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

Sep
25

Democratizing the Cloud: Is Private Cloud Making a Comeback? – Insights from the Jon Myer Podcast

OpenMetal President Todd Robinson recently appeared on the Jon Myer podcast to discuss the growing movement of companies moving from public cloud to private cloud. Learn how an on-demand private cloud offers greater control, cost savings, and protection against vendor lock-in and unexpected market shocks like the Broadcom VMware acquisition.

Sep
25

Confidential Workloads on Bare Metal with Private Cloud: Leveraging OpenStack for Security and Control

Learn how bare metal infrastructure with private cloud powered by OpenStack delivers the security, compliance, and control that confidential workloads require – from healthcare to finance to blockchain applications.

Sep
25

From Garage to IPO on Private Cloud Infrastructure

OpenMetal’s StartUp eXcelerator Program offers startups up to $100,000 in cloud credits with predictable pricing that scales from MVP to IPO, delivering 60% savings over traditional public clouds while eliminating vendor lock-in and surprise bills.

Sep
24

Exit Readiness: How Private Cloud Infrastructure Improves Valuation Multiples

SaaS companies preparing for exit can achieve premium valuations through private cloud infrastructure that delivers predictable costs, margin stability, and operational discipline that buyers reward with higher multiples.

Sep
24

CFO’s Guide to Infrastructure ROI in the Post-ZIRP Era

The end of zero interest rates changes everything about infrastructure spending. Learn how CFOs can transform unpredictable cloud costs into strategic assets that improve EBITDA and enable accurate financial planning in today’s capital-constrained environment.

Sep
23

Optimizing Ceph Storage Efficiency with Erasure Coding for Enterprise Workloads

Discover how erasure coding in Ceph storage clusters can cut your enterprise storage hardware costs in half while maintaining the same level of fault tolerance. This comprehensive guide covers implementation strategies, performance trade-offs, and best practices for maximizing storage efficiency.

Sep
23

Beyond Hosting: Building Blockchain Infrastructure Stacks with Compute, Storage, and Networking Control

Discover how blockchain teams build complete infrastructure stacks using dedicated compute, storage, and networking instead of basic hosting. Learn why validator nodes, RPC endpoints, and data-heavy applications need integrated infrastructure control to achieve predictable performance and scale reliably.

Sep
22

Big Data Explained: Everything You Need To Know – Learn Linux TV Collaboration

We partnered with Learn Linux TV to create an in-depth exploration of Big Data infrastructure. Jay LaCroix dives deep into the world of Big Data: what it is, how it works, and why Linux and open source software are absolutely essential to making it all happen.

Sep
19

Healthcare Analytics Infrastructure for Population Health Management

Healthcare organizations need specialized infrastructure for population health management that meets HIPAA requirements while supporting complex analytics. This guide covers data integration, compliance requirements, and infrastructure design for value-based care transformation.

Sep
18

EBITDA Impact of Cloud Repatriation: Why PE Firms Are Moving Portfolio SaaS Back to Private Cloud

Private equity firms are systematically implementing cloud repatriation strategies across SaaS portfolios to convert unpredictable cloud costs into fixed expenses, typically reducing infrastructure spending by 30-50% while improving EBITDA forecasting accuracy. This strategic shift addresses the margin compression caused by usage-based cloud billing and creates sustainable competitive advantages for portfolio companies.

Sep
18

The Return of Bare Metal? Insights From The Cloudcast

The cloud landscape is shifting, and infrastructure leaders are taking notice. In a recent episode of The Cloudcast, OpenMetal’s founder and president Todd Robinson sat down with hosts Aaron Delp and Brian Gracely to explore why bare metal and private cloud are experiencing a comeback.

Sep
18

Financial Services Risk Analytics on Private Cloud Infrastructure

Financial institutions need private cloud infrastructure for risk analytics that provides computational scalability, hardware-level security isolation, and regulatory compliance controls without public cloud exposure risks.

Sep
17

Confidential Computing for Healthcare AI: Training Models on PHI Without Public Cloud Risk

Healthcare organizations can now train AI models on sensitive patient data without exposing it to public cloud vulnerabilities. Confidential computing creates hardware-protected environments where PHI remains secure during processing, enabling breakthrough AI development while maintaining HIPAA compliance and reducing regulatory overhead.

