OpenStack and OpenShift are two powerful open-source platforms often used together, but they serve very different purposes.
In this comparison, we’ll break down OpenStack vs OpenShift, how they’re used, where they differ, and how Simplyblock supports both with high-performance, scalable storage designed for virtual machines, containers, and hybrid environments.
OpenStack’s Core Purpose and Capabilities
OpenStack is a modular cloud infrastructure platform. It helps organizations manage compute, networking, and storage resources to build internal clouds — similar to AWS or Azure, but under your control.
With components like Nova (compute), Neutron (networking), and Cinder (block storage), OpenStack is ideal for managing virtual machines and orchestrating infrastructure at scale. The OpenStack architecture supports both small clusters and data center-scale private clouds.
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🔹 What OpenStack Is Designed to Handle
OpenStack provides the building blocks for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). It enables teams to create, scale, and operate infrastructure across bare metal and virtualized environments.
- Provision and manage VMs and virtual networks
- API-based block, object, and shared storage
- Full project isolation and multi-tenancy
- Modular deployment across nodes, zones, or regions
🔹 Why Teams Use OpenStack at Scale
- Full control over infrastructure at the virtualization layer
- Avoid vendor lock-in with an open-source framework
- Modular design supports phased rollout and customization
- Scales for complex, multi-region, and multi-tenant deployments
🔹 Where OpenStack Makes Sense
- Enterprise private cloud
- Telco and edge environments
- Virtual machine orchestration
- Hybrid cloud setups require storage, compute, and networking flexibility
What OpenShift Brings to Application Deployment
OpenShift is built on top of Kubernetes and provides a complete platform for deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications. It’s focused on application delivery, not infrastructure orchestration.
OpenShift bundles CI/CD tools, security policies, and developer workflows into a single platform to simplify lifecycle management. It’s engineered for building and running apps consistently across environments with enterprise Kubernetes capabilities.
🔹 Core Capabilities of OpenShift
OpenShift simplifies Kubernetes by integrating key features developers and platform teams need to go from code to deployment.
- Enterprise-grade Kubernetes with RBAC and policy controls
- Built-in CI/CD tooling and GitOps support
- Multi-cluster and hybrid deployment capabilities
- Built-in monitoring, scaling, and observability
🔹 What Makes OpenShift Useful for Teams
- Speeds up application delivery and release cycles
- Provides a secure, standardized developer experience
- Easily integrates with DevOps tools and automation pipelines
- Works across hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure
🔹 Where OpenShift Fits Best
- Enterprise DevOps and app development teams
- Running Kubernetes-native databases
- Multi-cluster orchestration at scale
- App modernization initiatives and container-first deployments
OpenStack vs OpenShift: A Functional Breakdown
While both are powerful open-source platforms, OpenStack and OpenShift operate at different layers of the stack. This breakdown helps clarify how each one fits into modern infrastructure strategies.
| Category | OpenStack | OpenShift |
| Primary Purpose | Infrastructure orchestration for VMs, networks, and storage | Kubernetes platform for app deployment and management |
| Layer of Stack | IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) | PaaS (Platform as a Service) |
| Core Components | Nova, Neutron, Cinder, Keystone | Kubernetes, Operator Framework, GitOps, Monitoring Tools |
| Deployment Models | Bare metal, hybrid, on-prem | Public cloud, private cloud, OpenStack, bare metal |
| Best For | IT, Infra, and sysadmin teams | DevOps, developers, and platform engineering |
| Scalability | Horizontal VM and network scaling | Scalable containerized workloads across clusters |
| Typical Use Cases | Private cloud, virtualization, edge computing | CI/CD, microservices, container orchestration |
How Simplyblock Supports Both Platforms
Whether you’re running workloads on OpenStack or orchestrating apps in OpenShift, storage performance is a critical piece of the puzzle.
Simplyblock brings high-speed, NVMe-over-TCP block storage that integrates easily into both environments, giving infrastructure and DevOps teams a shared, reliable storage layer.
🔹 Built for OpenStack
- High-throughput block storage via Cinder
- Compatible with disaggregated storage setups
- Supports multi-tenant VM workloads
- Dynamically scales with infrastructure demands
🔹 Built for OpenShift
- Full CSI integration for persistent volumes
- Fast, dynamic provisioning for containers
- Ideal for stateful Kubernetes applications
- Works across on-prem, hybrid, and public cloud deployments
🔹 Why Simplyblock Works Across Both
- Software-defined and hardware-agnostic
- NVMe performance over standard Ethernet infrastructure
- Reduces operational complexity without sacrificing speed
- One storage layer for both VMs and containers
Should You Use OpenStack, OpenShift, or Both?
This decision depends on your team’s needs.
- Use OpenStack when you need to manage virtual infrastructure — compute, networking, and storage — at a granular level.
- Use OpenShift when your focus is on delivering containerized apps reliably and repeatedly.
- Use both when you want full-stack control — with OpenStack powering your infrastructure and OpenShift running on top to manage apps.
And if you want consistent, high-performance storage between the two, Simplyblock bridges the gap.
Questions and answers
OpenStack is an Infrastructure‑as‑a‑Service (IaaS) platform for managing compute, network, and storage resources across data centers. OpenShift, by contrast, is a Platform‑as‑a‑Service (PaaS) built on Kubernetes, focusing on application deployment and orchestration. Each addresses a different layer in the cloud stack.
Yes, many enterprises run OpenShift on top of OpenStack. OpenStack provides the virtual infrastructure, while OpenShift orchestrates container workloads. Simplyblock supports this layered model with Kubernetes-native persistent storage that scales with both platforms.
OpenShift is better suited for deploying and managing cloud-native microservices, thanks to its integrated CI/CD, security, and developer tools. OpenStack is ideal for provisioning virtual machines and network resources. For storage, Simplyblock offers block storage built for cloud workloads.
OpenStack uses services like Cinder for block storage and Swift for object storage. OpenShift requires dynamic persistent volumes, often managed through CSI drivers. Simplyblock bridges both with NVMe-over-TCP storage that supports CSI and OpenStack APIs.
Both are scalable, but OpenStack is designed to manage large virtualized environments, while OpenShift simplifies application scaling in containers. Together, they form a powerful hybrid cloud stack. Simplyblock enhances this with multi-tenant QoS controls and API-driven provisioning.