Documentation – OpenMetal Cloud

These guides cover usage and management of the OpenMetal Cloud product and are intended for:

  • Administrators of an OpenMetal Cloud Core and any expansion nodes
  • Any system administrator running their first OpenStack and Ceph public or private cloud
  • Users of the cloud resources (projects/virtual private cloud) within your public or private cloud
  • Users who will be automating against a project/virtual private cloud

New to OpenMetal?

Explore the power of your own cloud. See it in action as a hosted private cloud, for SaaS companies, for hosting and cloud providers and much more. Check out transparent pricing, and even try a free trial.

Product Manuals

Manuals are available for cloud operators, users of projects/virtual private clouds, and more.

Product Manuals

Specific Goal Tutorials

Included in the documentation is a collection of tutorials, helping guide you through common use cases of the OpenMetal platform, including how to provision a Kubernetes cluster.

View the Tutorials

Educational Articles

The manuals should be your first stop when using an OpenMetal cloud but we also have more general OpenStack content.

Here are a set of articles that can help you determine the makeup and size of your clusters.

Kubernetes

These guides are intended to be used as a reference for how to deploy Kubernetes clusters on OpenStack. We’ve documented the steps we took to deploy Kubernetes clusters with the major Kubernetes distributions on OpenStack.

Engineer’s Notes

The OpenMetal team is often doing things that have not been done commonly or may not have documentation online. We are going to publish these notes from those engineers solving real world problems as they occur. These notes are only a first cut on a subject area that can help get a key technical question answered.

 

 

OpenMetal private clouds use two powerful open source tools, OpenStack and Ceph. OpenStack provides the control plane, compute, networking, and APIs. Ceph supplies high-availability block storage, object storage, and, optionally, file storage.  Explore the power of an OpenStack private cloud, check out transparent pricing, and even try a free trial.

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Browse All OpenMetal Education Categories

We are always looking for suggestions to improve our Learning Center. Just email us at learn-suggestions@openmetal.io with yours!

New Educational Content

Dec
20

Use Cases for OpenMetal’s XL Hosted Private Cloud Hardware

Supercharge your demanding workloads with OpenMetal’s XL Hosted Private Cloud hardware. Featuring powerful Intel Xeon CPUs, massive memory, and fast NVMe storage, the XL series is perfect for AI/ML, game development, 3D rendering, and more.

Dec
19

Questions to Answer Before Searching for a New Cloud Infrastructure Provider

Simplify your cloud infrastructure provider search! This guide outlines essential questions to answer before engaging vendors. Prepare your requirements, get accurate quotes faster, and ensure a seamless migration. You’ll save time and resources by being prepared!

Dec
13

Practical Ways WordPress Agencies Can Harness AI Today

This article offers insights as to how WordPress agencies can gain a competitive edge by embracing AI innovation.

Dec
12

Use Cases for OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud Hardware

OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud delivers high-performance computing power with Intel Xeon processors, generous RAM, and NVMe SSDs. Ideal for demanding workloads like big data analytics, HPC, and ERP systems, it offers scalability, security, and control. Check out real-world and ideal use cases to learn about this hardware’s versatility across industries.

Dec
10

The Hidden Costs of Colocation: Why Private Cloud Offers a Smarter Alternative to Public Cloud

While colocation can be cost-effective at scale, it requires significant upfront investment and ongoing operational overhead. Private cloud offers a better solution, combining cost efficiency with operational flexibility. Learn how private cloud eliminates many of colocation’s hidden costs while providing the scalability and automation of public cloud.

Dec
06

Cloud Costs Uncovered: How Startups and Scaleups Can Avoid the Hidden Fees of Public Cloud – Part 1

This two-part article explores the challenges of public cloud pricing and offers strategies for startups and scaleups to manage costs while ensuring performance and scalability for growth.

Dec
04

OpenStack DIY vs. Hosted – A Comprehensive Comparison

Dive deep into the world of OpenStack deployment. This article compares self-hosting on your own hardware with using a hosted OpenStack service (like OpenMetal), analyzing the pros, cons, and key differences to help you make the right choice for your cloud infrastructure.

Nov
27

How On-Demand Private Cloud Increases Performance and Cost Savings for SaaS Providers

In these videos and accompanying article OpenMetal President, Todd Robinson, discusses the benefits OpenMetal’s on-demand hosted private OpenStack cloud IaaS can provide for SaaS companies.

Nov
22

Bare Metal Server – Medium v4 – 5th Gen Intel®Xeon Silver 4510, 256GB DDR5, Micron 7450 MAX

OpenMetal’s Medium v4 bare metal dedicated server is powered by dual 5th gen Intel® Xeon Silver 4510 processors and 256 DDR5 RAM.