Sep
16

GPU-Accelerated Blockchain Workloads: Bare Metal Power for AI-Driven Smart Contracts

Discover how GPU acceleration transforms blockchain applications with AI-driven smart contracts. Learn why bare metal infrastructure provides the performance, security, and cost predictability needed for next-generation blockchain workloads that integrate machine learning and decentralized computing.

Sep
15

Micron MAX 7500 NVMe Enterprise Storage Details and Performance

The Micron 7500 MAX delivers sub-1ms latency with 232-layer NAND technology. Learn how OpenMetal’s custom configurations maximize performance for enterprise workloads including databases, AI, and blockchain applications.

Sep
15

Why Mature Cloud Infrastructure Needs the Discipline of Capacity Planning

Public cloud’s infinite shelf promise masked the need for capacity discipline, creating unpredictable costs and architectural debt. Discover how predictable infrastructure models like OpenMetal’s hosted private cloud transform capacity planning from reactive firefighting into proactive strategic advantage for CTOs.

Sep
15

The Hidden Costs of Hyperscaler Networking vs OpenMetal’s Transparent and Predictable Model

Enterprise cloud networking costs have become unpredictable budget wild cards. AWS, GCP, and Azure charge per-GB for internal traffic, creating cost volatility that punishes distributed architectures. OpenMetal’s two-network model eliminates cross-AZ fees and uses 95th percentile billing to smooth traffic spikes.

Sep
15

From VMware to OpenStack: The People and Process Side of Migration

Most VMware to OpenStack migration guides focus on technical differences, but successful transitions require organizational transformation. This comprehensive guide reveals why people and processes matter more than hypervisor specs, with practical steps for managing cultural change, skills development, and stakeholder buy-in during your OpenStack migration journey.

Sep
12

FinOps Guide for Predictable Infrastructure: Aligning IT Ops with Finance Goals

Discover how predictable, flat-rate infrastructure transforms FinOps maturity. This comprehensive guide shows CFOs, CTOs, and FinOps teams how to achieve cost visibility, accurate allocation, and effective governance without billing surprises. Learn implementation strategies, KPIs, and best practices for aligning Technology and Finance teams through transparent infrastructure pricing.

Sep
12

Secure Multi-Tenant Development Environments with OpenMetal Private Cloud Sandboxes

Learn how development teams can create secure multi-tenant sandbox environments using OpenMetal’s private cloud platform. Discover the benefits of dedicated hardware isolation, Ceph snapshots, confidential computing, and fixed-cost pricing for dev/test workloads.

Sep
12

The Future of Hybrid Cloud: Why ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Clouds Are Over

Enterprise IT leaders are abandoning universal cloud myths for fit-for-purpose hybrid strategies. Learn why different workloads need different infrastructure and how to build cloud portfolios that optimize cost, performance, and compliance across private, public, and specialized environments.

Sep
12

High-Performance Bare Metal for Validator Networks: Reducing Latency, Increasing Rewards

Discover how bare metal infrastructure eliminates public cloud bottlenecks that impact validator performance. Learn why dedicated hardware, predictable networking, and fixed pricing models directly translate to higher staking rewards and better validator economics in proof-of-stake networks.

Sep
11

Why CFOs Should Partner with Operating Partners on Cloud Spend Reduction

Cloud costs eating your EBITDA? CFOs and Operating Partners need strategic alignment to tackle unpredictable public cloud pricing. Discover how fixed pricing models deliver 20-30% savings and financial predictability for PE-backed SaaS companies.

Sep
10

Confidential Computing for High-Performance Workloads: Balancing Security, GPUs, and Speed

Learn how confidential computing enables secure, high-performance workloads by combining Intel TDX hardware isolation with GPU acceleration. Explore real-world applications in AI training, blockchain validation, and financial analytics while maintaining data confidentiality and computational speed.

Sep
10

Building a Private HPC Cluster for Scientific and Financial Modeling

Discover how to build private HPC clusters that deliver the performance, control, and cost predictability your scientific simulations and financial models demand. Learn about hardware configurations, network architecture, and deployment strategies that outperform traditional cloud options.

