Private Cloud Free Trial
Experience the full power of a Private Cloud built on OpenStack and Ceph.
OpenMetal offers complimentary business access for testing our production-ready private cloud infrastructure prior to making a purchase.
Are you an open source advocate, project, or community member interested in a trial?
Try Our On-Demand Hosted Private Cloud Platform
Serious buyer.
Robust testing before purchase.
Proof of Concept (PoC) Cloud Trial
- Long term trials up to 30 days
- Multiple users allowed
- Seamlessly transition into production
- Dedicated account manager & engineer
- Choice of hardware & region
Casual tester.
Quick peek under the hood.
Self-Serve Cloud Trial
- Self-serve short term 8 hour trials
- Single user only
- Reclaimed at end of trial
- No account manager or engineer
- Limited hardware & region choices
View extended comparison between PoC and Self-Serve trials. Have a question? Schedule a consultation.
Proof of Concept (PoC) Trials
Companies seeking to evaluate OpenMetal Cloud for a legitimate business use case can enjoy complete access to a private cloud for up to 30 days without incurring any costs — a $500+ value!
- Transition and optimize your workloads in the cloud without upfront costs.
- Experiment with new features and management methods.
- Develop your automation , such as Terraform plans, within a secure environment.
- Conduct performance assessments.
- Familiarize your team with OpenStack and Ceph.
- PoC's can Take advantage of the full suite of available hardware and data center regions.
- Collaborate with our technical and business teams to identify the most advantageous return on investment for your cloud infrastructure.
- Receive personalized support from a dedicated Account Manager committed to your success.
“Organizations that take advantage of OpenMetal's Proof of Concept (PoC) Cloud Program typically report up to 50% reduction in cloud expenses within the first 6 months of production usage.”
View extended comparison between PoC and Self-Serve trials.
“…in relation to profitability we are pleasantly surprised with the monthly ongoing costs of using their (OpenMetal's) infrastructure. They have been very agile and flexible in accommodating our rapid growth and aligning the contract with our planned growth.”
Self-Serve Trials
Business users in need of a swift assessment of OpenMetal Cloud or desiring short-term access to a complete private cloud utilizing OpenStack can take advantage of our 8 hour free trials.
“An important part of our mission is to make large-scale enterprise open source systems like OpenStack and Ceph easily accessible to small businesses and teams.”
- Get access to a full private cloud.
- Familiarize yourself with OpenStack, attached to Ceph-based cloud storage.
- Quickly evaluate OpenMetal for your team or small business.
Review eligibility requirements
View extended comparison between PoC and Self-Serve trials.
Free Trials for our Open Source Community
If you are a dedicated advocate or champion of OpenStack and other open source solutions, we offer various programs that allow you to access both short-term and long-term free trials.
Universities
Higher education institutions with established educational programs for OpenStack and open source cloud.
Tech Evangelists
Content creators building OpenStack content. Evangelists advocating open source alternatives to mega clouds.
Open Source Projects
Organizations and communities that are building projects on open source code and software.
Free Trial Comparison
OpenMetal currently offers two ways to access free trials: a Self-Serve short-term 8 hour trial, and a long term PoC trial for up to 30 days.
