openCenter
openCenter is a Kubernetes platform for provisioning and managing clusters with GitOps automation, security controls, observability, backup, and lifecycle ma…
What openCenter is
openCenter is a Kubernetes platform for provisioning and managing clusters with GitOps automation, security controls, observability, backup, and lifecycle management. It runs on OpenStack, VMware vSphere, AWS, bare metal, Kind, and air-gapped environments. Its CLI uses declarative YAML to define infrastructure, Kubernetes, services, and secrets, validating schemas and business rules before generating infrastructure-as-code, Kubespray inventory, and FluxCD manifests with Kustomize overlays. Integrated services include cert-manager, Kyverno, Keycloak, Harbor, Velero, MetalLB, Longhorn, Calico, PostgreSQL Operator, and OpenStack CSI. Observability components include Prometheus, Grafana, Alertmanager, Loki, Tempo, and OpenTelemetry. Security features include Kyverno policies, Pod Security Admission, NetworkPolicies, and group-based Keycloak access controls. Secrets support SOPS Age encryption in Git and Kubernetes encryption at rest. Rackspace Technology develops and maintains openCenter.
Good
- Supports air-gapped and bare-metal environments.
- CLI generates GitOps manifests from declarative YAML.
- Includes monitoring, logging, and tracing components.
- Secrets support encryption in Git and at rest.
Watch out
- Community support has no guaranteed response time.
- The website publishes no specific SOC 2 or ISO 27001 claims.
Who it suits
openCenter is for teams provisioning or operating Kubernetes clusters across supported infrastructure, including air-gapped sites. Its free self-supported plan is positioned for builders and proofs of concept; production users can select paid support tiers.
Verdict
openCenter combines cluster lifecycle tooling with security and observability components across several environments. Community use is self-supported, while paid tiers list support response targets for covered issues.
Plans and prices
From openCenter's own pricing page, checked 29 Sep 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Community | Free | Builders & PoCs · Self-supported · GitOps, security policies, and observability for evaluation/dev |
| Essentials | Priced on request | First production cluster · Standard 8×5 support · Bare Metal: $250 |
| Enterprise | Priced on request | Multi-cluster · Premium 24×7 support · Bare Metal: $475 |
| Regulated | Priced on request | Financial, healthcare, public sector · Mission Critical support · Bare Metal: $900 |
The facts
Each one read from openCenter's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Air-gap packaging
- The AirGap workflow packages images, charts, and binaries in a Zarf artifact and describes cryptographic signing, SBOM generation, and a Factory-to-Airlock-to-Field model.checked 29 Sep 2026
- CLI configuration
- The openCenter CLI uses declarative YAML for infrastructure, Kubernetes, services, and secrets, with schema validation and business-rule checks.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Compliance
- The maker says its website does not currently publish specific certification claims such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Deployment
- The platform says it runs on OpenStack, VMware vSphere, AWS, bare metal, and air-gapped sites.checked 29 Sep 2026
- GitOps
- The CLI generates infrastructure-as-code, Kubespray inventory, and FluxCD manifests with Kustomize overlays.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Integrated services
- Listed pre-hardened services include cert-manager, Kyverno, Keycloak, Harbor, Velero, MetalLB, Longhorn, Calico, PostgreSQL Operator, and OpenStack CSI.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Observability
- The platform lists Prometheus, Grafana, Alertmanager, Loki, Tempo, and OpenTelemetry for metrics, logs, tracing, and collection.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- openCenter provides upstream Kubernetes with GitOps automation, security hardening, observability, backup, and lifecycle management.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Secrets
- Secrets can be encrypted with SOPS Age in Git, with Kubernetes encryption at rest and zero-downtime key rotation.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Security controls
- The features page lists 17 Kyverno ClusterPolicies, Pod Security Admission, NetworkPolicies, and Keycloak OIDC group-based RBAC.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Support
- Community support is self-service with no guaranteed response time; Standard, Premium, and Mission Critical list initial response targets of 4 hours, 1 hour, and 15 minutes for covered issues.checked 29 Sep 2026
The company
- Maker
- openCenter is developed and maintained by Rackspace Technology.checked 29 Sep 2026
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