Canonical MicroCloud
Server virtualization software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$500 per server per year
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What is Canonical MicroCloud
Canonical MicroCloud is an open source, Canonical-supported stack for building a small-scale private cloud that combines virtual machines and system containers across a cluster of servers. It uses Canonical’s LXD for VM/container management and integrates distributed storage and networking to provide a unified control plane for local infrastructure. It targets teams that want a lightweight alternative to full-scale cloud platforms for edge sites, labs, and small datacenters. MicroCloud emphasizes simplified cluster bootstrap and operations on Ubuntu-based hosts.
Unified VM and container management
MicroCloud uses LXD to run both system containers and virtual machines under a consistent API and tooling model. This can reduce operational overhead compared with running separate platforms for VMs and containers. It fits environments that need mixed workloads (legacy VMs plus containerized services) on the same cluster. The approach aligns with Ubuntu-centric infrastructure practices.
Simplified cluster bootstrap workflow
MicroCloud focuses on turning multiple servers into a usable cluster with fewer manual integration steps than assembling components independently. It provides an opinionated combination of compute, storage, and networking intended to work together out of the box. This is useful for smaller teams that do not want to operate a large control-plane footprint. It can accelerate time-to-first-cluster for edge and lab deployments.
Open source with Canonical support
MicroCloud is built on open source components and can be deployed without proprietary hypervisor licensing. Organizations can choose community operation or purchase commercial support from Canonical for production use. This can help with long-term maintenance planning and security patching processes. It also reduces vendor lock-in compared with fully proprietary virtualization stacks.
Ubuntu and LXD centric
MicroCloud is designed around Ubuntu hosts and the LXD ecosystem, which may not align with organizations standardized on other enterprise Linux distributions or hypervisors. Teams may need to adopt new operational patterns, tooling, and troubleshooting workflows. Migration from existing VM platforms can require rethinking networking, storage, and image management. This can increase change-management effort for established datacenters.
Not a full cloud platform
MicroCloud targets lightweight private cloud use cases rather than providing the breadth of services found in large public clouds or full container application platforms. Capabilities such as managed PaaS services, deep multi-tenant governance, and extensive ecosystem integrations may require additional products. Organizations with complex compliance segmentation or large-scale self-service needs may find gaps. It is typically better suited to smaller clusters and edge footprints.
Operational maturity varies by use case
While the stack simplifies initial setup, day-2 operations (upgrades, storage performance tuning, and failure handling) still require Linux and distributed-systems expertise. Some enterprise features may depend on Canonical’s support offerings and recommended architectures. Observability, backup, and DR often require integrating external tools and processes. Teams should validate operational runbooks for their specific hardware and workload profiles.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Self-deployed MicroCloud | Free (open source) | MicroCloud is open-source and can be self-deployed using snaps and documentation; no product license fee. |
| Canonical-deployed MicroCloud (professional deployment) | Contact sales / Custom pricing | Canonical offers to design, select hardware, deploy and hand over the MicroCloud; public pricing not listed — customers must contact Canonical. |
| Ubuntu Pro — Server (machine/year) — Self-Support | $500 per machine/year | Per-node Ubuntu Pro subscription (software-only) covering Main+Universe security maintenance for servers; commonly used to add commercial support/maintenance to MicroCloud deployments. |
| Ubuntu Pro — Server (machine/year) — With Infra support (24/7) | $1,775 per machine/year | Adds 24/7 infrastructure support on top of Ubuntu Pro. |
| Ubuntu Pro — Server (machine/year) — With full support (24/7) | $3,400 per machine/year | Full-stack support including application coverage and 24/7 support. |
| Ubuntu Pro — Desktop/Workstation (workstation/year) — Self-Support | $25 per workstation/year | Lower-cost workstation license for Ubuntu Pro. |
| Ubuntu Pro — Desktop/Workstation — With full support (24/7) | $300 per workstation/year | Workstation tier with 24/7 support. |
Seller details
Canonical Ltd.
London, United Kingdom
2004
Private
https://canonical.com/
https://x.com/Canonical
https://www.linkedin.com/company/canonical-ltd-/
