LXD

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

FreeOpen sourceLinuxWebSelf-hostedCommand line
Official websitecanonical.com

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About LXD

LXD manages both KVM-based virtual machines and LXC system containers that run a full Linux OS, from one platform. It aims to give a cloud-like experience with low overhead, and workloads can be managed from the command line or through a web interface.

It is maintained by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, and suits anyone who wants lightweight Linux environments and full VMs on their own servers or workstation, from a single machine up to a cluster.

Strengths

  • Runs system containers and KVM virtual machines side by side
  • Low overhead for full Linux environments in containers
  • Web interface as well as a command-line tool

Limitations

  • Linux hosts only
  • Canonical-led project, most at home on Ubuntu

Details

Pricing
FreeFree and open source, maintained by Canonical.
License
AGPL-3.0
Developer
Canonical
Platforms
Linux, Web, Self-hosted, Command line
How it runs
Self-hosted
Account
Not required
Best suited for
Running Linux containers and VMs on your own servers
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.

Alternatives to LXD

Compare all

Software that can replace LXD for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • Incus

    Manage Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Incus also manages Linux system containers and virtual machines through one interface, under the Apache-2.0 license instead of AGPL-3.0, with a Linux host required.

  • Proxmox VE

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

    FreemiumOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Proxmox VE installs as a complete operating system that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface, with backup and high-availability clustering included.

  • SmartOS

    An open-source illumos-based hypervisor operating system that runs zones and KVM or bhyve virtual machines.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    SmartOS uses an illumos base instead of Linux, running zones alongside KVM or bhyve virtual machines, with ZFS and DTrace built in and booting into memory.

  • FreeBSD

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

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hostedCommand line

    FreeBSD offers jails for isolating services and the built-in bhyve hypervisor with native ZFS, replacing Linux containers with a Unix-like system that has fewer desktop drivers.

  • Harvester

    Hyper-converged infrastructure that runs virtual machines on top of Kubernetes.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Harvester runs virtual machines and containers on Kubernetes with shared storage, but installs on bare metal only and expects at least three nodes for production.

  • OpenNebula

    An open-source platform for building private and hybrid clouds that manage virtual machines and Kubernetes.

    FreemiumOpen sourceLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    OpenNebula manages virtual machines and Kubernetes across a private or hybrid cloud with federation and high availability, but is built for data centres rather than one server.

LXD as an alternative

Listings that name LXD as an alternative.

  • libvirt

    A toolkit, daemon and API for managing KVM, QEMU, Xen, LXC and other virtualization platforms.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    LXD is Canonical's manager for system containers and KVM virtual machines, with a web interface and CLI, AGPL-3.0 licensed, and most at home on Ubuntu hosts.

  • LXC

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

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    LXD is Canonical's manager for system containers that also runs KVM virtual machines and adds a web interface, under AGPL-3.0 and most at home on Ubuntu.

  • WebVirtCloud

    A self-hosted web interface for managing KVM virtual machines through libvirt, for admins and users.

    FreeProprietaryLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    LXD manages system containers and KVM virtual machines on Linux with a web interface and command-line tool, and it is open source under AGPL-3.0.

Similar software

Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.

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