Sep
09

Using Greenplum to Build a Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) Data Warehouse on OpenMetal

Learn how to build a massively parallel processing data warehouse using Greenplum on OpenMetal’s bare metal infrastructure. Discover architecture best practices, performance advantages, and cost optimization strategies for large-scale analytical workloads that outperform traditional public cloud deployments.

Sep
08

A Blueprint for a Private 5G Core on OpenStack

Learn how OpenStack-powered infrastructure addresses the unique challenges of deploying private 5G core networks, offering telecom operators faster deployment, predictable costs, and open architecture that modern 5G implementations demand while avoiding public cloud limitations.

Sep
06

Why Network Architecture Still Matters in the Age of the Cloud

The cloud era promised invisible networking, but today’s AI workloads, hybrid strategies, and compliance requirements demand architectural control. OpenMetal’s hosted private cloud treats networking as a strategic advantage through transparent pricing, dedicated bandwidth, and true isolation.

Sep
05

Private Cloud for Blockchain Consortia: Secure Collaboration Without Public Cloud Trade-Offs

Private cloud infrastructure solves the unique challenges blockchain consortia face with public cloud – eliminating data egress fees, noisy neighbor effects, and compliance complexity while enabling secure multi-party collaboration with predictable costs and performance.

Sep
04

From Invisible to Visible: Why the Future of Cloud Infrastructure Demands Transparency

Enterprise cloud infrastructure shouldn’t be a black box. Learn why OpenMetal’s transparent approach with visible pricing, dedicated bare metal, and full operational control delivers better outcomes than invisible hyperscale cloud platforms for CFOs and CTOs.

Sep
04

Building Repeatable and Compliant Private Clouds: Terraform with OpenMetal

Discover how Terraform transforms OpenMetal’s OpenStack and Ceph infrastructure into repeatable, auditable code. This comprehensive guide covers IaC implementation, compliance workflows, and practical examples for building enterprise-grade

Sep
04

Architecting for Large Memory Workloads with OpenStack on OpenMetal

Discover how OpenMetal’s high-memory servers (up to 2TB DDR5 RAM) and OpenStack architecture deliver superior performance and cost predictability for memory-intensive workloads like in-memory databases, ML training, and big data analytics compared to public cloud alternatives.

Sep
03

Scaling Blockchain Startups in a Portfolio: The Infrastructure Cost Curve

Discover how portfolio managers are transforming blockchain startup growth with predictable infrastructure costs. OpenMetal’s fixed-cost bare metal eliminates unpredictable cloud expenses, delivering 30-60% savings when monthly spend hits $20,000. Learn the infrastructure strategy that’s reshaping blockchain investment returns.

Sep
03

Real-Time Data Processing with Apache Storm/Flink on OpenMetal

Learn how OpenMetal’s bare metal servers and private clouds eliminate performance jitters in Apache Storm/Flink deployments, delivering consistent low-latency stream processing with predictable costs and full hardware control for enterprise real-time data workloads.

Sep
02

Private Cloud for Confidential Computing: Building a Controlled Environment for Sensitive Data

Discover how private cloud infrastructure provides the controlled environment needed for confidential computing workloads. Learn about hardware isolation, network security, and why dedicated infrastructure beats public cloud for sensitive data processing.

Sep
02

A Blueprint for Hybrid On-Premises and Private Cloud Infrastructure

Businesses with on-premises investments can augment existing data centers with private cloud rather than doing a full cloud migration. Learn how OpenMetal’s hybrid approach preserves your investments while delivering on-demand flexibility, security, and 30-60% cost savings.

Aug
29

Building a Petabyte-Scale Video Archive with Fixed-Cost Ceph

Discover how to build cost-effective petabyte-scale video archives using Ceph storage with fixed monthly costs, generous egress allowances, and erasure coding that nearly doubles usable storage capacity compared to traditional cloud providers.

Aug
28

Ceph Clusters for Blockchain: Scalable Storage for Nodes, State, and Historical Data

Blockchain infrastructure demands storage that scales with validator nodes, terabytes of historical data, and unpredictable state growth. Ceph distributed storage offers a unified solution that handles these challenges while eliminating the unpredictable costs and performance bottlenecks of traditional cloud storage.

Aug
27

Bare Metal Confidential Computing: Why Dedicated Hardware Beats Virtualized Enclaves

Bare metal confidential computing eliminates virtualization overhead, resource constraints, and unpredictable costs. OpenMetal’s dedicated TDX servers deliver consistent performance for sensitive AI, blockchain, and financial workloads where security can’t be compromised.