Nov
22

One Large Cloud vs. Multiple Small Servers – Which is Right for You?

Learn how to choose the right private cloud strategy for your business. This article compares the advantages of consolidating to a single, larger cloud vs. using multiple smaller servers, considering factors like efficiency, cost, and scalability. Explore real-world use cases and make informed decisions about your IT infrastructure.

Nov
20

Use Cases for OpenMetal’s Medium Hosted Private Cloud Hardware

OpenMetal’s medium private cloud hardware, with powerful CPUs, ample RAM, and fast NVMe SSDs, offers a fitting solution for businesses needing support for things like high-performance computing, data-intensive applications, or scalable online platforms. Discover key use cases, benefits, and technical considerations of an OpenMetal medium hosted private cloud for your business.

Nov
13

Why It’s Crucial to Regularly Update Your Kolla Images on OpenStack

Boost your OpenStack security! Discover the risks of outdated Kolla images and learn how to update them. This guide covers vulnerability patching, compliance, and preventing downtime in your private cloud.

Nov
11

Use Cases for OpenMetal’s Small Hosted Private Cloud Hardware

Explore how OpenMetal’s Small hosted private cloud hardware can empower your business with use cases including SMB infrastructure and development environments. Learn about the technical advantages, cost benefits, and ideal applications for this affordable cloud offering.

Nov
06

How to Integrate Active Directory with OpenStack for User Management

Tired of managing separate user accounts for OpenStack? Integrate Active Directory and unlock a world of simplified user management, enhanced security, and reduced administrative overhead. This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions to seamlessly connect your existing Active Directory infrastructure with OpenStack, allowing you to centralize authentication, streamline authorization, and improve the user experience.

Nov
01

OpenMetal Core Update V3.0: A Deeper Dive into New Features and Benefits

OpenMetal Core Update V3.0 delivers enhanced performance, simplified management, a better user experience, and improved resource control. Explore the latest OpenMetal update benefits and new technical capabilities for your cloud infrastructure.

Oct
30

A Deep Dive into OpenStack Projects: Open Source Alternative to VPC

With a private OpenStack cloud, you can create Project-Based VPC which create a segment of a cloud with predefined resources that you can use to create VMs, allocate storage, and most of the other functionalities of a VPC.

Oct
29

Powering the OpenInfra Foundation’s CI/CD Cloud: A Look at Our Latest Contribution

We’re proud members of the OpenInfra Foundation, contributing technology and helping to drive innovation within the open source community. As such, our engineers recently re-provisioned the OpenInfra Foundation’s continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) cloud to our latest OpenStack Bobcat release (2023.2) with Ceph Reef storage. This robust platform powers one of the most demanding CI/CD pipelines in the open source world, automated by Zuul.

Oct
27

Bare Metal Server – 5th Gen Intel®Xeon Gold 6530, 2048GB DDR5, Micron 7450 MAX

OpenMetal’s XXL v4 bare metal dedicated server is powered by dual 5th gen Intel® Xeon Gold 6530 processors and 2048GB DDR5 RAM.

Oct
26

Bare Metal Server – 5th Gen Intel®Xeon Gold 6526Y, 512GB DDR5, Micron 7450 MAX

OpenMetal’s Large v4 bare metal dedicated server is powered by dual Intel® Xeon Gold 6526Y processors, 512GB DDR5-5200 RAM, and come with two Micron 7450 MAX drives.

Oct
25

Key Considerations When Planning Your Infrastructure Budget for 2025

Planning your infrastructure budget is about more than business costs. It’s about aligning IT budgets with organizational goals, scaling smoothly, staying ahead of cyber threats, and leveraging the latest technology to drive growth. Whether you are thinking about cloud expansion, modernizing outdated systems, or maximizing security, the right infrastructure budget makes all the difference.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the key things to consider when planning your infrastructure budget for 2025.

Oct
25

OpenMetal’s Generous Bandwidth Allotment and Innovative Egress Pricing for Hosting Providers

Discover how OpenMetal’s generous bandwidth allotments and 95th percentile egress pricing can help hosting providers cut costs while boosting capacity for high-traffic, content-rich sites

Oct
14

Geico Drops VMware For OpenStack And You Can Too

Geico, ranked #3 in the Top 10 Largest Auto Insurance Companies in 2024, transitions from VMware to OpenStack for its cloud infrastructure. Anyone who has performed migrations from VMware to OpenStack can attest that this was a very complicated process that required significant dedication and effort from Geico.

