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Opendcim VS Foreman

Compare Opendcim VS Foreman and see what are their differences

Opendcim logo Opendcim

a free, web based Data Center Infrastructure Management application.

Foreman logo Foreman

Foreman is an open source project that helps system administrators manage servers throughout their...
  • Opendcim Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-02-10
  • Foreman Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-29

Opendcim features and specs

  • Open Source
    Being open-source, OpenDCIM is free to use, modify, and distribute, reducing overall software costs and providing greater flexibility.
  • Community Support
    A strong community of users and developers contributes to its development, offering forums, documentation, and shared experiences.
  • Customizable
    Users have the ability to tailor the software to their specific needs, enabling them to add or modify features as required.
  • Scalability
    Designed to manage multiple data centers, OpenDCIM can scale according to the user's requirements, making it suitable for small to large deployments.
  • Hardware Agnostic
    OpenDCIM supports a wide range of hardware, allowing for integration with various devices without being locked into a specific vendor.

Possible disadvantages of Opendcim

  • Complexity
    Installation and initial setup can be complex, requiring a good understanding of IT and data center infrastructure.
  • Limited Official Support
    As a community-driven project, there is no formal customer support, which may be a drawback for organizations requiring guaranteed assistance.
  • Feature Gaps
    Some advanced features available in commercial DCIM solutions may be lacking, potentially requiring additional development and customization.
  • User Interface
    The user interface may not be as polished or intuitive as some commercial alternatives, potentially impacting user experience and adoption.
  • Documentation Variability
    While there is community documentation, its quality and comprehensiveness can vary, potentially making troubleshooting and learning more difficult.

Foreman features and specs

  • Comprehensive Management
    Foreman provides a complete lifecycle management tool for physical and virtual servers, including provisioning, configuration management, and monitoring.
  • Integration
    It integrates well with a variety of configuration management tools like Puppet, Ansible, Chef, and Salt, offering flexibility in how you manage your infrastructure.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source tool, Foreman allows for customization and community-driven improvements with no licensing costs.
  • Extensible
    Foreman has a plug-in architecture that allows for additional functionality and integrations, making it adaptable to complex environments.
  • GUI and CLI
    Foreman offers both a web-based graphical user interface (GUI) and command-line interface (CLI), catering to different user preferences and use cases.
  • Community and Documentation
    It enjoys an active community and extensive documentation, which can help in troubleshooting and extending functionalities.

Possible disadvantages of Foreman

  • Complexity
    Due to its comprehensive nature and numerous features, Foreman can be complex to set up and configure, requiring a significant time investment.
  • Performance
    In larger environments, performance issues might arise. Effective scaling often requires careful tuning and additional resources.
  • Learning Curve
    The extensive functionality and integration options come with a steep learning curve, which can be challenging for new users.
  • Dependency Management
    Foreman has multiple dependencies, making its installation and maintenance more cumbersome, especially in environments with strict configuration standards.
  • Interface Complexity
    The web interface can be overwhelming with its vast array of options and settings, potentially complicating routine tasks for less experienced users.
  • Limited Support for Non-Linux OS
    Foreman's support for managing non-Linux operating systems is limited compared to its robust capabilities with Linux-based systems.

Analysis of Opendcim

Overall verdict

  • Opendcim is generally considered a good option for organizations looking for a cost-effective and customizable DCIM solution. It offers robust features suitable for small to medium-sized data centers and is supported by a community of developers and users.

Why this product is good

  • Opendcim is an open-source data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solution that is beneficial due to its cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and community support. Being open-source, it allows users to customize the software according to their specific needs and integrates well with existing systems. It also provides essential features such as asset management, space and power monitoring, and connectivity tracking, which help efficiently manage data center resources. Additionally, its transparent nature and continuous updates from the community contribute to its reliability and evolution.

Recommended for

    Opendcim is recommended for small to medium-sized businesses or organizations that operate data centers and need an affordable yet comprehensive solution to manage their infrastructure. It is ideal for those who prefer open-source solutions and have the capability or willingness to manage and possibly customize the platform to fit their specific operational requirements.

