AravaliStack vs Microsoft Azure Stack
Azure Stack brings Azure to on-premise hardware — but you're still running Microsoft's software, paying Microsoft's licences, and locked into Microsoft's roadmap. AravaliStack is built entirely on open source. No proprietary OS. No Windows tax. No foreign software dependency.
Architecture choices matter
Azure Stack HCI and AravaliStack make fundamentally different architectural bets.
Azure Stack HCI is fundamentally a hypervisor platform (Hyper-V) with Azure management APIs layered on top. Kubernetes workloads run inside VMs, not natively on the hardware. This adds latency, overhead, and complexity — and means you're always one Windows licensing change or Azure Arc deprecation away from a forced migration.
Azure Arc, the hybrid management layer, requires regular connectivity to Azure endpoints for registration and policy sync. A genuinely air-gapped deployment is difficult to achieve and unsupported in standard configurations.
AravaliStack runs Kubernetes directly on Linux — no hypervisor, no VM overhead, no Windows kernel in the path. Containers run with direct hardware access for optimal performance. GPU workloads, NVMe storage, and high-throughput networking all operate at native speeds.
Every component is open-source and governed by independent foundations (CNCF, Apache, Linux Foundation). No single vendor controls the roadmap. No proprietary licence can be revoked. No foreign government has legal authority over the software you run.
Microsoft Corporation is incorporated in the United States and is subject to the US CLOUD Act. This means that even data stored on Azure Stack HCI hardware physically located in India could be subject to US government access requests directed to Microsoft. For Indian defence, government, and critical infrastructure operators, running Microsoft software on-premise does not eliminate this jurisdictional risk — it is the software that matters, not only the hardware location. AravaliStack runs no US-controlled proprietary software.
- Deep Microsoft ecosystem integration
- Familiar for Windows-centric IT teams
- Azure Arc for hybrid management
- Strong Microsoft enterprise support contracts
- Hyper-V maturity for VM workloads
- 100% open-source — no proprietary software
- No Windows Server licence cost (₹0 per node)
- Native Kubernetes — not a VM wrapper
- Built for Indian regulatory frameworks
- No Azure subscription or connectivity required
The Microsoft CLOUD Act Consideration Microsoft Corporation is incorporated in the United States and is subject to the US CLOUD Act. This means that even data stored on Azure Stack HCI hardware physically located in India could be subject to US government access requests directed to Microsoft. For Indian defence, government, and critical infrastructure operators, running Microsoft software on-premise does not eliminate this jurisdictional risk — it is the software that matters, not only the hardware location. AravaliStack runs no US-controlled proprietary software. Licence Cost Reality What you don't see in the brochure ₹6–12L
Windows Server Datacenter licence per node per year (list price)
Azure Stack HCI strengths
- Deep Microsoft ecosystem integration
- Familiar for Windows-centric IT teams
- Azure Arc for hybrid management
- Strong Microsoft enterprise support contracts
- Hyper-V maturity for VM workloads
Where AravaliStack wins
- 100% open-source — no proprietary software
- No Windows Server licence cost (₹0 per node)
- Native Kubernetes — not a VM wrapper
- Built for Indian regulatory frameworks
- No Azure subscription or connectivity required
| Dimension | Azure Stack HCI | AravaliStack |
|---|---|---|
| Core technology | Hyper-V hypervisor + Windows Server | Native Kubernetes — no hypervisor layer |
| Licence model | Per-core Windows Server licence | Open-source — no per-node software licence |
| Kubernetes support | AKS on Azure Stack (wrapped, opinionated) | Native upstream Kubernetes |
| Linux workloads | Supported but secondary | First-class — Linux-native stack |
| Container runtime | containerd via AKS Arc | containerd — direct, unmodified |
| Identity management | Azure AD / Entra ID dependency | Self-hosted IAM — no Microsoft dependency |
| Internet connectivity | Required for Azure Arc registration | ✓ Fully air-gapped — zero internet required |
| Software updates | Via Azure portal / Windows Update | Via GitOps — pull request reviewed updates |
| ML platform | Azure ML (requires Azure subscription) | Self-hosted — data never leaves premises |
| Object storage | Azure Blob API (proprietary) | S3-compatible API (open standard) |
| RBI compliance | Requires Azure compliance frameworks | Native on-premise — full data control |
| DPDP Act compliance | Azure DPA required | On-prem — you are sole Data Fiduciary |
| Security model | Shared with Microsoft | Zero trust — you control everything |
| Observability | Azure Monitor (calls home to Azure) | Self-hosted — all telemetry on-prem |
| Vendor dependency | High — Microsoft controls roadmap | None — open-source components |
| India data residency | Contractual via Azure India | Physical — your hardware |
| Foreign govt access risk | US CLOUD Act applies to Microsoft | Not applicable — no foreign software |
| Annual platform cost | High — Windows + Azure licences | AravaliStack platform licence only |
Open source infrastructure. Enterprise support.
No Windows tax. No foreign software dependency. Full regulatory compliance for Indian enterprises.