===========
Hypervisors
===========

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1

   hypervisor-basics.rst
   hypervisor-kvm.rst
   hypervisor-qemu.rst
   hypervisor-xen-api.rst
   hypervisor-xen-libvirt.rst
   hypervisor-lxc.rst
   hypervisor-vmware.rst
   hypervisor-hyper-v.rst
   hypervisor-virtuozzo.rst

OpenStack Compute supports many hypervisors, which might make it difficult for
you to choose one. Most installations use only one hypervisor.  However, you
can use :ref:`ComputeFilter` and :ref:`ImagePropertiesFilter` to schedule
different hypervisors within the same installation.  The following links help
you choose a hypervisor.  See :doc:`/user/support-matrix` for a detailed list
of features and support across the hypervisors.

The following hypervisors are supported:

* `KVM`_ - Kernel-based Virtual Machine. The virtual disk formats that it
  supports is inherited from QEMU since it uses a modified QEMU program to
  launch the virtual machine. The supported formats include raw images, the
  qcow2, and VMware formats.

* `LXC`_ - Linux Containers (through libvirt), used to run Linux-based virtual
  machines.

* `QEMU`_ - Quick EMUlator, generally only used for development purposes.

* `VMware vSphere`_ 5.1.0 and newer - Runs VMware-based Linux and Windows
  images through a connection with a vCenter server.

* `Xen (using libvirt) <Xen>`_ - Xen Project Hypervisor using libvirt as
  management interface into ``nova-compute`` to run Linux, Windows, FreeBSD and
  NetBSD virtual machines.

* `XenServer`_ - XenServer, Xen Cloud Platform (XCP) and other XAPI based Xen
  variants runs Linux or Windows virtual machines. You must install the
  ``nova-compute`` service in a para-virtualized VM.

* `Hyper-V`_ - Server virtualization with Microsoft Hyper-V, use to run
  Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD virtual machines.  Runs ``nova-compute`` natively
  on the Windows virtualization platform.

* `Virtuozzo`_ 7.0.0 and newer - OS Containers and Kernel-based Virtual
  Machines supported via libvirt virt_type=parallels. The supported formats
  include ploop and qcow2 images.

.. _KVM: http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page
.. _LXC: https://linuxcontainers.org/
.. _QEMU: http://wiki.qemu.org/Manual
.. _VMware vSphere: https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere-hypervisor
.. _Xen: (using libvirt) <http://www.xenproject.org
.. _XenServer: <http://xenserver.org
.. _Hyper-V: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/solutions/virtualization.aspx
.. _Virtuozzo: https://virtuozzo.com/products/#product-virtuozzo/
