--- title: Nova-LXD delivers bare-metal performance on OpenStack, while Ironic delivers NSA-as-a-Service description: With the release of LXC 2.0 and LXD, we now have a pure-container hypervisor that delivers bare-metal performance with a standard Linux guest OS experience. Very low latency, very high density, and very high control of specific in-guest application processes compared to KVM and ESX make it worth checking out for large-scale Linux virtuali […] url: https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/nova-lxd-delivers-bare-metal-performance-on-openstack-while-ironic-delivers-nsa-as-a-service?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog) 2. Article --- [Mark Shuttleworth](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/author/sabdfl "More about Mark Shuttleworth") 13 April 2016 # Nova-LXD delivers bare-metal performance on OpenStack, while Ironic delivers NSA-as-a-Service [containers](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/tag/containers) [docker](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/tag/docker) [LXC](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/tag/lxc) [LXD](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/tag/lxd) --- Share the article With the release of LXC 2.0 and LXD, we now have a pure-container hypervisor that delivers bare-metal performance with a standard Linux guest OS experience. Very low latency, very high density, and very high control of specific in-guest application processes compared to KVM and ESX make it worth checking out for large-scale Linux virtualisation operations. Even better, the drivers to enable LXD as a hypervisor in  OpenStack, are maturing upstream. That means you get bare metal performance on OpenStack for Linux workloads, without actually giving people the whole physical server. LXD supports live migration so you can migrate those users to a different physical server with no downtime, which is great for maintenance. And you can have all the nice Openstack semantics for virtual networks etc without having to try very hard. By contrast, Ironic has the problem that the user can now modify any aspect of the machine as if you gave them physical access to it. In most cases, that’s not desirable, and in public clouds it’s a fun way to let the NSA (and other agencies) install firmware for your users to enjoy later. NSA-as-a-Service does have a certain ring to it though. ## What next? Find out more about LXD at [ubuntu.com/cloud/lxd](http://www.ubuntu.com/cloud/lxd "LXD") Development happens on Github at: [github.com/lxc/lxd](https://github.com/lxc/lxd) Mailing-list support happens on: [lists.linuxcontainers.org](https://lists.linuxcontainers.org/) IRC support happens in: #lxcontainers on irc.freenode.net Try LXD online: [linuxcontainers.org/lxd/try-it](https://linuxcontainers.org/lxd/try-it) [Orginal article](http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1493) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Native Dell PowerStore integration lands in Canonical LXD](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/lxd-powerstore-integration) Canonical has broadened enterprise storage options for LXD by introducing a native driver for Dell PowerStore. [Miona Aleksic](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/author/mionaalex) 1 September 2026 [### Ubuntu Server: a platform made for enterprise scale](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/ubuntu-server-a-platform-made-for-enterprise-scale) A platform is an environment that allows software to run smoothly across the infrastructure, runtime, and application layers. The key word there is “smoothly”: a good platform... [Rhys Knipe](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/author/rhysknipe) 7 July 2026 [### Canonical partners with Snyk for scanning chiseled Ubuntu containers](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/canonical-partners-with-snyk-for-scanning-chiseled-ubuntu-containers) Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, is pleased to announce a new partnership with developer-focused cybersecurity company Snyk. Snyk Container, Snyk’s container security... [Canonical](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/author/canonical) 20 March 2026 [### Introducing MicroCloud Cluster Manager](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/introducing-microcloud-cluster-manager) Canonical introduces the beta release of MicroCloud Cluster Manager, a new way to discover, organize, and operate your MicroCloud environments from a single, unified interface. [Miona Aleksic](https://canonical-com-2950.demos.haus/blog/author/mionaalex) 20 March 2026