What is Strato?
Strato is a fast, secure, and easy to deploy private cloud platform based on battle-tested technologies and built for modern infrastructure. It enables operators to run efficient, secure, and powerful infrastructure with ease.
Key Features
Distributed Architecture
Strato uses a Control Plane and Agent architecture for distributed VM management:
- Control Plane: Web UI, REST API, database, and orchestration
- Agents: Run on hypervisor nodes, manage VMs via QEMU
- Communication: Real-time WebSocket protocol
Hardware-Accelerated Virtualization
Near-native VM performance through:
- Linux: KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
- macOS: Hypervisor.framework (HVF)
- Cross-platform: QEMU with TCG for different architectures
Software-Defined Networking
Production-ready networking on Linux:
- OVN/OVS: Software-defined networking with SwiftOVN
- Features: Network isolation, security groups, DHCP, routing
- Multi-tenancy: Isolated networks for different users/organizations
macOS uses user-mode (SLIRP) networking for development.
Authentication & Authorization
Enterprise-grade security:
- WebAuthn/Passkeys: Modern passwordless authentication
- Permify: Fine-grained authorization and permissions
- RBAC: Role-based access control for users and organizations
Intelligent VM Scheduling
Multiple scheduling strategies for optimal resource placement:
- least_loaded: Balance VMs across agents (default)
- best_fit: Pack VMs to minimize fragmentation
- round_robin: Even distribution
- random: For testing
Modern Development Stack
Built with modern technologies:
- Swift: Control Plane (Vapor 4) and Agent
- PostgreSQL: Database with Fluent ORM
- HTMX: Dynamic frontend interactions
- TailwindCSS: Utility-first styling
- Kubernetes: Production deployment with Helm
Use Cases
Development & Testing
- Run multiple OS environments locally
- Test across different platforms
- Isolated development environments
Private Cloud Infrastructure
- Self-hosted VM infrastructure
- Multi-tenant environments
- Edge computing deployments
Education & Learning
- Learn cloud infrastructure
- Experiment with networking
- Understand virtualization
Why Strato?
Performance
- Hardware acceleration for near-native speed
- Efficient resource utilization
- Intelligent scheduling algorithms
Security
- Modern authentication (WebAuthn/Passkeys)
- Fine-grained authorization (Permify)
- Network isolation (OVN/OVS)
Developer Experience
- Hot-reload development (Skaffold)
- Comprehensive documentation
- Active development
Open Source
- ISC License
- Community-driven
- Transparent development