FOG Project vs Matchbox
FOG Project
fogproject.orgMatchbox
github.comSide by side
| Figure | FOG Project | Matchbox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · OS Deployment Software | 8.7 (#4) | 7.5 (#16) |
| Purpose | FOG Project is a free, open-source network computer cloning and management solution. | Matchbox matches bare-metal machines to profiles for PXE booting and provisioning clusters. |
| Security | The FOG Client documentation says client-server communications use public-key infrastructure and AES-256 encryption after an RSA-4096 key exchange. | The gRPC API uses TLS credentials for client authentication and a secure communication channel. |
Plans
In their own words
FOG Project
FOG Project is a free, open-source system for cloning and managing networked computers. It captures and deploys Windows, Mac OSX and Linux distributions, including hardware-independent images that can be used across different computer models. The project also lists multi-site installations and remote management, provided the FOG server is publicly reachable. That server must run on Linux; recommended options include server-oriented LTS distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux. FOG recommends configuring client machines to PXE boot first so imaging tasks can be sent without visiting each computer. The FOG Client supports host registration, hostname changes, scheduled power management, snapin installation and user tracking, with client installation described for Windows, Linux and OSX. Client-server communications use public-key infrastructure and AES-256 encryption after an RSA-4096 key exchange. The security guide recommends firewall rules and protecting the MySQL database and captured image directory. Community support is available through forums, a wiki and IRC. The Linux client lacks the FOG Tray, Active Directory joining and PrinterManager. FOG Project is free for commercial use; community support is free.