Compare OpenMetal and VEXXHOST’s Cloud Infrastructure Solutions Built on OpenStack
Selecting a cloud infrastructure solution can be a complex decision. There are many factors to consider like cost, performance, hardware specifications, and support.
This comparison guide will break down the OpenStack-related offerings of OpenMetal vs VEXXHOST to help you determine which provider is the best fit for your specific needs and budget. Both OpenMetal and VEXXHOST offer cloud solutions built on the open source OpenStack framework, providing powerful alternatives to hyperscale public clouds or complex DIY private clouds.
OpenMetal specializes in providing on-demand hosted private clouds built on OpenStack and Ceph, deployed on dedicated bare metal hardware. VEXXHOST offers a broader range of OpenStack services, including public cloud instances, hosted private clouds, on-premises private cloud deployments, and consulting services.
In this comparison, we’ll look at key features, pricing, and technical details to help you make an informed decision between the two providers.
OpenMetal and VEXXHOST are both capable and trusted cloud infrastructure service providers, with differing approaches and use cases for their OpenStack-related platforms.
OpenMetal specializes in providing hosted private cloud solutions, built upon the open source platforms OpenStack and Ceph. OpenMetal offers users a fully dedicated and highly customizable cloud environment. This approach aims to deliver the benefits of a private cloud with the operational ease often associated with public clouds.
OpenMetal’s mission is to make highly complex open source systems available on-demand to increase accessibility for everyone.
VEXXHOST is a leading Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider. The company provides Private Cloud, Public Cloud and Hybrid Cloud using OpenStack platform. VEXXHOST also provides Block and object storage with all other components to build a cloud virtual datacenter in customers’ offices or VEXXHOST datacenters.
VEXXHOST believe that in-depth help to analyze their customers’ needs and providing them the proper solutions is the main factor for success of all of their clients.
With this guide, we hope to provide a neutral overview of OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud and VEXXHOST IaaS powered by OpenStack to help technology buyers and executives determine which platform best suits their specific Infrastructure-as-a-Service goals.
OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud
OpenMetal’s Hosted Private Cloud starts with a cluster of three hyperconverged dedicated servers built on OpenStack and Ceph for maximum control and flexibility with no license costs. Their proprietary automation technology allows users to launch a production-ready, dedicated OpenStack private cloud in under 60 seconds.
OpenMetal’s cloud system and Central management platform provides your team with complete control to deploy and manage hardware and fully custom virtual machines, networks, firewalls, storage, and backup services remotely, minimizing your operational cloud costs.
VEXXHOST Cloud Infrastructure
VEXXHOST offers a wider range of OpenStack solutions to choose from.
Public Cloud: A multi-tenant IaaS environment where users can provision virtual machines, storage, and networking resources on a pay-as-you-go basis, similar to traditional public cloud providers but built entirely on OpenStack.
Private Cloud: Can be deployed either as a Hosted Private Cloud (managed by VEXXHOST in their data centers) or as an On-Premises Private Cloud (deployed in the customer’s data center). These offer dedicated resources and greater isolation than the public cloud. VEXXHOST uses its deployment/management platform, Atmosphere, for private clouds.
| OpenMetal | VEXXHOST | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Technology | OpenStack and Ceph (Hyperconverged) | OpenStack (supports various components including Ceph), Kubernetes |
| Core Offering and Deployment Models | Hosted private cloud (on-demand) | Public cloud, Hosted private cloud, On-premises private cloud |
| Data Center Locations | Ashburn, Virginia; Los Angeles, California; Amsterdam, Netherlands; International Business Park, Singapore | Public: Quebec, Canada; Santa Clara, California; Amsterdam, Netherlands Private: Hosted/on-premises deployment options |
| Hardware | Included; pre-configured dedicated bare metal servers (various sizes/types incl. GPU); customers may not bring their own hardware | Public: Virtual Machine instances (various sizes/types, incl. GPU) Private: Flexible, potentially customer-specified hardware |
| Control Level | Full root access to dedicated hardware | Public: Instance-level control Private: High degree of control (depending on deployment/management model) |
| Storage | Ceph (Block, object, file), NVMe-backed | Public: Block (NVMe), Object, File Sharing Private: Ceph built-in, options for others (e.g., Pure Storage) |
| Networking | Software-Defined Networking (OpenStack Neutron), generous included egress, 95th percentile overage billing | Software-Defined Networking (OpenStack Neutron), public cloud egress billed per GB |
| Pricing | Hardware-based; fixed costs; hourly, monthly, and up to 5-year agreement term options | Public: Pay-as-you-go (hourly/monthly per resource) Private: Custom quote (starts at $300/node) |
| Key Differentiators | Rapid private cloud deployment, dedicated bare metal performance, transparent/predictable costs (esp. egress) | Public and private options, Kubernetes certified, consulting expertise, flexible deployment models (hosted/on-prem) |
| Support Options | Documentation, email, chat, help desk/ticket, dedicated Slack channel (all tiers) | Documentation, ticket system (24/7 for private cloud), direct contact (for managed services/consulting) |
| Support Levels | Hardware management, as-needed support only (included) Assisted management (available with 1-5 year agreement, $800 base fee + per box fee) | Standard (public cloud), tiered private cloud options (Supported, Managed, One-time Deployment), consulting services |
| Trials | Free self-serve trial and Proof of Concept (PoC) options | $200 credit towards first month of usage available for approved public cloud users |
| Open Source Focus | Built on core OpenStack/Ceph; committed to open source ideals; OpenInfra, CNCF, and Linux Foundation Member | Long-term OpenStack foundation member and contributor; CNCF, Ceph, and Linux Foundation member; emphasizes open standards |
| Target Audience | Organizations needing fast dedicated private cloud, predictable costs, direct OpenStack/Ceph control | Organizations needing flexible public/private/hybrid options; users requiring managed services/consulting; Kubernetes integration needs |
^All information may be subject to change because of pricing or service adjustments and/or unique customer resources. Information obtained April 2025.
OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud
Delivers a hosted private cloud built on standardized, leading open source components: OpenStack (using Kolla-Ansible for deployment) provides the cloud framework, and Ceph (using Ceph-Ansible) delivers robust, scalable software-defined storage for block and object needs. The architecture starts with a three-server hyper-converged “Cloud Core”. This hyperconverged architecture means compute and storage run on the same physical nodes, optimized for performance and simplicity. Users get full administrative control over the underlying hardware and the OpenStack/Ceph deployment.
VEXXHOST Cloud Infrastructure
Leverages upstream OpenStack for both public and private clouds, ensuring compatibility and access to core OpenStack APIs and projects. They emphasize running recent OpenStack releases, offering bi-annual upgrades for managed private clouds. Their private cloud solutions often integrate Ceph for storage but may support other solutions. They also offer CNCF-certified Kubernetes, which can be deployed and managed on their OpenStack infrastructure. Their Atmosphere platform aids in deployment and Day 2 operations for private clouds.
Deployment and Scalability
OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud
Offers extremely fast deployment for its Hosted Private Clouds, often in under a minute for a standard 3-node “Cloud Core”. Scalability involves adding more dedicated servers (nodes) to the core cluster or deploying additional independent cloud cores. Customers can blend various hardware types and storage as needed.
VEXXHOST Cloud Infrastructure
Public Cloud: Offers typical cloud scalability – users can spin up or down virtual machine instances, storage volumes, etc., on demand via API or dashboard.
Private Cloud: Scalability depends on the deployment model. Hosted private clouds can be scaled by adding more resources (virtual or physical), managed by VEXXHOST. On-premises clouds scale based on the customer adding more hardware to the environment, potentially with VEXXHOST’s assistance or management. Deployment involves their Atmosphere platform, designed for simplified operations and upgrades.
Hardware Foundation
OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud
Provides dedicated bare metal servers for its Hosted Private Clouds. Customers choose from pre-defined server configurations (XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL) with specified CPU, RAM, and NVMe storage. The key is that the hardware comprising the Cloud Core is fully dedicated to the customer.
VEXXHOST Cloud Infrastructure
Public Cloud: Runs on shared, virtualized infrastructure. Users select instance types with defined vCPU, RAM, and storage allocations. Underlying hardware details are generally abstracted.
Private Cloud: Hardware can be more flexible. For hosted private clouds, it might be dedicated hardware managed by VEXXHOST. For on-premises deployments, VEXXHOST assists with hardware selection and deployment based on customer requirements, potentially using customer-owned hardware.
Data Transfer, Bandwidth, and Egress
OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud
- Included Bandwidth: Each hardware “Cloud Core” in an OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud comes with a substantial monthly egress bandwidth allotment. This allowance scales with the size and number of servers in the Core (e.g., ~46 TB for the smallest cores up to ~925 TB for larger configurations, with specific amounts tied to the chosen hardware and usage patterns).
- Overage Billing Method: If usage exceeds the included monthly allowance, OpenMetal does not charge per gigabyte. Instead, they use 95th percentile billing. This method measures bandwidth usage (in Megabits per second, Mbps) throughout the month, discards the top 5% of usage peaks, and bills based on the next highest sustained usage level.
- Cost Implications: This 95th percentile approach smooths out the cost impact of temporary traffic bursts. It often leads to more predictable billing and can be significantly more cost-effective than per-GB charges for organizations with high or variable outbound traffic patterns. While direct per-GB comparisons vary, the effective cost per GB under this model tends to be very low.
