OpenNebula

OpenNebula
Industry	Cloud computing software
Founded	2005; 21 years ago
Founder	Ignacio M. Llorente, Ruben S. Montero
Area served	Worldwide
Products	OpenNebula Community Edition, OpenNebula Enterprise Edition
Owner	OpenNebula Systems (formerly C12G Labs)
Website	opennebula.io

OpenNebula is an open source cloud computing solution created to manage diverse data center, public cloud, and edge computing environments. It enables the administration of both local and remote virtual infrastructures, facilitating the construction of private, public, or hybrid infrastructure as a service (IaaS) platforms, as well as multi-tenant Kubernetes clusters. The system is mainly focused on virtualizing data centers and deploying clouds using the KVM hypervisor, LXD/LXC containers, and AWS Firecracker microVMs. Additionally, it can operate within existing VMware cloud infrastructures.

In June 2020, OpenNebula introduced an Enterprise Edition (EE) tailored for business users alongside its free Community Edition (CE). The CE version is distributed under the Apache License version 2, granting complimentary access to essential patch updates but restricting routine maintenance releases found in the EE. Major version upgrades are accessible exclusively to non-commercial CE users or key open source contributors. The Enterprise Edition remains proprietary and requires a commercial license.

History

Originating in 2005 as a research project led by Ignacio M. Llorente and Ruben S. Montero, OpenNebula’s inaugural public version was released in 2008. Its goal was to create scalable, efficient services for managing virtual machines across distributed systems. The project’s evolution has been propelled by open-source collaboration and an expanding community. In March 2010, the core developers established C12G Labs (now OpenNebula Systems) to offer professional support for enterprises deploying OpenNebula.

Description

OpenNebula coordinates storage, networking, virtualization, monitoring, and security components to deploy complex services like compute clusters as virtual machines over distributed infrastructures. It unifies data center and remote cloud resources according to defined allocation strategies. The European Commission’s 2010 assessment highlighted OpenNebula as one of the leading cloud-oriented research initiatives.

The platform delivers capabilities in integration, management, scalability, security, and accounting while prioritizing standardization, interoperability, and portability. It supports various cloud APIs (Amazon EC2 Query, OGF Open Cloud Computing Interface, vCloud) alongside multiple hypervisors (VMware vCenter, KVM, LXD/LXC, AWS Firecracker), enabling compatibility with a wide range of hardware and software setups within data centers.

Backed by OpenNebula Systems (formerly C12G), the platform serves numerous sectors including cloud service providers, telecommunications firms, IT companies, government agencies, financial institutions, gaming enterprises, media organizations, hosting providers, supercomputing centers, research laboratories, and international research collaborations.

Development

Significant releases are typically rolled out every three to five years with several incremental updates in between. OpenNebula remains predominantly open-source and benefits from a vibrant community of developers and translators. Since version 5.12, upgrade scripts have become proprietary and require a subscription for access unless the deployment is a non-profit cloud or involves substantial contributions to the project.

