Cloud Linux Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 10
May 12, 2026
For Rackspace OpenStack security features, we currently opted for ShapeBlue one, which will be installing CloudStack. ShapeBlue is helping us in training. So, we are moving away from Rackspace OpenStack to CloudStack because CloudStack has most of the features that we require, and it is also lightweight. Rackspace OpenStack does not provide that thing. The product has all the things included, you can say like that. But the thing is, if you are a company, if you are a hosting company, you will require at least three to four people with higher expertise to install and get going with Rackspace OpenStack. It is very hard; you have to understand bits and many things about it, how it works. It is not something you just tinker around with. The second thing is we are moving to CloudStack because it comes as just a single package that I can install in a VM and I am done with it. I just need to configure it the first time, and everything, the experience out-of-the-box is very good with CloudStack. But Rackspace OpenStack is very assembled parts, you can say. Would you prefer an assembled PC or would you prefer an HP-provided PC, a branded PC? It depends on you. The main thing about Rackspace OpenStack is that it is totally built on many modules. It is approximately 30 to 40 modules, you can say. You have to learn and understand that, which there is a very steep learning curve. If I am not wrong, there is a very steep learning curve. There is not one way to install Rackspace OpenStack; there are several ways, approximately three to four ways. But it depends on who deployed it. Suppose a person deployed it in a different style; after one or two years, he got changed, and another person comes. He does not know about that style, then it will be very hard to navigate. Currently, Kolla-ansible, which we have, is very hard to navigate for me. Although it is very easy to install, it is very hard to operate because it works on Docker. So, there are too many moving parts. If you say to me, there are too many moving parts, and the visibility is low on that. It is very hard to have any issue with it. It is a very stable product.
As a beginner, I find some difficulties in understanding Rackspace OpenStack, as it can be complex without a foundational grasp of cloud and networking concepts. To improve, I suggest providing proper documentation aimed at new users or beginners, which would help them understand how public and private clouds operate.
The pricing of Rackspace is quite high in the Vietnam market. It would be beneficial to see developments in features like threat prevention and analytics tools for network security within OpenStack.
Director InfoSec, Service Delivery at CBY Services
Real User
May 16, 2024
OpenStack is a wonderful product, and it should have a single dashboard for cloud management and on-premises systems, similar to VMware. Multiple windows are currently used. If one orchestration table was available, that would be a great improvement. The platform could be enhanced to be easier to use, especially in report generation for complex Rackspace, strategic management, and other small things that could be added to the system.
Associate Software Test Solution Architect at AFour Technologies
Real User
Top 10
Sep 29, 2023
OpenStack's UI, while user-friendly, could be improved to offer a more intuitive experience. Additionally, the storage solutions, aside from S3, seem to be limited or restricted in their options, and expanding these choices could be beneficial.
Software Engeenir at Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd
Real User
Top 20
May 31, 2023
Compared to Microsoft Azure, Rackspace OpenStack lacks an ecosystem and needs to have one. Azure has everything that comes along with the Microsoft ecosystem. Whereas the problem with OpenStack is the fact that it is not commonly used. Also, it's not easy to get into and understand. In contrast, with something like Azure, there's a massive community around it. It's a very quick and easy thing to learn in comparison. That's one of the biggest drawbacks of Rackspace OpenStack.
Rackspace OpenStack is constantly changing with new services and features being released every six months. This quick release cycle makes it difficult to keep up with all of the changes. VMware has a side-to-side replication feature, which is still more mature than Rackspace OpenStack's which can't be used in a production environment. By making this feature called Freezer more mature, enterprises may be more likely to adopt Rackspace OpenStack.
DevOps Engeneer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Jan 17, 2023
OpenStack is difficult for the novice in terms of beginning to use cloud tools. If you want to do some tasks, for example, if you want to create a domain in OpenStack, you must do that in command line. There isn't any GUI available, and new users might find the command line difficult to understand. OpenStack isn't so easy for people who don't practice. They need to simplify the product and make it more visual for beginners.
Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Feb 16, 2020
In terms of what needs to be improved, I would say the support. You're asking for the Rackspace OpenStack and I'm working on the open source OpenStack. Rackspace might have some good support but the open source OpenStack doesn't have support because there are too many versions coming and too many people are customizing it. That's why the support is a problem for open source versions. It needs to develop a very good user interface which can compete with the public cloud. In the next release, I would like to see more of the load balancing technologies and applications from the public cloud which OpenStack doesn't have right now.
