OpenStack components are intended to run on standard hardware, ranging from desktop machines to enterprise-grade servers. For optimal performance, the processors of the compute nodes need to support virtualization technologies such as Intel's VT-x or AMD's AMD-V.

This book assumes OpenStack will be installed on servers that meet the following minimum requirements:

While machines that fail to meet these minimum requirements are capable of installation based on the documentation included in this book, these minimums have been set to ensure a successful experience. Additional memory and storage is highly recommended when creating multiple virtual machine instances for demonstration purposes. Virtualization products such as VMware ESXi, VMware Fusion, or VirtualBox may be used in lieu of physical hardware, but will require additional configuration to the environment and to OpenStack that is outside the scope of this book. If virtualizing the environment, consider exposing hardware virtualization extensions for better performance.