Ralph
Ralph is an open-source system for managing hardware assets in data centers and back offices, combining asset management, data center infrastructure manageme…
What Ralph is
Ralph is an open-source system for managing hardware assets in data centers and back offices, combining asset management, data center infrastructure management (DCIM), and a configuration management database (CMDB). It tracks purchases and asset lifecycles through flexible flows, and includes data center visualization. Teams can self-host it on premises and use its REST-style web API to query or populate the database. API resources support GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE; requests use an automatically generated personal token in the Authorization header. Cloud synchronization supports OpenStack Ocata, and the documentation describes syncing assets with providers such as AWS. LDAP or Active Directory authentication can be enabled. Ralph is free under the Apache 2.0 license. Production Debian packages are provided for Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic on AMD64; Docker Compose installation is experimental. The maintainers do not promise issue responses or pull request support, and direct users seeking commercial support to the community forum.
Good
- Tracks hardware purchases and asset lifecycles.
- Includes built-in data center visualization.
- REST-style API supports five resource operations.
- Supports LDAP or Active Directory authentication.
- Free and licensed under Apache 2.0.
Watch out
- Production packages target Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic on AMD64.
- Docker Compose installation is experimental.
- Maintainers do not guarantee issue or pull request support.
Who it suits
Ralph suits data centers and back offices that need to manage hardware assets, lifecycle workflows, and ownership on premises. It is aimed at teams able to deploy and maintain the system themselves.
Verdict
Ralph covers asset lifecycle management, visualization, and API access for organizations managing hardware infrastructure. Check the documented Ubuntu requirement and support limitations before choosing it.
Plans and prices
From Ralph's own pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph | Free | Open-source software · Apache 2.0 license |
The facts
Each one read from Ralph's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API authentication
- API requests use an automatically generated personal token sent in the Authorization header.checked 7 Oct 2026
- API operations
- The API supports GET, POST, PUT, PATCH and DELETE operations on resources.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Asset lifecycle
- It tracks asset purchases and lifecycles with a flexible lifecycle flow system.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Authentication integration
- The configuration documentation describes enabling authentication through LDAP or Active Directory systems.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Cloud integrations
- Cloud synchronization supports OpenStack Ocata; the documentation also describes syncing assets with providers such as AWS using an HTTP endpoint and, for some providers, an adapter.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Community help
- The README links to an online forum for the Ralph community.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Data center visualization
- The project lists built-in data center visualization as a feature.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Demo
- The README links to a live demo and lists the login and password as ralph.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The installation guide provides Ubuntu packages for AMD64 and describes Docker installation as experimental.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The project describes its target environments as data centers and back offices managing hardware assets.checked 7 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Lifecycle workflows
- It includes a flexible flow system for asset life cycles.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Open source
- Ralph is provided under the Apache 2.0 license.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Ralph is an asset management, DCIM and CMDB system for data centers and back offices.checked 7 Oct 2026
- REST API
- Ralph exposes a REST-style web API for querying and populating its database.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Security configuration
- The installation guide recommends using a separate database host with a non-default password and configuring SSL traffic termination.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Self-hosting
- The installation guide provides Ubuntu packages and an experimental Docker Compose installation.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maintainers say they publish source under a “Sources only” model without guarantees and do not guarantee issue responses or pull request support; they point users seeking commercial support to the community forum.checked 7 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platform requirement
- The guide says production Debian packages are provided for Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic on AMD64.checked 7 Oct 2026
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