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oVirt

ovirt.org

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Spec score 8.6 #1 of 22 in Server Virtualization Software

What it is

oVirt is a free, open-source distributed virtualization system for managing enterprise infrastructure. It uses the KVM hypervisor and builds on community projects including libvirt, Gluster, PatternFly, and Ansible. Deployment options include a self-hosted Engine and a standalone Engine; the project recommends the self-hosted option, which runs as a virtual machine on specialized hosts and is highly available without external HA management. Centralized storage holds virtual machine disks, ISO files, and snapshots, with options including NFS, GlusterFS, iSCSI, local storage, Fibre Channel, pNFS, and other POSIX-compliant filesystems. Automation and integration are available through Ansible roles and collections, Python, Java, and Ruby SDKs, and a REST API. The download page identifies version 4.5.7 as intended for production use, with Engine and host support for Enterprise Linux 9 or 10 and CentOS Stream 9 or 10. Installation is by command line. At least one additional host is required for advanced features such as migration and high availability. The project points users to community forums, IRC, and Matrix, and invites contributions.

Spec sheet

What it does
oVirt is a free, open-source distributed virtualization platform for managing enterprise infrastructure through a centralized interface.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Purpose
oVirt is a free open-source distributed virtualization solution designed to manage enterprise infrastructure.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Deployment
oVirt supports self-hosted Engine and standalone Engine deployments, and recommends the self-hosted Engine option.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · ovirt.org
Integrations
The feature catalog lists OVN/OpenStack providers, Glance, Cinder, GlusterFS, SR-IOV, OpenShift, Cloud-init and Terraform-related integrations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
License
oVirt uses Apache License 2.0 as its primary license, while some complementary projects may use LGPL or GPL.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Additional hosts
The download page says at least one additional host is required for advanced features such as migration and high availability.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
API and SDKs
Documentation covers a REST API, incremental-backup API, Python, Java and Ruby SDKs, plus Ansible roles and an Ansible collection.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Apple client price
The aSPICE Pro - oVirt Proxmox client costs $9.99 as a one-time Apple App Store purchase.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Automation and APIs
The documentation lists oVirt Ansible roles and collection, Python, Java, and Ruby SDKs, and a REST API.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Community support
The site points users to community forums, IRC and Matrix chat, and invites contributions to the project.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Company profile
LinkedIn lists oVirt as a nonprofit software-development organization with 51–200 employees and headquarters described as Worldwide Community.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Core technologies
The platform uses KVM and is built with libvirt, Gluster, PatternFly and Ansible.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Current release
The download page identifies oVirt 4.5.7 as intended for production use.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Desktop access
Users can access virtual machines through a portal using SPICE, web consoles, virt-viewer, VNC or Windows RDP.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
DNS prerequisite
Installations require external DNS with matching forward and reverse resolution; running DNS inside an oVirt virtual machine is unsupported.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Documentation
The documentation set includes planning, installation, upgrade, administration, VM management, VM portal, data warehouse, disaster recovery and networking guides.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Engine requirements
A small deployment needs at least a dual-core x86_64 CPU, 4 GB RAM, 25 GB writable disk and a 1 Gbps network interface.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
High availability
Highly available virtual machines can restart on another cluster host after host failure or other interruptions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Host requirements
Hosts require Intel VT or AMD-V, NX support and at least 2 GB RAM; ARM64 support is only a technology preview.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Installation requirement
oVirt is installed using the command line.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Java SDK
The Java SDK v4 targets the REST API and uses JSSE for TLS with hostname verification enabled by default.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Latest release
Version 4.5.7 was released January 13, 2026, adding CentOS and AlmaLinux 10 support, a CVE-2024-7259 fix, Java 21 builds and faster host reconnection.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Limit: Apple client
Apple reviewers mention clumsy configuration, keyboard-input problems, missing middle-mouse passthrough and requests for clipboard and window-resizing improvements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: complexity and documentation
A G2 reviewer reported that setup is difficult for beginners and that documentation, community support and update speed lag competitors.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: storage and platform support
A G2 reviewer reported no Debian or Ubuntu installation, instability with snapshots, Gluster, Ceph and NFS, and eventual production decommissioning.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: upgrades and migration
A G2 reviewer said major upgrades require rebuilding the operating system and downtime, while large or busy VM migrations can struggle and errors are unclear.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Live migration
Running virtual machines can be moved between hosts in a cluster without service interruption.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Networking
The current homepage identifies OVN networking as a built-in industry-standard foundation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Node NG warning
Release notes urge Node NG users to move to another deployment method because of stability and security concerns with its structure.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Praise: open source and cost
A G2 reviewer praised full open-source availability without licensing costs while retaining live migration, high availability and KVM reliability.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Praise: VM management
G2 reviewers praised VM customization, straightforward management, resizing and generally effective migration.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Project origin
Red Hat announced the oVirt project in December 2011 with Canonical, Cisco, IBM, Intel, NetApp and SUSE to develop an open virtualization community.Read 15 Oct 2026 · redhat.com
Rating on Apple App Store
The aSPICE Pro - oVirt Proxmox client is rated 3.9 out of 5 from 38 ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Rating on G2
4.2 out of 5 from 3 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on Google Play
The third-party Opaque oVirt/RHEV/Proxmox Android client is listed at 4.4 out of 5 from 64 ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on TrustRadius
10 out of 10 from 3 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · trustradius.com
Scheduling
Scheduler policies support automatic load balancing and power-saving consolidation across hosts.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Security controls
Official guidance requires HTTPS, SELinux, firewalls, security updates, individual administrator accounts and restricted host access.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Security guidance
The security recommendations say not to disable HTTPS, SELinux, or the firewall, and recommend individual administrator accounts and limited host access.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Self-hosting
The engine can run as a virtual machine in a self-hosted-engine deployment, while hosts can be oVirt Node or Enterprise Linux systems.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Storage
oVirt uses centralized storage for virtual machine disks, ISO files, and snapshots, with options including NFS, GlusterFS, iSCSI, local storage, Fibre Channel, pNFS, and other POSIX-compliant filesystems.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Supported operating systems
oVirt 4.5.7 supports engines and hosts based on RHEL 9 or 10, CentOS Stream 9 or 10, and oVirt Node NG on x86_64.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Supported platforms
For version 4.5.7, the Engine and hosts are listed for Enterprise Linux 9 or 10 and CentOS Stream 9 or 10, with oVirt Node based on CentOS Stream 9 also listed for hosts.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Virtualization
oVirt uses the KVM hypervisor and is built on community projects including libvirt, Gluster, PatternFly, and Ansible.Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Vulnerability handling
The project accepts private GitHub vulnerability reports, fixes only the latest release and follows a 90-day disclosure policy.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org

Plans and prices

Community edition Free Free open-source virtualization solution · production use stated for version 4.5.7 Read 2 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org
Community edition Free Free open-source distributed virtualization solution Read 15 Oct 2026 · ovirt.org

Every oVirt plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free, open-source virtualization solution
  • Supports multiple centralized storage options
  • Provides REST API and language SDKs
  • Self-hosted Engine has high availability
  • Version 4.5.7 is intended for production use

Limits

  • Installation is performed using the command line
  • Advanced migration and HA require an additional host
  • Engine and host support is listed for specific Linux versions

Who it suits

oVirt suits administrators managing self-hosted enterprise virtualization infrastructure. It may fit teams that use KVM, centralized storage, and API or Ansible-based automation.

Verdict

oVirt offers a self-hosted KVM management system with storage, automation, and API options. Plan for command-line installation and an additional host if you need advanced migration or high-availability features.

Where Specifiction places it

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