Canonical MAAS
8.1#1 in bare metal provisioning softwareFrom $30 a yearFree planWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted
VisitCanonical MAAS vs Foreman
What both publish
| Fact | Canonical MAAS | Foreman |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | A PostgreSQL-backed region controller handles operator requests while distributed rack controllers provide DHCP, IPMI, PXE, TFTP and cached images. | A typical Foreman deployment contains a Foreman server, Smart Proxy servers, and managed hosts. |
| Extensibility | Canonical documents CLI and Python client bindings, custom commissioning scripts, deployment scripts and custom power-driver plugins. | Foreman has a pluggable architecture that allows it to be extended in many directions. |
| Management interfaces | Nodes can be managed remotely through the web UI, command line, or API. | Foreman provides a web frontend, a RESTful API, and a CLI for Linux. |
| Purpose | MAAS is an open source platform for centrally managing and provisioning physical servers as cloud resources. | Foreman is an open-source tool for managing servers through provisioning, configuration, orchestration, and monitoring. |
Canonical MAAS plans
- FreeFree
- Self-supportFree
- Essential$30 a year
- Standard$50 a year
- Advanced$100 a year
Foreman plans
- ForemanFree
Pick Canonical MAAS if…
MAAS suits teams managing physical servers for private cloud with OpenStack, server automation, or bare metal Kubernetes. Its single-machine installation is also described for homelabs, proofs of concept, and small production environments.
Pick Foreman if…
Foreman is aimed at system administrators managing physical or virtual servers across on-premise and cloud environments. It is better suited to people with Linux system administration knowledge than to newcomers to server management.