Eucalyptus vs OpenStack: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Eucalyptus and OpenStack are both open-source cloud computing platforms that enable the creation and management of private and hybrid clouds. While they share similar goals, there are several key differences between the two platforms.

1. Architecture: Eucalyptus is built on a monolithic architecture, where all components are tightly integrated into a single software stack. In contrast, OpenStack follows a modular architecture, with individual services interacting with each other using APIs. This modular approach allows for greater flexibility and scalability in OpenStack, as components can be upgraded or replaced independently.

2. Focus: Eucalyptus is primarily focused on providing compatibility with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) API. This means that applications developed for AWS can be easily migrated to Eucalyptus without significant modifications. OpenStack, on the other hand, aims to provide a complete cloud infrastructure solution that is vendor-neutral and supports multiple hypervisors, storage systems, and networking technologies.

3. Community and Governance: OpenStack has a larger and more diverse community of contributors compared to Eucalyptus. It is managed by the OpenStack Foundation, which ensures an open and collaborative development process. Eucalyptus, while also open-source, is primarily developed and managed by a single organization (Eucalyptus Systems). This difference in community and governance can affect the pace of innovation, adoption, and support resources available for each platform.

4. Hypervisor Support: Eucalyptus initially supported only the Xen hypervisor but has expanded to include KVM and VMware as well. OpenStack, on the other hand, has support for a wide range of hypervisors including Xen, KVM, VMware, Hyper-V, and more. This broader hypervisor support gives users greater flexibility and choice when deploying their cloud infrastructure.

5. Storage Options: Eucalyptus provides built-in object and block storage services that are compatible with the AWS S3 (Simple Storage Service) and EBS (Elastic Block Store) APIs respectively. OpenStack, on the other hand, offers its own native object storage service called Swift, as well as integration with various block storage technologies such as Ceph, LVM, and more. This difference in storage options allows users of OpenStack to choose the storage solution that best fits their requirements.

6. Maturity and Adoption: Eucalyptus has been in existence since 2008 and has a significant base of users and deployments, particularly in academic and research institutions. OpenStack, on the other hand, gained prominence more recently and has seen rapid adoption across various industries including telecommunications, finance, and government. This difference in maturity and adoption can influence factors such as community support, integration with third-party tools, and overall stability.

In Summary, Eucalyptus and OpenStack differ in terms of architecture, focus, community and governance, hypervisor support, storage options, and maturity/adoption levels. The choice between the two platforms depends on specific requirements, priorities, and the desired level of compatibility with AWS.