Gluster vs OpenEBS
Gluster
gluster.org
OpenEBS
openebs.ioSide by side
| Figure | Gluster | OpenEBS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Software-Defined Storage Software | 7.9 (#10) | 8.2 (#7) |
| Installation | The official install page provides source downloads and links to Ubuntu PPAs for Linux packages. | OpenEBS can be installed with Helm, and the default chart installs Local PV Hostpath, Local PV LVM, Local PV ZFS and Replicated Storage. |
| Purpose | Gluster is a scalable, distributed file system that aggregates disk storage from multiple servers into a single global namespace. | OpenEBS provides local or distributed persistent volumes for Kubernetes stateful workloads. |
| Security | Gluster documentation includes an SSL guide and access-control-list administration guidance. | Replicated PV Mayastor REST API TLS is available but security features are opt-in and plaintext communication remains the default. |
| Support | The project points users to consultancies for design, performance, and additional support; Red Hat says it does not support community versions. | Users can file GitHub issues or ask questions in the Kubernetes Slack #openebs channel. |
Plans
In their own words
Gluster
Gluster is free, open-source distributed file-system software for Linux and self-hosted deployments. It combines disk storage from multiple servers into one global namespace, with the project describing scale to several petabytes and thousands of clients. Gluster is POSIX compatible and can use on-disk filesystems supporting extended attributes. Listed capabilities include replication, quotas, geo-replication, snapshots, bitrot detection, and erasure coding. Access options include native GlusterFS, NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, and a Swift REST API. The project describes workloads such as media streaming, data analysis, and other data- and bandwidth-intensive tasks. Capacity, performance, and availability can scale across on-premise, public-cloud, and hybrid environments, using common off-the-shelf hardware. Installation resources include source downloads and Ubuntu PPAs, while documentation covers AWS deployment, SSL, and access-control lists. The project points users to consultancies for additional support and notes that Red Hat does not support community versions.
OpenEBS
OpenEBS is open-source Kubernetes storage software for developers and platform SREs deploying stateful workloads. It turns storage on Kubernetes worker nodes into local or distributed persistent volumes and operates in userspace rather than relying on Linux kernel-dependent software. Its engines include Replicated PV Mayastor and local volumes using Hostpath, LVM, ZFS, or experimental Rawfile. Mayastor can synchronously replicate volumes across Kubernetes zones. Kubernetes-native operations provide copy-on-write snapshots and clones, while Velero plugins support backup and restore to AWS S3, GCP Object Storage, or MinIO. Volumes expose metrics including IOPS, throughput, latency, and traffic patterns for Prometheus and Grafana. OpenEBS also exposes declarative APIs through Kubernetes custom resources and can be installed with Helm 3.2 or newer. Mayastor disk pools support data-at-rest encryption with user-defined AES-XTS keys. Listed use cases include self-managed databases, observability stacks, CI/CD, object storage, websites, and ML pipelines. Mayastor DiskPools are limited to one block device, and encryption keys cannot be rotated.