PoC Cloud TrialFor the Serious Buyer Request PoC | Self-Serve Cloud TrialFor the Casual Tester Sign up for trial | |
|---|---|---|
| Trial length | Up to 30 days Usually starts with 2 weeks and can be extended up to 30 days. Can be paused and restarted with account manager approval. | 8 consecutive hours Timer starts as soon as cloud is deployed. Cannot be paused. |
| Number of trials | One per use case A validated organization can start with one PoC. After becoming a customer, companies can be eligible for PoCs for new business use cases. | 3 per month Verified individuals can avail up to three 8 hour trials in one month. |
| Users | Multiple users Multiple users can be added to the cloud with distinct access levels. | Single user Only the primary user on the account has access to the cloud. |
| Cloud available at end of trial | Yes At the end of a successful PoC, if chosen, the PoC cloud can seamlessly transition into a paid cloud for production use. | Possible At the end of a self-serve trial, the cloud is automatically reclaimed and deleted. However if a valid payment method is provided while the trial is active, the cloud will stay live and will be pre-billed monthly. |
| Payment terms at end of trial | Custom discounted pricing Depending on contract length terms and type of cloud. Custom discounted pricing options are available when the PoC cloud is turned into a production cloud. | On-Demand pricing Self-serve trials that have a payment option attached and that turn into paid clouds are pre-billed at the monthly on-demand rates. |
| Account manager | Dedicated account manager Organizations with a PoC are assigned a dedicated account manager responsible for the overall success of the cloud. | |
| Engineer support | Dedicated engineer Organizations have the option to get one-on-one engineer support for PoC's with a valid business use-case. | |
| 24/7 online ticket support | Yes | Yes |
| Slack channel support | Yes A dedicated joint Slack channel is set up for the organization's team to communicate and collaborate with OpenMetal's business and technical teams. | |
| Choice of hardware | Possible Organizational PoC's can avail the entire hardware suite, dependent on hardware availability and commitments towards a production timeline. | |
| Choice of data center | Possible Organizational PoC's can be possible within any of the data center regions, dependent on hardware availability and commitments towards a production timeline. | |
| Root access | Enabled | |
| SSH access | Enabled | |
| Time to get trial | As soon as 3 business days After validating that the organizations have an eligible business use case. Actual time to get the PoC set up will depend on hardware availability and specific cloud architecture requirements. | Few hours to a few days After validating that the individual is who they say they are and there are no indications of free trial abuse. Actual time to get the trial will depend on hardware availability. |
PoC Cloud TrialFor the Serious Buyer Request PoC | Self-Serve Cloud TrialFor the Casual Tester Sign up for trial |
OpenMetal Free Trial FAQs
Free usage is not guaranteed, is dependent on hardware availability, can be removed at any time, and is subject to our Terms of Service.
Our private cloud trials are on physical hardware and not virtual machines. In order to be able to provide access to those who are truly eligible, we require some information to qualify you for our free trials. We appreciate your patience as it may sometimes take a few days to process your details.
- All trial applications require a valid business email; free providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. are not accepted at this time.
- All trials can start as self-serve trials, offering three 8 hour test periods per month.
- With approval from your OpenMetal account manager, your company can be upgraded to a long-term PoC cloud trial, providing access to trials lasting up to 30 days and additional user accounts.
- During the free deployment period, you can extend your free usage or transition to a paid production state by adding your billing information. If not converted to a paid plan, the cloud will be automatically recycled at the end of the free period.
- You can also directly start with a PoC cloud by applying here.
What is included in the free trial?
You get full access to a private cloud built on OpenStack and Ceph, running on dedicated bare metal hardware. This includes compute, storage, networking, and access to the OpenStack Horizon dashboard and CLI tools.
Do I need a credit card to start a trial?
No credit card is required for either the Self-Serve or PoC trial. However, adding a payment method during a trial allows you to seamlessly transition to a paid plan.
Can I extend my trial?
Self-Serve trials are fixed at 8 hours. PoC trials can be extended up to 30 days with account manager approval.
Will I be charged automatically after the trial ends?
No. If you have not provided billing information, your cloud will be recycled at the end of the trial period. There are no surprise charges.
What happens if I add billing information during the trial?
Your cloud will remain active after the trial period ends and you will be billed according to your plan (on-demand for Self-Serve, custom pricing for PoC).
What support is available during the trial?
All trial users receive 24/7 online ticket support. PoC trial users also get a dedicated account manager, optional engineer support, and a joint Slack channel.
Can I get help migrating my workloads during the trial?
PoC trial users can work with dedicated engineers for migration assistance. Self-Serve trial users can access our documentation and ticket support.
Can I choose my hardware configuration and data center?
PoC trial users can request specific hardware configurations and data center regions, subject to availability. Self-Serve trial users are assigned available hardware automatically.
What data center regions are available?
OpenMetal operates data centers in multiple regions. Check our data center locations page for current availability.
Who is eligible for a free trial?
Both individuals and organizations with a valid business email are eligible. Free email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) are not accepted at this time. We verify identities to prevent trial abuse.
Can I apply for multiple trials?
Self-Serve users can have up to 3 trials per month. PoC trials are one per use case, but customers can apply for additional PoCs for new business use cases.
Are there any restrictions on what I can do during the trial?
Trial clouds are fully functional private clouds. You can deploy VMs, configure networking, set up storage, and run workloads. Usage is subject to our Terms of Service and fair use policies.
Can I use the trial for production workloads?
We recommend using trials for testing and evaluation. PoC trial clouds can transition to production, while Self-Serve trial clouds are reclaimed at the end of the 8-hour period.