☁️ Apache CloudStack Features
As a mature, turnkey Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform, Apache CloudStack has a comprehensive set of features. This is an extensive, but not exhaustive, set of features.
Do you have a feature request? If so, we’d like to invite you to bring it up on the mailing list, and consider filing a feature request in our issue tracker.
User Interface
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Rich Management User Interface | CloudStack provides a feature-rich out-of-the-box UI implemented on top of the CloudStack API to manage the cloud infrastructure. It is a fully AJAX-based solution compatible with the latest internet browsers and can be integrated with existing portals. |
Brand-able Self Service User Interface | The user interface, built with standard HTML and CSS using jQuery, can be easily customized and branded to match your company’s look and feel. |
Secure Console Access | A noVNC client allows users to access their virtual machines via any latest internet browser without needing external add-ons like JRE, ActiveX, or Flash. |
Usage Management UI | Offers a user-friendly graphical interface for monitoring, reporting, and managing resource usage, enhancing transparency and operational efficiency. |
Security and Access Control
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
OAuth2 Authentication | OAuth2 plugin provides Single-Sign-On with third-party identity providers such as Google and GitHub. |
Two-Factor Authentication Framework | Enables two-factor authentication for access to the CloudStack UI, applicable globally, by domain, or for specific users. |
Support for Time based OTP (TOTP) Authenticator | Provides a Time-based OTP (TOTP) Authenticator plugin for random OTP per transaction when authenticating cloud users. |
Secure Single Sign | On Aggregate and integrate existing applications with the management UI via secure single sign-on for a better user experience. |
Multi-role Support | Supports distinct account roles: Admin, Domain-Admin, and User, with dynamic role definition options. |
SAML and LDAP Integration with 2FA | Supports SAML and LDAP authentication and two-factor authentication as a built-in optional AUTH adapter. |
APIs
Visit the Integrations page to find out more about the integrations available with Apache CloudStack.
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Powerful API | Easily build, integrate, and use applications with the well-documented and extensible CloudStack API. Supports Amazon EC2 and S3 APIs. |
VMware to KVM Migration | Supports converting VMware disks to KVM via virt-v2v, facilitating migrations from managed and unmanaged vCenter to CloudStack-managed KVM hosts. |
KVM Import | Enables cloud administrators to import unmanaged KVM hypervisor infrastructure into Apache CloudStack. |
Flexible Adapter Framework | Built to support integration with various hypervisors, storage, network, and authentication solutions. The Adapter Framework allows for easy customization. |
Object Storage | Implements the Object Storage Framework, allowing operators to select external object store providers for users as a first-class resource. |
Virtualization and Compute
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Hypervisor Agnostic | Provides flexibility to integrate with major hypervisors including KVM, VMware, Citrix XenServer, and XCP-ng. |
Dynamic Workload Management | Automates distribution and rebalancing of compute, network, and storage resources based on defined policies on load balancing, compliance and data security. |
VM Sync and High Availability | Monitors and maintains VM state, ensuring continuous operation by handling status notifications and maintaining VM performance. |
Host Maintenance with Live Migration | Enables upgrades and hardware maintenance with no downtime for guest VMs through live migration. |
Scheduled Instance Lifecycle Operations | Allows users to automate state transitions of cloud resources with predefined schedules. |
ARM64 Support and Multi-Architecture Zones | Enables ARM64 compatibility, allowing seamless deployment across mixed ARM64 and x86_64 Hosts within a single Zone for optimized performance and flexibility. |
Storage and Data Management
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Multiple Storage Solutions | CloudStack supports various storage solutions, with iSCSI and NFS preferred, and also supports Ceph RBD with KVM. It offers flexibility for both commodity and enterprise-grade storage systems. |
KVM Multiple Local Storage | Supports multiple local storage volumes for KVM-based hosts. |
Storage Tiering | CloudStack allows targeting specific storage servers for VM deployments, enabling use of commodity hardware for less demanding apps and high-performance hardware for disk-intensive applications like databases. |
Volume Encryption | Supports encryption of both root and data volumes on KVM hypervisors, utilizing various storage types including NFS and ScaleIO. |
Block Storage Volumes | Supports creation and management of block storage volumes of arbitrary size on network-attached or local disks. |
Snapshot Management | Allows ad hoc snapshots or scheduled snapshots of data volumes, with options to create new volumes from existing snapshots. |
Rich Template and ISO Management | Users and administrators can upload and manage OS templates and ISO images, with global or per-account access and automatic copying to storage servers. |
Easy Template Creation Process | Facilitates creation of pre-defined templates from guest OS ISOs or existing VMs for efficient deployment. |
CloudStack Snapshot Copy | Enables copying volume snapshots across zones to ensure data recovery and continuity. |
Managed User Data | Users can register and manage UserData scripts as CloudStack resources, associating them with templates or during deployment. |
Shared File Systems | Provides Instances with shared file system access, supporting NFS with XFS or EXT4, ideal for high-availability and distributed storage solutions. |
