No. 14 of 29 ·Bare Metal Provisioning Software

NVIDIA Infra Controller

Self-hosted · API

Freedom report

One barScore 5.4

Free tierNo free tier on record
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely0 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

NVIDIA Infra Controller is ranked #14 of 29 in bare metal provisioning software on Freedom251. It runs on API, Self-hosted.

Compared on bare metal provisioning software

Bare-metal discovery: Yes
OS image deployment: Yes
PXE bootstrapping: Yes
Lifecycle management: Yes
Hardware inventory: Yes
API access: Yes
Out-of-band management: Yes

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The record

Purpose: NICo is an open-source suite of microservices for site-local, zero-trust bare-metal lifecycle management aimed at NVIDIA Cloud Partners and infrastructure operators.
License: NICo is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.
Hardware validation: NICo supports Redfish discovery, SKU validation, hardware testing, and enforcement of UEFI and BMC firmware baselines before hosts become available to tenants.
Network isolation: It provides tenant isolation across Ethernet, InfiniBand, NVLink, and Spectrum-X using mechanisms including BlueField HBN, UFM P_Key assignment, and NMX-C partition management.
Security: NICo documents Measured Boot attestation, UEFI lockdown, managed BMC and UEFI credentials, and secure erasure of NVMe storage, GPU memory, and system memory between tenant uses.
APIs and interfaces: NICo provides REST and gRPC APIs, an administrator CLI, and a debugging UI; its REST API can be deployed alongside the site controller or centrally in the cloud.
Integrations: Documented integrations include Keycloak and compatible IAM solutions, Prometheus metrics, Grafana, Loki, OpenTelemetry-compatible stacks, and Kubernetes.
Deployment requirements: The documented architecture deploys NICo microservices on a Kubernetes cluster co-located in the managed datacenter and specifies at least three nodes for high availability.
External dependencies: NICo depends on services including PostgreSQL, Vault, Temporal, cert-manager, and External Secrets Operator; the documentation says these must be deployed before NICo installation.
Scope limits: NICo does not manage host OS patching or runtime configuration, workload scheduling, physical network underlay design, or deployment and management of UFM.
Hardware compatibility: The hardware compatibility list says it is not an exhaustive platform certification or qualification, and directs users to hardware manufacturers for that information.
Support model: NICo documentation says operating-system management, including patching, configuration, and image generation, is the user's responsibility.
What it does: NICo is an open-source suite of microservices for site-local, zero-trust bare-metal lifecycle management.
Hardware onboarding: NICo discovers hardware through Redfish, validates machine SKUs, supports hardware burn-in and testing, and enforces firmware baselines during ingestion.

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Bare Metal Provisioning Software in 2026#14 of 29

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Sources

docs.nvidia.com/infra-controller/documentation/overview· checked 3 Oct 2026
docs.nvidia.com/infra-controller/documentation/overview· checked 3 Oct 2026
docs.nvidia.com/infra-controller/documentation/overview· checked 3 Oct 2026
docs.nvidia.com/infra-controller/documentation/referenc· checked 3 Oct 2026
docs.nvidia.com/infra-controller/documentation/referenc· checked 3 Oct 2026
docs.nvidia.com/infra-controller/documentation/provisio· checked 4 Oct 2026
docs.nvidia.com/infra-controller/· checked 28 Sept 2026