Alternatives to SmartOS

An open-source illumos-based hypervisor operating system that runs zones and KVM or bhyve virtual machines. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as SmartOS.

  • FreeBSD

    An open source Unix-like operating system with native ZFS, jails and the bhyve hypervisor.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hostedCommand line

    FreeBSD offers native ZFS, jails and the bhyve hypervisor in a general Unix-like operating system with a thorough Handbook, installed to disk rather than booted into memory.

  • Proxmox VE

    A bare-metal server platform that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface.

    FreemiumOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Proxmox VE switches to a Linux base, running KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface with backup and clustering included.

  • XCP-ng

    Open-source bare-metal hypervisor built on Xen, managed through Xen Orchestra.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    XCP-ng is an open-source bare-metal hypervisor built on Xen and managed through Xen Orchestra, focused on virtual machines rather than zones.

  • VMware ESXi Free

    Industry-standard bare-metal hypervisor with a free tier for small setups.

    FreemiumProprietarySelf-hosted

    VMware ESXi Free is a closed-source bare-metal hypervisor widely used in enterprise, whose free edition lacks centralized vSphere management.

  • Incus

    Manage Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Incus manages Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface, replacing the illumos base with a Linux host.

  • LXD

    Canonical's open-source manager for system containers and KVM virtual machines on Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxWebSelf-hostedCommand line

    LXD runs Linux system containers and KVM virtual machines side by side with a web interface and CLI, and is most at home on Ubuntu.

Also worth comparing

These listings name SmartOS as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • LXC

    System containers that run a full Linux userspace instead of a single process.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    SmartOS runs zones alongside KVM or bhyve VMs on an illumos base with ZFS and DTrace, which is less familiar than Linux and needs Triton for cloud management.

  • Xen Project

    An open source type-1 hypervisor that runs several isolated operating systems on the same hardware.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    SmartOS is an open source illumos-based hypervisor OS running zones and KVM or bhyve VMs, with ZFS and DTrace built in.

  • XenServer

    A Xen-based server virtualization platform for running and managing virtual machines on your own hardware.

    PaidProprietarySelf-hosted

    SmartOS is an open-source illumos-based hypervisor running zones and KVM or bhyve VMs with ZFS, though cloud management requires Triton on top.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.