Rackspace OpenStack offers potent infrastructure concepts, customization options, and scalability with commodity servers, supporting microservices, virtualization, and numerous integrations, all beneficial for advanced IT deployments.Known for its robust infrastructure and flexible deployments, Rackspace OpenStack caters to enterprises with complex IT management needs. It excels in virtualization and data analytics while enhancing server management with microservices architecture. Companies...
For Rackspace OpenStack security features, we currently opted for ShapeBlue one, which will be installing CloudStack. ShapeBlue is helping us in training. So, we are moving away from Rackspace OpenStack to CloudStack because CloudStack has most of the features that we require, and it is also lightweight. Rackspace OpenStack does not provide that thing. The product has all the things included, you can say like that. But the thing is, if you are a company, if you are a hosting company, you will require at least three to four people with higher expertise to install and get going with Rackspace OpenStack. It is very hard; you have to understand bits and many things about it, how it works. It is not something you just tinker around with. The second thing is we are moving to CloudStack because it comes as just a single package that I can install in a VM and I am done with it. I just need to configure it the first time, and everything, the experience out-of-the-box is very good with CloudStack. But Rackspace OpenStack is very assembled parts, you can say. Would you prefer an assembled PC or would you prefer an HP-provided PC, a branded PC? It depends on you. The main thing about Rackspace OpenStack is that it is totally built on many modules. It is approximately 30 to 40 modules, you can say. You have to learn and understand that, which there is a very steep learning curve. If I am not wrong, there is a very steep learning curve. There is not one way to install Rackspace OpenStack; there are several ways, approximately three to four ways. But it depends on who deployed it. Suppose a person deployed it in a different style; after one or two years, he got changed, and another person comes. He does not know about that style, then it will be very hard to navigate. Currently, Kolla-ansible, which we have, is very hard to navigate for me. Although it is very easy to install, it is very hard to operate because it works on Docker. So, there are too many moving parts. If you say to me, there are too many moving parts, and the visibility is low on that. It is very hard to have any issue with it. It is a very stable product.
As a beginner, I find some difficulties in understanding Rackspace OpenStack, as it can be complex without a foundational grasp of cloud and networking concepts. To improve, I suggest providing proper documentation aimed at new users or beginners, which would help them understand how public and private clouds operate.
The pricing of Rackspace is quite high in the Vietnam market. It would be beneficial to see developments in features like threat prevention and analytics tools for network security within OpenStack.
The deployment process could be easy.
OpenStack is a wonderful product, and it should have a single dashboard for cloud management and on-premises systems, similar to VMware. Multiple windows are currently used. If one orchestration table was available, that would be a great improvement. The platform could be enhanced to be easier to use, especially in report generation for complex Rackspace, strategic management, and other small things that could be added to the system.
OpenStack's UI, while user-friendly, could be improved to offer a more intuitive experience. Additionally, the storage solutions, aside from S3, seem to be limited or restricted in their options, and expanding these choices could be beneficial.
Compared to Microsoft Azure, Rackspace OpenStack lacks an ecosystem and needs to have one. Azure has everything that comes along with the Microsoft ecosystem. Whereas the problem with OpenStack is the fact that it is not commonly used. Also, it's not easy to get into and understand. In contrast, with something like Azure, there's a massive community around it. It's a very quick and easy thing to learn in comparison. That's one of the biggest drawbacks of Rackspace OpenStack.
Rackspace OpenStack is constantly changing with new services and features being released every six months. This quick release cycle makes it difficult to keep up with all of the changes. VMware has a side-to-side replication feature, which is still more mature than Rackspace OpenStack's which can't be used in a production environment. By making this feature called Freezer more mature, enterprises may be more likely to adopt Rackspace OpenStack.
OpenStack is difficult for the novice in terms of beginning to use cloud tools. If you want to do some tasks, for example, if you want to create a domain in OpenStack, you must do that in command line. There isn't any GUI available, and new users might find the command line difficult to understand. OpenStack isn't so easy for people who don't practice. They need to simplify the product and make it more visual for beginners.
In terms of what needs to be improved, I would say the support. You're asking for the Rackspace OpenStack and I'm working on the open source OpenStack. Rackspace might have some good support but the open source OpenStack doesn't have support because there are too many versions coming and too many people are customizing it. That's why the support is a problem for open source versions. It needs to develop a very good user interface which can compete with the public cloud. In the next release, I would like to see more of the load balancing technologies and applications from the public cloud which OpenStack doesn't have right now.