Discover Apache CloudStack – the robust, production-ready, leading open-source virtualisation platform, powering public and private clouds at scale.
Apache CloudStack is a mature, production-grade open-source virtualization management platform that supports highly scalable IaaS environments. It integrates compute, networking, and storage into a single solution and is designed for ease of use, rich API access, and true multi-tenancy.
CloudStack is a turnkey virtualization solution for MSPs, cloud providers, telcos and enterprises. It includes the entire “stack” of features you need: compute orchestration, Network-as-a-Service, user and account management, a full, open and stable native API, resource accounting, and a first-class User Interface.
Open-source enterprise virtualization platforms offer a cost-effective and flexible solution. With zero licensing fees and access to all features, businesses can enhance IT efficiency, scalability, and security.Choosing the right enterprise virtualisation software ensures your organisation can meet modern IT demands, maximise resource utilisation, and future-proof its infrastructure. Below we have done a comparison of the Top 7 Virtualization management solutions.
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| License | Apache License 2.0 (open-source) | Commercial (subscription/licensing) | Commercial (subscription) | GNU AGPL v3 (open-source) | Commercial (Windows Server) | Subscription with RHEL & oVirt components (open source core) | GPL-based (KVM) & Apache-2 / AGPL components—zero cost; optional Ubuntu Pro support |
| Target Audience | Enterprises, service providers, private clouds, telcos | Large enterprises, datacenters | Enterprises, private clouds, telcos | SMBs, home labs, cost-conscious users | Microsoft-centric enterprises | Enterprises needing supported KVM stack | Developers, SMBs, cloud builders |
| Virtualization Type | Full-stack cloud (IaaS) | Bare-metal hypervisor (ESXi) | Hyper-converged infrastructure (IaaS + PaaS) | Hypervisor (KVM) + Containers (LXC) | Type-1 bare-metal hypervisor | Enterprise virtualization (KVM/oVirt engine) | Hypervisor (KVM) + System/VM manager (LXD) |
| Hypervisor Support | KVM, XenServer/XCP-ng, VMware vSphere, others | VMware ESXi | Native AHV + optional ESXi/Hyper-V | KVM, LXC | Native Hyper-V | KVM | KVM, LXD |
| Management Interface | Web GUI, REST API, CLI | vSphere Client (HTML5), vCenter, API/CLI | Prism GUI, API, CLI | Web GUI, CLI, API | Hyper-V Manager, PowerShell, SCVMM | Web-based Administration Portal (oVirt) | CLI & Web UI for LXD, REST API; MAAS/Juju for clusters |
| Cluster Management | Yes (built-in zones / pods / clusters) | Yes (vCenter) | Yes (Prism Cluster Manager) | Yes (Proxmox Cluster) | Yes (Failover Cluster, SCVMM) | Yes (RHV-Manager/oVirt) | Yes (MAAS region/rack controllers) |
| High Availability (HA) | Yes (multi-node Mgmt Server, host HA) | Yes (vSphere HA, DRS, FT) | Yes (native HA, replication) | Yes (Proxmox HA, Ceph) | Yes (Failover Clustering, Live Migration, Replica) | Yes (cluster-level VM HA) | Supported via LXD clusters & Pacemaker/MAAS HA |
| Storage Options | NFS, iSCSI, SAN, Ceph, GlusterFS, SDS | vSAN, NFS, iSCSI, Fibre Channel | ADS, NFS, iSCSI, SMB | ZFS, Ceph, NFS, iSCSI, LVM | CSV, SMB 3, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, Storage Spaces Direct | NFS, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, GlusterFS | ZFS, Ceph, LVM, btrfs, dir; remote Ceph Object |
| Networking Features | Advanced VLANs, SDN, VPN | vSphere Distributed Switch, NSX | Flow micro-segmentation, Open vSwitch | Bridged / Routed, VLANs, SDN | Virtual Switch, SDN (NVGRE/VFP), VLAN | Open vSwitch-based SDN, Network Policy in OpenShift Virt | Open vSwitch, SR-IOV, VLAN, cloud-init |
| Scalability | Highly scalable (cloud-native) | Highly scalable (enterprise-focused) | Linear scale-out (web-scale) | Scales well to mid-sized clusters | Up to 64 nodes / 1K+ VMs | Up to 200 hosts per cluster | VM proven to thousands of VMs; LXD cluster scale-out |
Apache CloudStack supports a wide range of integrations across compute, networking, storage and authentication systems. It is built to work seamlessly with technologies like KVM, VMware, and advanced networking solutions. As an open-source virtualization solution, it allows organisations to deploy production environments without restrictions—there are no paid versions, commercial tiers, or vendor-controlled features.
Apache CloudStack is used to power a wide range of open-source virtualization deployments, from large-scale public cloud infrastructure to private enterprise environments. Common use cases include multi-tenant IaaS platforms, internal development and test environments, edge cloud infrastructure, and VMware-to-open-source migration projects. Its flexibility, native multi-zone architecture, and support for multiple hypervisors make it suitable for both service providers and organisations seeking to modernise their virtualization stack.
The Apache CloudStack community plays a key role in supporting and advancing open-source virtualization. Users can engage through active mailing lists to ask questions, troubleshoot issues, and share implementation insights. In addition, regular events are held throughout the year, offering opportunities to learn from real-world deployments, contribute to discussions, and stay current with the latest trends in open-source virtualization.
Experience first-hand how Apache CloudStack can streamline cloud operations and support the creation of customizable, multi-tenant infrastructure as a service (IaaS) environments.
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