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Harvester

harvesterhci.io

Free plan WebLinuxAPISelf-hosted
Visit harvesterhci.io
Spec score 8.2 #1 of 17 in Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) Solutions

What it is

Harvester is free, open-source hyperconverged infrastructure for bare-metal servers, combining virtualization and distributed storage. It is intended for VMs, Kubernetes running in VMs, containerized workloads on bare metal, and edge workloads. Its architecture uses Kubernetes, KubeVirt, Longhorn, Grafana, Prometheus, and SUSE Linux Micro. Users can create, edit, clone, and delete VMs, with SSH key injection, cloud-init, and graphical or serial consoles. Live migration moves a VM to another host without downtime, but requires matching physical CPU specifications. Storage includes distributed block storage and tiering; VM backups use NFS or S3-compatible targets and are limited to Longhorn volumes. Harvester installs directly on bare metal from a bootable ISO; new installations starting with v1.8 require UEFI boot. Three nodes are needed for multi-node features and high availability, while production recommendations call for at least 16 CPU cores, 64 GB memory, 500 GB disk, and 10 Gbps Ethernet. Laptops and nested virtualization are unsupported.

Spec sheet

Product
Harvester is open-source hyperconverged infrastructure for bare-metal servers, combining virtualization and distributed storage.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Deployment
Harvester installs directly on bare-metal servers from a bootable ISO; new installations starting with v1.8 require UEFI boot.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Cluster requirements
Three nodes are required to fully realize multi-node features and high availability; single-node clusters do not support high availability, multiple replicas, or live migration.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Hardware limits
The production recommendations include at least 16 CPU cores, 64 GB memory, 500 GB disk, and 10 Gbps Ethernet; laptops and nested virtualization are unsupported.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Intended workloads
Harvester is aimed at running VMs, Kubernetes in VMs, containerized workloads on bare metal, and workloads at the edge.Read 2 Oct 2026 · harvesterhci.io
Live migration
Harvester supports moving a VM to another host or node with zero downtime, and live migration requires matching CPU specifications across physical servers.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Networking
Harvester supports virtual IPs, multiple network interface cards, VLAN or untagged networks, and requires port trunking for VLAN support.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Operating system
Harvester uses an immutable operating system that prevents direct changes to the core system image outside designated configuration directories.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Rancher integration
Rancher can import and manage multiple Harvester clusters and manage their VMs alongside Kubernetes clusters.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Security and access
Rancher integration supports authentication and role-based access control for multi-tenancy; Harvester's Rancher RBAC integration is documented as experimental.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Storage and backup
Harvester provides distributed block storage and tiering; VM backups use NFS or S3-compatible targets, and backup support is limited to Longhorn volumes.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Support lifecycle
The maker's docs state that Prime releases receive six months of active support followed by twelve months of maintenance support for critical security-related issues.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
Technology
Its architecture uses Kubernetes, KubeVirt, Longhorn, Grafana, and Prometheus, with SUSE Linux Micro at its core.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io
VM management
The platform supports creating, editing, cloning, and deleting VMs, with SSH key injection, cloud-init, and graphical and serial consoles.Read 2 Oct 2026 · docs.harvesterhci.io

Plans and prices

Harvester Free 100% open source · no license fees stated Read 2 Oct 2026 · harvesterhci.io

Every Harvester plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free and open-source bare-metal infrastructure
  • VM creation, cloning, and live migration
  • Distributed block storage and tiering
  • Supports ARM64 and x86_64 hosts

Limits

  • Three nodes needed for multi-node features and high availability
  • VM backups support Longhorn volumes only
  • Nested virtualization and laptops are unsupported
  • New installations from v1.8 require UEFI boot

Who it suits

Harvester suits organizations running VMs, Kubernetes in VMs, containers on bare metal, or edge workloads on bare-metal servers. Its cluster requirements and recommended hardware make server infrastructure a central consideration.

Verdict

Harvester brings virtualization and distributed storage together for bare-metal deployments, with VM management and live migration. Its node, hardware, boot, and backup constraints should be checked before deployment.

Where Specifiction places it

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