Aug
27

Micron 7500 MAX: Dual Drive vs Single Drive Architecture on Bare Metal for Mission-Critical Databases

Discover why dual smaller NVMe drives outperform single larger drives for enterprise databases on bare metal infrastructure. Learn about workload separation, parallel I/O, and endurance benefits with Micron 7500 MAX SSDs on OpenMetal’s XLv4 and XXLv4 servers for mission-critical applications.

Aug
27

Deployment and Optimization Strategies for Apache Spark and Hadoop Clusters on OpenMetal

Learn how to deploy and optimize Apache Spark and Hadoop clusters on OpenMetal’s bare metal infrastructure. This comprehensive guide covers deployment strategies, storage architecture, system tuning, and real-world optimization techniques for maximum performance and cost efficiency.

Aug
27

From Invisible to Strategic: Why Enterprise Network Architecture Matters More Than Ever

While public clouds promise invisible networking, this abstraction creates hidden costs and performance limitations. Explore how transparent network architecture with predictable billing models like 95th percentile can dramatically reduce egress costs and improve performance for AI workloads, SaaS platforms, and hybrid cloud strategies.

Aug
26

Why Infrastructure Optimization Should Be an Operating Partner KPI

Private equity operating partners are missing a major value creation opportunity by not tracking infrastructure optimization as a KPI. Cloud costs often represent 50% of software companies’ revenue, directly impacting EBITDA and valuations. This guide shows how to make infrastructure efficiency measurable and systematically improve portfolio company margins through predictable, optimized infrastructure strategies.

Aug
26

From Serverless to Private Cloud: Bringing MicroVM Speed and Isolation In-House

Explore the evolution from public serverless to private cloud serverless platforms. Learn how microVM technologies like Firecracker and Cloud Hypervisor enable enterprises to build in-house serverless solutions with predictable costs, better performance, and no vendor lock-in on OpenMetal infrastructure.

Aug
25

Kubernetes on a Private Cloud: Cost and Performance vs. EKS and GKE

Managed Kubernetes services like EKS and GKE promise convenience but deliver inflated costs, performance limitations, and vendor lock-in. Private cloud delivers 50% cost savings, consistent performance through dedicated hardware, and complete infrastructure control for growing organizations.

Aug
24

Optimizing Public Cloud vs. Choosing a Private Cloud Alternative: A Thought Starter for CFOs & CTOs

A thought starter for CFOs and CTOs evaluating cloud infrastructure costs. Compare tactical public cloud optimization strategies against private cloud alternatives like OpenMetal’s flat-rate pricing model. Learn when to optimize existing cloud spend versus shifting to predictable private infrastructure.

Aug
22

Optimizing Your CI/CD Pipeline with an OpenStack-Powered Private Cloud

Tired of unpredictable cloud bills and slow CI/CD builds? Discover how OpenMetal’s OpenStack-powered private cloud delivers 10x faster deployment times, eliminates noisy neighbor problems, and provides fixed-cost infrastructure that molds to your development team’s needs.

Aug
22

Intel TDX Performance Benchmarks on Bare Metal: Optimizing Confidential Blockchain and AI Workloads

Discover how Intel TDX performs on bare metal infrastructure with detailed benchmarks for blockchain validators and AI workloads. Learn optimization strategies for confidential computing on OpenMetal’s v4 servers with 20 Gbps networking and GPU passthrough capabilities.

Aug
21

Architecting an End-to-End AI Storage Pipeline on Ceph: From Model Files to Results

Discover how OpenMetal’s on-demand private cloud with integrated Ceph storage eliminates AI infrastructure bottlenecks. Real customer case study shows 50% cost reduction and seamless scaling from 0.5PB to 1.9PB capacity. Get enterprise-grade performance with predictable pricing.

Aug
21

Dedicated VLANs and VXLANs: The Foundation for Secure Multi-Tenant Environments

Learn how OpenMetal’s dedicated VLAN and VXLAN-ready private cloud architecture provides secure multi-tenant environments with true Layer 2 isolation, unlimited scalability, and unmetered 20 Gbps private networking for compliance-ready deployments.

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

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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