Foreman vs Serva
Foreman
theforeman.orgServa
vercot.comSide by side
| Figure | Foreman | Serva |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $7.67/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · OS Deployment Software | 8.6 (#5) | 7.6 (#15) |
| Spec score · Bare Metal Provisioning Software | 8.7 (#5) | 7.6 (#16) |
| Purpose | Foreman is an open-source tool for managing servers through provisioning, configuration, orchestration, and monitoring. | Serva is an automated PXE server solution for network booting and installing operating systems. |
| Support | Community support is available through the Discourse support board and a public Matrix room; the project says its support room is not an official support channel. | The contact page asks support requests to include the Serva type and version, and Professional users to include their license ID. |
Plans
In their own words
Foreman
Foreman is a free, open-source lifecycle management tool for physical and virtual servers. System administrators can use it to automate repetitive tasks, deploy applications, and manage on-premise or cloud systems. It provisions bare-metal machines and resources from providers including Amazon EC2, Google Compute Engine, OpenStack, Libvirt, oVirt, and VMware. Configuration integrations include Puppet, Ansible, Chef, and Salt; Foreman also collects Ansible reports and facts. Administrators can work through a web frontend, REST API, or Linux CLI, including Hammer CLI access to API calls. Role-based access control and integrations such as LDAP, FreeIPA, and Microsoft Active Directory support access management. Host groups, bulk management, health reports, and audits help organize systems and review changes. A typical deployment has a Foreman server, Smart Proxy servers, and managed hosts. The quickstart lists Enterprise Linux 9, Debian 12 and 13, and Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, and requires 4 GB of memory. Installation configures multiple system components, and setup requires Linux system administration knowledge.
Serva
Serva is a Windows application for automated PXE network booting and operating-system installation. Its portable package bundles HTTP, FTP, TFTP, DHCP, proxyDHCP, BINL, DNS, SNTP, and SYSLOG services, plus a TFTP client. It delivers Windows and non-Windows assets to BIOS and UEFI systems, including ARM 32-bit and 64-bit UEFI. ProxyDHCP is intended to provide PXE service without changing existing DHCP infrastructure settings. For Windows deployment, Serva offers a WAIK/ADK-independent alternative to RIS and WDS and includes a Task Sequence Manager for capturing and deploying PC images. It requires no installation and does not save keys in the Windows registry. The free Community edition is for personal, non-commercial use, limits PXE/BINL service to 50 minutes and two PXE clients, and excludes WinPE booting and Task Sequence Manager. Professional costs $92 a year, permits commercial use, supports 50 PXE/BINL clients, and provides unlimited PXE/BINL service time.