NAS Backup and Recovery Plugin | Enhances backup capabilities by integrating NAS-based storage, providing a cost-effective solution for protecting cloud resources. |
Networking
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Broad Network Virtualization Capabilities | Supports software-based network management and VLANs, with Direct Attached IP integration. |
MPLS Support in the Cloud | Supports dedicating a VLAN to a specific account for MPLS between network nodes. |
Virtual Routers, Firewalls and Load Balancers | Integrates with software and hardware firewalls and load balancers, including F5 and Netscaler. |
Network As a Service | Allows composition of network offerings with various behaviors and migration of VMs across network offerings. |
IPv6 support for Isolated and VPC Networks | Before the CloudStack 4.17 release, CloudStack already supported IPv6 for Shared Networks; since the release IPv6 is also supported for Isolated Networks and VPC. |
Dynamic and Static Routing | Supports Static Routing with manual route configuration and Dynamic Routing using BGP for automatic route propagation, enabling flexible and efficient network traffic management. |
VNF Appliances Support | Allows cloud operators to integrate custom Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) for enhanced network services, including routing, firewalls, WAN optimization, IDS/IPS, and load balancing, while adhering to organizational security policies. |
VMware NSX-T Support | Seamlessly integrates with NSX-T v4 to provide advanced networking capabilities such as dynamic routing, security services, and enhanced scalability in VMware environments. |
Security Groups for Shared Networks in Advanced Zones | Adds support for Security Groups in Shared Networks, allowing Instance-level security enforcement in Advanced Zones. |
Tungsten Fabric Support / OpenSDN | Integrates the Tungsten Fabric / OpenSDN, offering high-performance networking with DPDK optimization and lifecycle management. Enhances security and network capabilities, supporting features like Static NAT, Port Forwarding, Firewall, and Load Balancing without Virtual Router overhead in KVM environments. |
Management and Monitoring
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Usage Metering | Provides real-time visibility, historical usage reports, and billing invoices through integration with the CloudStack Usage Engine. |
Alerts and Notifications | Built-in monitoring for alerts on resource thresholds and machine failures via API and email. |
Event/Audit Logs | Records all user interactions with details on type, severity, description, owner, user, and timestamp. |
Notification & Capacity Thresholds | Allows setting of notification thresholds and capacity limits to manage resource allocation. |
CloudStack Webhooks | Introduces a Webhook Framework enabling real-time notifications and seamless integration with third-party tools triggered by system events. |
Projects and Resource Management
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Projects | Enables collaboration and resource sharing within defined groups, with all usage attributed to the project owner. |
Domains and Delegated Administration | Supports cloud resource segregation and delegation of domain management to other administrators. |
Resource Over Provisioning and Limits | Allows over-provisioning of physical resources and setting limits on virtual resources. |
Guest OS and Customization
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Wide Range Guest VM OS Support | Supports various guest operating systems including Windows®, Linux®, and BSD® based on the hypervisor configuration. |
Guest OS Preferences | Allows administrators to prefer specific OS on physical hosts to optimize for hardware and licensing models. |
User Data Support | Supports binary user data submission during VM deployment for custom VM identities. |
Random Password for Guest OS | Enhance guest OS templates with the custom random passwords upon VM creation for unique, secure logins on both Windows and Linux OS platforms. |
Additional Features/
Functionality
Feature/ Functionality | Description |
|---|---|
Secure Cloud Deployments | Ensures that all memory, CPU, network, and storage resources are both available and isolated from one user account to another within the cloud. |
Comprehensive Service Management | Administrators can define, meter, deploy, and manage multiple service and disk offerings within the cloud. |
CloudStack DRS | Automates workload distribution and rebalancing between hosts to enhance performance and resource utilization. |
Edge Zones | Simplifies deployment of lightweight zones in edge locations by removing complexities like shared storage, external switching and System VMs not being required for Edge Zones. |
Autoscaling | Native autoscaling support starting from CloudStack 4.18, removing the need for external devices for metrics. |
Clustered LVM Support | Supports clustered Logical Volume Manager (LVM) storage configurations. |
NetScaler Support | Integration with MPX, VPX & SDX devices for Layer-4 load balancing with support for HTTP, TCP & UDP protocols. |
VR Zero Downtime Upgrades and Live Patching | Enables zero downtime upgrades and live patching of virtual routers without complete removal or re-instantiation. |
On Demand Virtual Data Center Hosting | Provides users with virtually unlimited amount of computing resources – on demand, as required and billed by actual usage. |
VR Live Patching | This feature can also be used independently of upgrades and allow CloudStack admins to apply software updates to Virtual Routers on the fly. |
Granular Resource Limits | Empowers Administrators to define precise Compute and Storage limits, including specialized resources such as GPU Servers, ARM/x86 Hosts, and diverse Primary Storage types, ensuring optimal resource management. |
Scheduled Instance Lifecycle Operations | Enables users to automate Instance state transitions, such as start, stop, or reboot, based on predefined schedules for efficient resource management. |