Oct
10

High Availability Infrastructure Solutions for Mission-Critical Applications

Ensure uninterrupted service for your critical applications with our comprehensive guide to high-availability infrastructure solutions. Discover the importance of redundancy, failover, and fault tolerance, and explore popular technologies like OpenStack, bare metal servers, and Ceph storage clusters. Learn how to build resilient systems that can withstand failures and minimize downtime.

Oct
08

Everything You Need To Know About OpenStack Dalmatian 2024.2

OpenStack Dalmatian 2024.2, the 30th release for the OpenStack cloud platform features major improvements for AI and high-performance computing workloads, enhanced security and use experience updates. Some of the key updates include expanded GPU support in Blazar for reserving compute instances, persistent virtual GPU handling in Nova and security updates in Ironic, Neutron and Nova.  

Oct
07

TDX: An In-Depth Exploration of Intel® Trust Domain Extensions

Explore Intel® (TDX), a hardware-based technology designed to enhance the security and privacy of virtualized workloads in cloud environments.

Oct
04

Confidential Computing: Enhancing Data Privacy and Security in Cloud Environments

Learn about the need for confidential computing, it’s benefits and some top industries benefiting from this technology.

Oct
03

How Hosted Private Clouds Can Be Used for Remote Virtual Development Environments

Explore the benefits of cloud-based development, including increased flexibility, improved security, and faster onboarding. Learn how to choose the right cloud platform and overcome potential challenges. Then read a real-world case study of a business that used OpenMetal’s hosted private cloud to enhance their remote development platform.

Sep
26

Why Lift and Shift Works Better on a Private Cloud vs a Public Cloud – A Guide for IT Professionals

Lift and Shift, also known as “rehosting,” this approach involves moving applications from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud with minimal or no modifications. Organizations retain the existing architecture so it is a quick transition.
In this blog, OpenMetal’s President Todd Robinson provides insights on why lift and shift works best with private cloud vs public clouds.

Sep
20

The Growing Bare Metal Cloud Market: A Surge Driven by AI, ML, and High-Performance Computing

The bare metal cloud market is poised for significant growth in the coming years, fueled by the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), as well as the increasing demand for high-performance computing (HPC).

Sep
13

OpenStack For High Performance Computing

High performance computing refers to the use of powerful computers and parallel processing techniques to solve complex computational problems. HPC is typically used for tasks that can include: running larging-scale simulations, financial models, big data analytics and AI which  require considerable processing power, memory and storage. Private OpenStack clouds offer several key features such as scalability, flexibility, integration and cost-efficiency that make them suitable to for running HPC workloads. 

Sep
04

The Economic Case for Hosted Private Cloud

Is hosted private cloud the right choice for your organization? Explore the economic case for this cloud solution and compare it to on-premises and public cloud options. Learn how to reduce costs, enhance security, and gain more control over your IT infrastructure.

Aug
23

AWS S3 vs Google Cloud Storage: An In-Depth Analysis of Cloud Storage Giants

Cloud storage is more than just a digital filing cabinet. It’s a powerful tool that helps businesses manage data efficiently, securely, and cost-effectively. By separating storage from computational infrastructure, organizations can scale resources independently, ensuring optimal performance and cost-efficiency. This blog will explore the benefits of cloud storage, compare popular solutions like Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage, and introduce an open-source alternative.

Aug
16

Ceph vs. S3: A Comparison of Powerful Storage Solutions

Companies already create vast amounts of data every day, and the growing usage of big data and AI is now skyrocketing the need for robust, scalable storage solutions. Two popular platforms are Ceph and AWS S3. Both offer capable solutions for managing and storing large amounts of data. However their architectures, capabilities, and use cases differ quite a bit. Let’s compare and contrast these two platforms to help you decide which may be the better choice for your storage needs.

Jul
12

FinOps Guide To Reducing Infrastructure Costs

In today’s world, the vast majority of organizations have adopted either a public cloud or private cloud, however, within these organizations, their IT professionals face the challenge of determining the best ROI with placement of their dollars against Cloud Services provided by either Public Clouds or Private Clouds.

Jun
12

Delta Lake Deployment with Spark and MLFlow on Ceph and OpenStack

We are creating a standard open source only install of Delta Lake, Spark, and optionally, supporting systems like MLflow.  This means we will only be installing and depending on bare metal servers, VMs on OpenStack, or open source cloud storage systems. 

May
17

April 2024 Newsletter – OpenMetal Central Platform Updates

Check out the latest OpenMetal platform updates, leave a review on SoftwareReviews.com, read the latest in cloud news, and learn what’s new on the blog.

May
17

March 2024 Newsletter – IT Leadership Buyer’s Guide

Download the IT Leadership Buyer’s Guide, help us build our online platform profile with Info-Tech Research, and discover what’s new in the world of cloud and on our blog.

