LXD vs ManageIQ

LXD is an open-source platform for managing system containers and virtual machines on Linux. It brings LXC-based containers and KVM-based virtual machines together, with images for many Linux distributions and Windows virtual machines. Management options include a command line, REST API, web UI and third-party tools; the same HTTP API supports local and remote access. An official web UI is available by default starting with LXD 5.21.0 LTS. Features include resource limits, scheduled and expiring snapshots, projects, hardware passthrough, live migration and advanced networking. Containers run unprivileged by default, and virtual machines support UEFI Secure Boot and vTPM. LXD can run from a laptop to a data-center deployment; documentation describes clusters of up to 50 servers with thousands of instances. LXD is free, with the open-source plan listed at free. Ubuntu Pro Personal is also free for up to five physical Ubuntu systems. Enterprise workstation and server subscriptions are $25 a year and $500 a year, respectively.

ManageIQ is a free, open-source cloud management platform for discovering and managing connected infrastructure. It inventories virtualization, container, network, and storage systems, maps relationships, and tracks changes. Its service catalog lets users order resource bundles and manage their lifecycle through policy, compliance, delegated operations, chargeback or showback, and retirement. ManageIQ scans virtual machines, hosts, and containers without agents, including foreign and uncooperative VMs. For optimization, it captures utilization metrics and supports identifying unused systems, right-sizing recommendations, capacity planning, and what-if scenarios. The agentless virtual appliance can run standalone or in a federated deployment. Other deployment options include appliances on cloud and virtualization platforms, a Docker monolithic container, and podified deployments on Kubernetes and OpenShift. A REST API uses HTTP requests and responses with JSON. Listed providers include AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Kubernetes, OpenStack, Red Hat, and VMware, but supported operations vary by provider. Docker and Vagrant downloads are intended for proof-of-concept and non-production use.