Slurm Workload Manager
Slurm Workload Manager is free, open-source software for managing clusters and scheduling work on Linux.
What Slurm Workload Manager is
Slurm Workload Manager is free, open-source software for managing clusters and scheduling work on Linux. It allocates compute resources, starts and monitors work on assigned nodes, and manages queues of pending jobs. Optional plugins add accounting, advanced reservations, gang and backfill scheduling, topology-aware resource selection, resource limits, and multifactor job prioritization. Its architecture uses a centralized slurmctld manager and slurmd daemons on compute nodes, with optional accounting and REST components. GPU plugins support NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, AWS Trainium, and AWS Inferentia accelerators, as well as NVIDIA MPS and GPU sharing. Slurm can use MySQL or MariaDB for accounting and offers several ways to record accounting data. Slurmrestd provides a REST API, but it is not designed for direct internet exposure and supports only unencrypted HTTP. Linux is thoroughly tested on arm64, ppc64, and x86_64; FreeBSD and NetBSD have limited support, and macOS is not supported. Deployment is self-hosted.
Good
- Free, open-source cluster management software.
- Queues and monitors work across allocated nodes.
- Optional plugins offer advanced scheduling controls.
- GPU plugins support several accelerator types.
Watch out
- macOS is not currently supported.
- FreeBSD and NetBSD have limited support.
- REST access supports only unencrypted HTTP.
- REST API is not designed for direct internet exposure.
Who it suits
Slurm suits teams managing high-performance computing or AI workloads on clusters, from smaller Linux clusters to large-scale systems. It is intended for organizations prepared to deploy and operate self-hosted software.
Verdict
Slurm provides cluster resource allocation and job scheduling with optional accounting, scheduling, and GPU capabilities. Its self-hosted model and REST API constraints are important considerations.
Plans and prices
From Slurm Workload Manager's own pricing page, checked 1 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Slurm | Free | GNU GPL v2 · self-hosted cluster software · No monetary cost |
The facts
Each one read from Slurm Workload Manager's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Architecture
- Slurm uses a centralized slurmctld manager, slurmd daemons on compute nodes, optional slurmdbd accounting, and optional slurmrestd REST access.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Slurm authenticates communications between components through a configurable authentication plugin, with MUNGE as the default and recommended option and an internal auth/slurm plugin also available.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Cloud and Kubernetes
- SchedMD documents Slurm integrations for Google Cloud, AWS Parallel Computing Service, Microsoft Azure and CycleCloud, while Slinky provides interoperability between Slurm and Kubernetes.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Core functions
- It allocates compute resources, starts and monitors work on allocated nodes, and manages queues of pending work.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Database integration
- Slurm supports MySQL or MariaDB for accounting and can record accounting data in a text file, directly in a database, or through slurmdbd for multiple clusters.checked 1 Oct 2026
- GPU support
- Optional GRES plugins support NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, AWS Trainium, and AWS Inferentia accelerators, plus NVIDIA MPS and GPU sharing.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Notable adoption
- SchedMD states that Slurm is the scheduler of choice for over half of the top one-hundred systems in the TOP500.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Primary audience
- SchedMD describes Slurm as a workload manager for high-performance computing and AI environments, including large-scale supercomputing systems.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Project history
- Slurm was initially released in 2002, and SchedMD was founded in 2010 to continue developing it.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Slurm is an open-source, fault-tolerant, highly scalable cluster management and job scheduling system for large and small Linux clusters.checked 1 Oct 2026
- REST API
- Slurmrestd provides a REST API, but the API is not designed to be directly internet-facing and supports only unencrypted HTTP communications.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Scheduling features
- Optional plugins provide accounting, advanced reservations, gang scheduling, backfill scheduling, topology-aware resource selection, resource limits, and multifactor job prioritization.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Supported operating systems
- Linux is thoroughly tested on arm64, ppc64, and x86_64; FreeBSD and NetBSD have limited support, while macOS is not currently supported.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Support services
- SchedMD offers standard support, deployment services, on-site training, and technical account manager services for Slurm and Slinky.checked 1 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2010checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- Utah, United Stateschecked 28 Sep 2026