Analysis of Foreman

Overall verdict

  • Foreman is a highly regarded tool in the realm of server management and automation. It is particularly valuable for organizations looking to streamline their IT infrastructure and improve operational efficiency. However, its usability may depend on the specific requirements of your organization and the complexity of your infrastructure.

Why this product is good

  • Foreman is an open-source lifecycle management tool for physical and virtual servers. It is known for its powerful provisioning capabilities, ability to manage servers and automate repetitive tasks, and integration with configuration management tools like Puppet, Ansible, and Chef. Additionally, its web-based management interface and active community provide extensive support and resources for users.

Recommended for

  • System administrators looking for a comprehensive server lifecycle management tool.
  • Organizations using technologies like Puppet, Ansible, or Chef for configuration management.
  • Teams interested in automating workflows and provisioning physical and virtual servers.

Opendcim videos

openDCIM - Adding Pictures to Devices

Foreman videos

No Foreman videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Opendcim and Foreman)
Monitoring Tools
72 72%
28% 28
DevOps Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Log Management
100 100%
0% 0
DCIM Software
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Opendcim and Foreman

Opendcim Reviews

12 Open Source/Commercial Software for Data Center Infrastructure Management
Thanks to its open-source code, Opendcims should work fine for the companies having their own developers.
Source: www.tecmint.com

Foreman Reviews

12 Open Source/Commercial Software for Data Center Infrastructure Management
Foreman is an open-source and perfect life-cycle management application for physical and virtual servers, that give Linux system administrators the capability to easily automate repetitive jobs, rapidly deploy applications, and proactively manage servers, on-premise or in the cloud.
Source: www.tecmint.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Foreman should be more popular than Opendcim. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Opendcim mentions (2)

  • What DCIM Software to use
    OpenDCIM is antiquated but its data model is quite sane. Its PDU monitoring is very basic but serviceable - the managers loved it. It is barely maintained and its old fashioned PHP does it no favor, so I advise to steer clear of it... But it does work. Source: over 2 years ago
  • IT Pro Tuesday #152 - Secure Backup, Python Course, Remote Device Management & More
    OpenDCIM is designed for simple, complete data-center asset tracking. Offers support for multiple rooms; management of space, power and cooling; basic contact management and integration into existing business directory via UserID; fault tolerance; computation of center of gravity for each cabinet; template management for devices (with ability to override per device); optional tracking of cable connections within... Source: almost 4 years ago

Foreman mentions (19)

  • From Dotenv to Dotenvx: Next Generation Config Management
    Not to be confused with the larger foreman[0] also written in ruby. [0] https://theforeman.org. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Deploying 100+ windows 10 devices per week. Need to automate.
    In case you're unable to use intune, a free approach might be https://theforeman.org/ That works well for provisioning baremetal windows (with discovery image or pxe boot) once you've set it up. It supports script access as well as a nice hierarchy for configurations. But it's really not as well documented as it should be. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Configuration Management Tools for 20-30 servers
    I use the foreman with puppet and pxe/kickstart scripts to automate VM/baremetal provisioning etc. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Server management tool with GUI
    Might want to look into https://theforeman.org/ if it's not too complex for you. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Stockpiling Linux ISOs?
    The iso images are typically locked at a certain verison. The update repositories sounds like what you are looking for to cache updates. Look into theforeman.org and specifically the plugin Katello. This is an upstream for Red Hat's Satellite product. Another option would be Canonical's MAAS. Both of these options Sound like what you are headed for unless you really just mean synchronize into a folder and store... Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Opendcim and Foreman, you can also consider the following products

DCImanager - DCImanager is a platform for managing physical equipment. Connect any physical equipment to a single platform. Use the platform to manage your servers, switches, PDU as well as physical and virtual networks.

NetBox - NetBox is an open source web application designed to help manage and document computer networks. NetBox was developed specifically to address the needs of network and infrastructure engineers.

Ansible - Radically simple configuration-management, application deployment, task-execution, and multi-node orchestration engine

RackTables - Racktables is a nifty and robust solution for datacenter and server room asset management.

Device42 - Automatically maintain an up-to-date inventory of your physical, virtual, and cloud servers and containers, network components, software/services/applications, and their inter-relationships and inter-dependencies.

Terraform - Tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently.