MAAS (Metal as a Service) is a data centre automation platform for managing physical servers in a cloud-like way.
It provides a central environment for turning bare metal into a programmable resource pool, helping teams allocate, test, deploy, repurpose, and retire hardware for private cloud, Kubernetes, high-performance computing, and server automation use cases.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Discovers machines across racks, chassis, and data centre networks.
- Maintains detailed hardware inventory, including PCI devices, USB devices, disk models, and serial numbers.
- Uses BMC integration for remote power control and out-of-band management.
- Offers image-based operating system deployment across certified server hardware.
- Includes commissioning and diagnostics to test machines before provisioning.
- Provides infrastructure-as-code automation through a cloud-like API.
- Integrates with Terraform, Juju, Ansible, and other automation tools.
- Manages networking with support for bridges, VLANs, bonds, IP addresses, DHCP, DNS, and IPAM.
- Supports role-based access control and identity integration with LDAP, Active Directory, and SAML.
Website: canonical.com/maas
Support:
Developer: Canonical Ltd
License: GNU Affero General Public License v3.0
MAAS is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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