Introducing Incus: A Modern System Container and Virtual Machine Manager
Incus: A Modern System Container and Virtual Machine Manager
The creators of LXC have their own VM / container management ...
Incus is a powerful and secure system container and virtual machine manager designed to provide a unified experience for running and managing full Linux systems inside containers or virtual machines. It is a modern alternative to Canonical's LXD, developed by the same team that originally created LXD, and is maintained as a true open-source community project under the Apache 2.0 license.
Key Features of Incus
- Unified Management: Incus allows you to manage both containers and virtual machines using a single REST API, making it suitable for a wide range of use cases, from development to production.
- Scalability: It scales from a single instance on one machine to a cluster in a full data center rack, offering flexibility for various workloads.
- Image-Based: Incus supports images for a large number of Linux distributions, including official Ubuntu images and community-provided images.
- Security: Designed with security in mind, Incus supports unprivileged containers, resource restrictions, and secure network configurations.
- Remote Access: The same REST API is used for both local and remote access, enabling seamless management across different environments.
Containers and Virtual Machines
Incus supports two types of instances:
- System Containers: These simulate a full operating system using the host's kernel, making them lightweight and efficient. They are ideal for running multiple applications or creating isolated user spaces.
- Virtual Machines: These use the host's hardware to run a different operating system, making them suitable for scenarios where the host kernel is incompatible with the desired OS.
Getting Started with Incus
To get started with Incus, you can try it online at linuxcontainers.org/incus/try-it/. For local installation, refer to the official documentation.
Community and Support
Incus is a community-driven project with active support channels. You can file bug reports or feature requests on GitHub and engage with the community on Linux Containers Discuss. Commercial support is also available from Zabbly for users of their Debian or Ubuntu packages.
Conclusion
Incus is a versatile and efficient tool for managing containers and virtual machines, offering a modern alternative to traditional solutions. Whether you're running workloads on a single machine or scaling to a full data center, Incus provides the flexibility, security, and scalability needed to optimize your infrastructure.
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