Apr
29

Break Free From Bill Shock with AWS Alternatives

Being surprised by cloud cost overruns when your budget is already stretched thin by high infrastructure costs can put you in a difficult position. Now you need to make cut backs – you can reduce resources for your projects, cut back on personnel, or take a FinOps approach to develop a comprehensive solution for your business.

In this blog we will explore cost-effective alternative cloud solutions to Amazon Web Service. 

Apr
29

OMI Release V3.0: Core Updates

Note: Upgrading from our previous release of v2.1 onwards (OpenStack Yoga and Ceph Quincy on CentOS 8 Stream) will be supported in the next minor release. We will be testing

Apr
22

How To Install a Rancher Managed Cluster on OpenStack

In the realm of deploying Kubernetes on OpenStack, Rancher stands out as the best tool available. Its comprehensive feature set, ease of use, and hybrid capabilities make it an excellent choice for organizations seeking to manage Kubernetes clusters seamlessly.

Apr
08

Bare Metal Dedicated Server, 5th Gen Intel 6530,1TB RAM DDR5, 6.4TB Micron 7450

OpenMetal’s XL v4.0 bare metal servers are powered by dual Intel Xeon Gold 6530 processor and 1TB RAM.

Apr
07

Madrid Dedicated Servers – Data Center and Colo

Madrid, Spain based businesses benefit from hosting their applications on OpenMetal’s dedicated servers located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Apr
07

Paris Dedicated Servers – Data Center and Colo

Paris, France based businesses benefit from hosting their applications on OpenMetal’s dedicated servers located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Apr
07

London Dedicated Servers – Data Center and Colo

London, Great Britain based businesses benefit from hosting their applications on OpenMetal’s dedicated servers located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Apr
07

OpenStack: A Powerful Alternative to VMware Workstation

Without question, VMware has a good reputation for cloud security and virtualization within a single management framework. But, given its high price point compounded with new acquisition uncertainties, now may be a good time to reevaluate your options. Let’s explore OpenStack as an alternative VMware Workstation with a complete guide on how to set up a virtualized workstation with OpenStack.

Apr
05

Hamburg Dedicated Servers – Data Center and Colo

Hamburg, Germany based businesses benefit from hosting their applications on OpenMetal’s dedicated servers located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Apr
05

Frankfurt Dedicated Servers – Data Center and Colo

Frankfurt, Germany based businesses benefit from hosting their applications on OpenMetal’s dedicated servers located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Apr
05

Berlin Dedicated Servers – Data Center and Colo

Berlin, Germany based businesses benefit from hosting their applications on OpenMetal’s dedicated servers located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Apr
04

Comparing Private Cloud Providers for Large and Small Businesses

Stuck picking a private cloud provider? We compare top options for both small businesses and large enterprises. Find the perfect fit considering cost, features, and ease of use!

Mar
29

Beginner’s Guide To Understanding AI

ELIZA (created by Joseph Weizenbaum) was one of the first natural language processing programs designed to simulate conversation. But it wasn’t until nearly 50 years later that AI tools like Siri allowed broad adoption so that many users could use natural language to interact with their devices. And while Siri had its time, never before have we had this many significant consecutive releases (ChatGPT, Gemini, Alexa) that transformed our daily lives. AI now plays a pivotal role in our daily lives, answering our questions, articulating and documenting our ideas in written and even artistic forms, driving our vehicles, cooking our food, analyzing our patterns, and recommending ads to us, etc. So what do you need to know about AI? And where do you begin if you want to leverage the endless possibilities of AI for your organization?

Additional Resources

Account Management

If you are a current customer and need to connect with your account manager or dedicated support engineer, please log in to your OpenMetal Central account and navigate to the account services section.

OpenMetal Central Login

Pricing Estimator

Are you new to OpenMetal and need to estimate or compare costs? We stand for transparent pricing free of hidden costs and unnecessary license fees. Check out our online pricing estimator and then contact us if you have any questions.

View Pricing

Your Customer Success Team

Account Managers

Gateway to the team that can quickly assess next steps.

Engineers

Ready to guide, train, and configure against your priorities.

Business Analysts

Calculate ROIs, manage migrations, keep the teams aligned.

Executive Connect

Accountable executives available to your leadership as needed.

The Next Generation of Cloud Infrastructure Solutions

Cloud Cores

Start with all the top OpenMetal features in a highly available configuration.

Explore Cloud Cores

Cloud Expansion Nodes

Scale your cloud with flexible building blocks that fit your business.

Explore Cloud Expansion

Storage Clusters

Get high performance object, block, and file storage with fair egress at simple prices.

Explore Storage Clusters