The integration combines efficient open source virtualization with high performance, enterprise-grade storage

We are pleased to announce a new,  native integration between Canonical LXD and HPE Alletra. This integration brings together Canonical’s securely designed, open source virtualization platform with HPE’s enterprise-grade storage to deliver a simple, scalable, high-performance experience. 

Enterprise-grade storage meets efficient open source virtualization

HPE Alletra is designed to deliver mission-critical storage at mid range economics, with a consistent data experience across various cloud environments. With this integration, Canonical LXD and MicroCloud users can now provision and manage Alletra block storage directly through the LXD interface, without the need for any third-party plugins or additional abstraction layers. 

The integration enables users to seamlessly create, attach, snapshot, and manage thin-provisioned block volumes as easily as working with local storage, while retaining the full performance, resilience, and enterprise data services of HPE Alletra. 

Simplified operations and scalable performance

HPE Alletra NVMe-based architecture ensures sub-millisecond latency for demanding workloads, with built-in services such as thin-provisioning and data deduplication minimizing storage costs while maintaining consistent performance. Paired with LXD’s lightweight control plane and streamlined UI, users can easily operate their environments, combining the best of open source with enterprise storage functionality.

As demands grow, new volumes and storage capacity can be allocated on the fly. Alletra’s scale-out, modular architecture ensures the platform can expand without disrupting running workloads. 

A foundation for modern infrastructure deployments

LXD provides a unified open source virtualization platform to run system containers and virtual machines with a focus on efficiency, security, and ease of management. With native support for HPE Alletra, enterprises can now build, deploy, and manage their workloads with enterprise storage guarantees, whether in private clouds, on-premises data centers, or edge environments. 

The combined solution empowers teams to deliver predictable performance for critical and data-intensive workloads while reducing complexity and ensuring agility.

Availability

The integration between LXD and HPE Alletra is available starting with the LXD 6.6 feature release, and requires a HPE Alletra WSAPI version 1. LXD currently supports connecting to HPE Alletra storage through NVMe/TCP or iSCSI protocols. For detailed information, visit Canonical’s LXD documentation.