Side by side
LXC vs OpenVZ
Both stand on container engines. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted
LXC provides Linux-native containers with several process-containment mechanisms and language bindings. Its security caveats matter: configure resource limits for untrusted containers and do not expose privileged container root to untrusted users.
Visit LXC Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
OpenVZ offers Linux container virtualization with host resource sharing, isolation, and live snapshots. Administrators should account for its Linux-only support and limited backup integration.
Visit OpenVZThe facts
| LXC | OpenVZ | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Self-hosted | Linux, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | linuxcontainers.org | openvz.org |
| On container engines | #13 of 31 | #20 of 31 |
LXC: what it does well
- Free software for Linux containers.
- Includes liblxc, control tools, and distribution templates.
- Provides API bindings for five languages.
- Unprivileged container root maps to an unprivileged host user.
- LXC 7.0 and 6.0 have listed long-term support.
What to know first
- Requires Linux kernel version 2.6.32 or later.
- Denial-of-service attacks are not prevented by default.
- Privileged containers run processes as host root.
- Untrusted containers require configured cgroup limits.
OpenVZ: what it does well
- Runs multiple isolated containers on one physical server.
- Different Linux distributions can share a host.
- Containers share CPU, memory, and storage dynamically.
- Live container snapshots are listed.
- Free open-source software under the GNU GPL.
What to know first
- Windows containers are not supported.
- Integrated backup is unavailable.
- Backup integration is only through snapshots.