SmartOS
| Company type | Open-source software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Operating system, Virtualization |
| Founder | Joyent |
| Fate | Divested Triton Datacenter and SmartOS operations to MNX Solutions in April 2022 |
| Successor | MNX Solutions |
Area served | Cloud infrastructure, Appliance implementation |
| Products | SmartOS operating system and hypervisor |
| Owner | MNX Solutions |
SmartOS is a no-cost, open-source SVR4 hypervisor that integrates OpenSolaris components with virtualization technologies such as bhyve and KVM. Its foundational kernel contributes to the illumos ecosystem. Prominent features encompass Crossbow, DTrace, bhyve, KVM, ZFS, and Solaris Containers (Zones). Differing from other illumos variants, SmartOS utilizes the NetBSD-based pkgsrc for package management. The system is tailored specifically for cloud infrastructure and appliance implementation.
Initially created by Joyent, which divested its Triton Datacenter and SmartOS operations to MNX Solutions in April 2022, SmartOS continues to be freely available for commercial applications under an open-source license.
SmartOS functions as an in-memory operating system, booting directly into RAM through multiple methods such as hard disk, USB drives, ISO images, or PXE network booting. This architecture streamlines updating processes since upgrades merely require rebooting from a newer image version.
The platform adopts a strict local node storage strategy where virtual machines are stored on individual nodes rather than centralized SAN or NAS solutions. This approach minimizes network latency and promotes node autonomy. Management of multi-node SmartOS environments is facilitated by the open-source MNX Triton DataCenter (previously SmartDataCenter) orchestration tool or the Erlang-based Project Fifo cloud management system.
In 2012, Joyent collaborated with MongoDB Inc. to improve SmartOS scalability, reinforcing its suitability for cloud and enterprise sectors.
Virtualization
SmartOS supports several virtualization mechanisms, including:
- Zones, which provide lightweight OS-level virtualization akin to container technology
- Hardware-assisted virtualization
Native Zones
Native zones deliver application isolation through Solaris Containers OS-level virtualization, eliminating the resource overhead associated with hardware-emulated virtual machines.
LX zones (Linux system call emulation)
LX zones allow Linux binaries to run on SmartOS without recompilation by emulating Linux system calls. This capability is also present in other illumos derivatives such as OmniOS.
KVM
Since 2011, SmartOS has incorporated support for KVM and QEMU on Intel processors featuring VMX and EPT extensions, enabling hardware-assisted virtualization.
bhyve
The bhyve hypervisor, originally developed for FreeBSD, has been ported to SmartOS and is favored for fully virtualized (HVM) scenarios involving Windows or Linux guest operating systems.