- Network Capacity: OpenMetal infrastructure supports high bandwidth connectivity, with options up to 20 Gbps for individual servers and high aggregate capacity within their points of presence.
VEXXHOST Cloud Infrastructure
- Included Bandwidth (Public Cloud): Each virtual machine instance in VEXXHOST’s Public Cloud includes a specific monthly data transfer allowance (e.g., ranging from 2 TB to 20 TB or more depending on the instance size and type).
- Overage Billing Method (Public Cloud): Data transfer exceeding the included allowance, as well as general public internet egress, is billed on a per-gigabyte (GB) basis. As of recent pricing data, this rate was $0.10 per GB. Data transfer between instances within the same private network is typically free.
- Cost Implications: This model is straightforward and easy to understand. Costs scale directly with the amount of data transferred beyond the included amounts. It can be very cost-effective for applications with low-to-moderate, predictable egress traffic. However, large data transfers or unexpected traffic spikes can lead to higher costs compared to a percentile-based model.
- Private Cloud Bandwidth: For VEXXHOST’s Hosted Private Cloud or On-Premise solutions, data transfer and egress costs are likely negotiated as part of the overall custom agreement and may differ significantly from the public cloud’s per-GB model, potentially involving committed bandwidth rates or other structures depending on the deployment.
Management and Support
OpenMetal Hosted Private Cloud
Includes basic “Support Only” with their clouds. For longer-term agreements, they offer “Assisted Management” for an additional fee (base + per-server cost). This includes more proactive support, direct access to cloud engineers via dedicated Slack channels, assistance with builds/deployments, and ongoing consultations. They emphasize a collaborative support model, acting as an extension of the customer’s team.
- Access: Engineer-to-engineer support via Slack; scheduled video calls (Google Meet); assigned “Executive Sponsor”; general helpdesk/ticketing, email, and chat support.
- SLAs: Offers a Network Uptime SLA (99.96% base, with recent performance tracking higher >99.99%).
- Services: Includes migration assistance, monitoring tools (Datadog access for hardware), cost optimization and budgeting, and ramp periods.
- Management Levels: Offers options from hardware-only management up to fully managed private cloud services.
VEXXHOST Cloud Infrastructure
VEXXHOST has been using an contributing upstream to open source technologies since 2011, enabling them to deliver a high level of expertise. They provide 24/7 support through a team located around the world. They offer a range of management and support options, particularly for private clouds:
- Fully Managed: VEXXHOST handles all aspects, including monitoring, patching, upgrades, troubleshooting, and operations.
- One-Time Deployment: VEXXHOST sets up the initial private cloud (using Atmosphere) and hands over management to the customer.
- Supported Cloud: Provides 24/7 ticketing support for troubleshooting and bug fixes on customer-managed clouds.
- OpenStack Consulting: Offers expert services for architecture, strategy, implementation, upgrades, and optimization.
OpenMetal and VEXXHOST are both viable and trusted cloud infrastructure options, but they cater to different needs and preferences.
OpenMetal is a good choice when you:
- Require the performance and security isolation of dedicated bare metal hardware.
- Need full administrative control over your private cloud environment (OpenStack and Ceph).
- Benefit from rapid deployment of private cloud infrastructure.
- Have significant or bursty egress bandwidth needs and want predictable, likely lower data transfer costs.
- Prefer a straightforward, hardware-centric pricing model with options for long-term discounts.
- Need cloud presence in Singapore.
VEXXHOST is a good choice when you:
- Need flexibility in choosing between public cloud, hosted private cloud, or on-premises private cloud solutions.
- Require managed services for OpenStack, including deployment, operations, upgrades, and monitoring.
- Want to integrate certified Kubernetes clusters seamlessly with their OpenStack environment.
- Need OpenStack consulting expertise for strategy, deployment, or specific project implementations.
- Prefer a pay-as-you-go model for public cloud resources or require custom solutions for private clouds.
- Need cloud presence in Canada.
Both OpenMetal and VEXXHOST provide powerful OpenStack-based IaaS solutions, catering to different needs within the cloud market.
OpenMetal offers a focused, powerful solution: on-demand, hosted private clouds with integrated Ceph storage, with benefits like performance, control, and predictable costs, particularly around bandwidth.
VEXXHOST provides greater flexibility with its range of public, hosted private, and on-premises private cloud offerings, complemented by strong managed services, certified Kubernetes support, and consulting expertise.
The choice between OpenMetal and VEXXHOST depends heavily on your requirements around hardware dedication, deployment speed, management preferences (DIY, assisted, or fully managed), pricing model tolerance (hardware-based vs. resource-based/custom), the need for public vs. private infrastructure, and the importance of integrated services like Kubernetes or specialized consulting.
Interested in OpenMetal Cloud as a VEXXHOST Alternative?
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