Release history

Versions TP and TP2: initial technology previews featuring host and virtual machine management on the Xen hypervisor.
Version 1.0: inaugural stable release; introduced KVM and EC2 drivers to enable hybrid cloud environments.
Version 1.2: improved documentation layout alongside enhanced hybrid cloud capabilities.
Version 1.4: incorporated public cloud APIs and virtual network management features.
Version 2.0: launched MySQL backend support, LDAP authentication, image handling, and virtual network administration.
Version 2.2: added integration documentation, Ganglia monitoring, OCCI extensions, Java API bindings, and the Sunstone graphical interface.
Version 3.0: provided migration options from earlier releases; introduced VLAN support, ebtables, Open vSwitch integration, access control lists, accounting modules, VMware driver, Virtual Data Centers, and data center federation.
Version 3.2: implemented virtual machine firewalling capabilities (later superseded by security groups).
Version 3.4: introduced iSCSI datastores, elevated clusters to first-class entities, and added quota management.
Version 3.6: featured Virtual Routers, LVM-based datastores, and integration with the OpenNebula marketplace.
Version 3.8: launched OneFlow service orchestration and OneGate application monitoring tools.
Version 4.0: added support for Ceph and Files datastores; introduced the onedb database management utility.
Version 4.2: debuted a new self-service portal named Cloud View along with VMFS datastore support.
Version 4.4: advanced Open Cloud standards compliance, improved cloud bursting mechanisms, and enabled multiple system datastores for optimized storage load balancing.
Version 4.6: enabled federation of OpenNebula across geographically distributed data centers; introduced a new cloud portal and application marketplace supporting OVAs.
Version 4.8: incorporated compatibility with Microsoft Azure and IBM clouds; enhanced OneFlow within Cloud View to support elastic VM applications.
Version 4.10: integrated support portal within Sunstone GUI; developed login token functionality; expanded VMS and vCenter compatibility.
Version 4.12: implemented security groups; refined vCenter integration; introduced a showback model for departmental cloud usage tracking.
Version 4.14: redesigned Sunstone GUI with modular architecture to improve code maintainability and facilitate component additions.
Version 5.0 'Wizard: launched marketplaces for sharing images across instances; introduced Virtual Router management featuring network topology visualization within Sunstone.
Version 5.2 'Excession: added IP Address Management (IPAM) subsystem for network integration; enabled dynamic LDAP group mapping.
Version 5.4 'Medusa: delivered comprehensive storage and network management for vCenter; introduced VM Groups to enforce affinity rules; implemented RAFT-based high availability controller.
Version 5.6 'Blue Flash: focused on scalability enhancements and user experience improvements.
Version 5.8 'Edge: incorporated LXD container support, automated NIC selection, and Distributed Datacenters (DDC) functionality enabling remote clusters in edge and hybrid cloud scenarios.
Version 5.10 'Boomerang: added NUMA/CPU pinning features, NSX integration, revamped hook subsystem utilizing ZeroMQ, DPDK support, and two-factor authentication for Sunstone access.
Version 5.12 'Firework: removed upgrade scripts; introduced AWS Firecracker micro-VM compatibility; integrated Docker Hub; enhanced Security Group support for NSX; improved Sunstone interface and monitoring framework; revamped OneFlow orchestration.
Version 6.0 'Mutara: established multi-cloud architecture incorporating Edge Clusters; strengthened Docker and Kubernetes support; launched new FireEdge web UI; overhauled OneFlow; added backup functionalities.
Version 6.2 'Red Square: enhanced LXC driver capabilities; supported workload portability; released beta version of the new Sunstone GUI.
Version 6.4 'Archeon: automated edge cluster deployment with Ceph on-premises or AWS bare metal environments; introduced network states concept; improved VMware vCenter integration; added WHMCS module for Enterprise Edition.
Version 6.6 'Electra: integrated Prometheus monitoring with Grafana dashboards (Enterprise Edition); provided native incremental backups via datastore backends; introduced Restic and Rsync drivers (Enterprise Edition); enhanced Telco Cloud virtual network and VNF management features.
Version 6.8 'Rosette: added new Virtual Data Center (VDC) and User tabs in FireEdge GUI displaying accounting and showback information; unified backup job policies across virtual machines; optimized KVM driver including CPU flag enhancements and Windows performance improvements.
Version 6.10 'Bubble: upgraded backup capabilities with incremental backups and selective disk restore; improved PCI passthrough with broader GPU support; enhanced recovery processes for powered-off or suspended VMs; multi-tenancy improvements including customizable quotas and restricted attributes; added Ubuntu 24/Debian 12 compatibility; Community Edition incorporated Prometheus and Restic backup features from Enterprise Edition; simplified deployment playbooks and roles; improved VMware migration using OneSwap tool; updated FireEdge UI with advanced functionalities built on modern technology stack.
Version 7.0 'Phoenix: major release targeting sovereign AI-ready edge cloud deployments; introduced AI-driven workload automation; enhanced VMware re-virtualization with advanced backup options; full NVIDIA vGPU support for AI acceleration; expanded hybrid multi-cloud provisioning including ARM architecture compatibility; revamped Sunstone UI featuring real-time metrics visualization; strengthened Kubernetes integration alongside networking enhancements.

Core elements

Host: A physical server operating a compatible hypervisor.
Cluster: A collective of hosts sharing storage and virtual networking resources.
Template: A predefined configuration for a Virtual Machine.
Image: The disk file representing a Virtual Machine.
Virtual Machine: An active instance derived from a Template, with multiple VMs possible from one Template.
Virtual Network: A set of IP leases that allow VMs to automatically receive IP addresses by bridging onto physical networks via host bridges. It is characterized by:

Underlying physical network hardware.
Logical addressing scheme (IPv4, IPv6, or dual stack).
Configuration parameters such as subnet mask, DNS, and gateway. Incorporates a Virtual Router appliance providing services like DHCP and DNS.

Components and deployment model

OpenNebula utilizes a traditional cluster-based deployment structure consisting of:

A front-end (master node)
Hosts enabled with hypervisors (worker nodes)
Storage repositories (datastores)
Physical networking infrastructure

Front-end machine

The master node hosts all OpenNebula services, including the management daemon (oned), the scheduler (sched), and the web interface server (Sunstone). It oversees task queuing, scheduling, VM lifecycle operations, monitoring host health, performance metrics, capacity management, and repository services. The overall scalability of the system is influenced by the capabilities of this master server.

Hypervisor-enabled hosts

Worker nodes supply the computational power required to execute tasks assigned by the master node. These nodes operate virtualization hypervisors such as VMware, Xen, or KVM—the latter being the default and natively supported option. These physical servers run the virtual machines and communicate with the master through the Virtualization Subsystem.

Storage

Datastores contain foundational VM images accessible by the front-end through NAS, SAN, or direct-attached storage solutions. OpenNebula classifies datastores into three types:

System datastores: store images utilized for launching VMs; images may exist as full copies, incremental changes, or symbolic links depending on storage methods.
Image datastores: function as repositories for disk images; images transfer between image and system datastores during VM deployment or modification processes.
File datastores: accommodate general files such as kernels, ramdisks, or context-related files.

Physical networks

Physical networking components are vital for linking storage servers and virtual machines across distributed sites. At least two distinct physical networks are necessary: one for service communication and another for instance traffic, allowing VMs to interact across different hosts. OpenNebula’s network subsystem offers extensive customization to ensure smooth integration with existing data center network setups.

External links

OpenNebula Website