Confluent

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About

Confluent is ranked #1 of 29 in bare metal provisioning software on Inferse. It runs on API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web.

Compared on bare metal provisioning software

Free plan: Yesxcat2.github.io
Bare-metal discovery: Yesxcat2.github.io
OS image deployment: Yesxcat2.github.io
PXE bootstrapping: Yesxcat2.github.io
Lifecycle management: Yesxcat2.github.io
Hardware inventory: Yesxcat2.github.io
API access: Yesxcat2.github.io
Out-of-band management: Yesxcat2.github.io

Facts

Purpose: Confluent handles bootstrap and day-to-day operation of scale-out server configurations, including operating-system deployment, hardware control, console management, telemetry, and device onboarding.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Scale: The documentation says Confluent supports clusters from a handful of nodes to many thousands, on x86_64 and aarch64 architectures.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Deployment: It provisions stateful and stateless images using PXE, HTTP(S) boot, or virtual media, with customization at each phase.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Discovery: It can detect generic PXE systems or hardware managers and onboard devices by serial number, MAC address, switch port, or physical location.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Hardware management: It supports power, boot-device selection, BIOS/UEFI/BMC settings, RAID controllers, health checks, telemetry, virtual media, and support data through IPMI, Redfish, and vendor plugins.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Console management: Console access includes multi-user arbitration, timestamped logging, and VT-aware buffering that restores console state on reconnect.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Network topology: Confluent provides centralized access to MAC address tables and LLDP information across switches.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Interfaces: Users can operate Confluent through Linux commands, the confetty command-line browser, a Python client library, a web UI, or a REST API over HTTP.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Availability: Collective mode connects servers behind one Confluent interface to provide high availability and scale-out operation.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Security: Documented security features include validated TLS, TPM2 support for boot-volume protection and persistent node trust, an SSH PKI strategy, and Secure Boot support for media and HTTP boot.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Supported management server OS: The installation documentation lists Enterprise Linux 8.6 or higher, SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP4 or higher, and Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 for installation.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Installation requirement: A default installation has firewall restrictions that must be adjusted for HTTPS and, depending on deployment method, additional network boot ports.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
License: The project repository states that Confluent is available under the Apache 2.0 license.github.com · 29 Sept 2026
Intended users: The documentation recommends installing Confluent directly for most users, especially those without an existing xCAT installation, while users relying on xCAT-exclusive features can run both together.xcat2.github.io · 29 Sept 2026
Purpose: Confluent handles server-cluster bootstrap and day-to-day operations, including OS deployment, hardware control, console management, telemetry, and device onboarding.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Scale and architecture: It supports clusters from a handful of nodes to many thousands and supports x86_64 (amd64) and aarch64 (arm64).xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Deployment: It can provision stateful and stateless images over PXE, HTTP(S) boot, or virtual media, with customization at each phase.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Discovery: It can detect generic PXE systems or hardware managers and onboard devices by serial number, MAC address, switch port, or physical location.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Hardware management: It supports power, boot-device selection, BIOS/UEFI/BMC settings, RAID storage controllers, health checks, telemetry, virtual media, and support data through IPMI, Redfish, and vendor plugins.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Console management: Console management provides multi-user access arbitration, timestamped logging, and VT-aware buffering for reconnects.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Network topology: It centralizes access to MAC address tables and LLDP information across switches through one interface.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Availability: Collective mode can span one Confluent interface across multiple servers for high availability and large fleets.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Interfaces: Users can operate Confluent through Linux commands, the confetty command-line browser, a Python client library, or a REST API over HTTP.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Operating systems: The download instructions cover repositories for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, and SUSE Linux Enterprise.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026
Notable limitation: The documentation recommends installing Confluent directly for most users and describes using it alongside xCAT when xCAT-exclusive features are needed.xcat2.github.io · 30 Sept 2026