Platform Comparison
Overview
Clusterducks | Scale HC3 | Citrix PVS | Cobbler | Foreman | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
License | AGPL3 | Proprietary + GPL | Proprietary | GPL | GPL3 |
First Release | 2016 | 2012 | 2004 (Ardence) | 2007 | 2009 |
Cost | Free | $$$$ | $$$$ | Free | Free |
Category | Lifecycle Management | VM Deployment | Image Management | Image Provisioning | Lifecycle Management |
Clusterducks | Scale HC3 | Citrix PVS | Cobbler | Foreman | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Server OS | Linux/FreeBSD | ICOS (Linux) | Windows | Linux/FreeBSD/Others | Linux/FreeBSD/Others |
Bare Metal | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Virtualization | Yes (libvirt) | Yes (libvirt) | Yes (XenServer) | Yes | Yes |
Server Filesystem | ZFS | IBM GPFS | NTFS (SAN for HA) | N/A | N/A |
Clusterducks | Scale HC3 | Citrix PVS | Cobbler | Foreman | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Storage Protocol | iSCSI / NFS | Direct-attach | Proprietary (UDP) | N/A | N/A |
Device OS | Windows, Linux, MacOS | Windows, Linux | Windows, SUSE, RedHat | Windows, Linux, Others | Windows, Linux, Others |
Device OS Integration* | Basic (Linux) | ? | Active Directory+ | Yes | Yes |
* Device OS integration refers to OS-level agents or drivers that allow for system individualization without external utilities, i.e. hostname changing and domain join management
Hardware Requirements
Clusterducks | Scale HC3 | Citrix PVS | Cobbler | Foreman | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum Servers | 1 (plus web ui) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
CPU | Dual Core or better | Vendor-supplied | Dual Core or better | - | - |
Memory | 8GB (more=faster) | Vendor-supplied (128G) | 8G+ (avg 32G) | - | - |
Network | 1Gbit+ | 2x10Gbit | 1Gbit+ | - | - |
Limitations
Project | Max # Servers |
---|---|
Clusterducks | Network is the bottleneck |
Scale HC3 | Up to 8 |
Citrix PVS | ? |
VMware | Yes |
User Experience
Project | Responsiveness | Boot storms? | Access Method |
---|---|---|---|
Clusterducks | Native (bare metal) | No (bare metal) | Bare Metal + VM (thin client, BYOD) |
Scale HC3 | Latency (vitualization) | Yes | VM (thin client, BYOD) |
Citrix PVS | Native | No (bare metal) | Bare Metal + VM (thin client, BYOD) |
VMware | Latency (virtualization+) | Yes | VM (thin client, BYOD) |
Developer Experience
Project | API Access | Modular |
---|---|---|
Clusterducks | Yes | No |
Scale HC3 | ? | No |
Citrix PVS | ? | No |
VMware | Yes | Yes |
Administrator Experience
Project | Special Drivers? | Control Method | Preferred Data Model | Replication | Snapshots |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clusterducks | No | Web UI / API | Non-persistent (reprovision @ boot) | 1-min intervals, as-needed | May occur every minute with no performance loss |
Scale HC3 | virtio | Web UI | Persistent | Near-realtime | ? |
Citrix PVS | Yes | PC Application | Persistent | Shared storage | ? |
VMware | Yes | Depends | Persistent | Shared storage | Unusuable due to performance limitations |
Category
Project | Column |
---|---|
Clusterducks | Yes |
Scale HC3 | ? |
Citrix PVS | ? |
VMware | Yes |