3.4.0 it covers what a KubeVirt VM needs: shared RWX block for live migration and zero-RPO synchronous DR, both GA. Hypervisor integration is capped at 3.5 because only KubeVirt platforms are served, and the data services line stays at 3 because there is no deduplication, inline compression or erasure coding. The commercial side is where a buyer should look: the free tier is gone, most release lines are supported for six months, and several headline features need a Pure FlashArray behind the cluster. Check which release line is the Extended Maintenance Release before you deploy.
Open questions and items to re-score
- Whether the software-defined RWX block path on local drives has the same GA status as the FlashArray Direct Access path shown in the KubeVirt live migration docs.
- Metro DR distance and latency limits and the replication factor for RWX block volumes.
- The licence metric (the licensing docs page returned 404) and prices.
- Portworx with Pure Fusion: 'approaching GA' at Pure Accelerate 2026 after an H1 FY27 target.
- Date conflicts: 3.5.0 GA 2025-11-19 (support table) or 2025-11-21 (forum); 3.0.0 GA 2023-07-11 or 2023-08-17.
- The Everpure rename date (2026-02-23) comes from a distributor notice and should be confirmed from a Pure press release.
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