Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a service model where an organization outsources the equipment used to support storage, hardware, servers and networking components. In other words, IaaS offers access to computer resource in a virtualised environment, known as the Cloud, across a public connection. With IaaS individuals can rent cloud infrastructure, server storage and networking on demand.

IaaS is one of the fundamental service models of cloud computing. The other service models include Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). We examined the finest open source PaaS software in the following article: PaaS Software.

A typical IaaS offers scalability which is particularly useful for workloads that are highly volatile. IaaS also offers utility style costing, location independence, no single point of failure, and physical security of data centre locations. The advantages are so great, IaaS is the fastest growing area of cloud computing.

With commercial cloud systems, there is no investment in hardware required. This enables start-up businesses to easily test out a new business idea. Whilst commercial cloud services are popular, they charge for CPU usage by the hour, storage, and bandwidth consumed. In a large organization, where many users need to be served, it may be cheaper to purchase hardware to create a private cloud. This article showcases the finest open source projects that provide a key alternative for those who wish to avoid using a commercially provided cloud.

Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.

Click the links in the table below to learn more about each application.

This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.

Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.

This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk.

You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more.

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