Ready to throw away expensive licenses and complicated setups? Platform9 dropped a huge one: Platform9 Private Cloud Director (PCD) Community Edition– And that’s true Free forever.
This is not a lame demo or a 30-day trial. Getting full-featured enterprise-grade virtualization with no time limit. If you have a Homelab, development environment, or want to try out the best VMware alternatives, this is your moment.
Let’s break down what it is and how to do it in a few minutes.
That’s Community Supporta single regional version of the Private Cloud Director of Platform 9. Get the same modern private cloud technology that will boost your large enterprise virtualization, just without a price.
Here’s what you get out of the box:
- VM High Availability
- Live transition
- Dynamic Resource Balance
- Software-Defined Networking
- Works with existing X86 hardware
- No lock-in, license, no nonsense
That’s a big victory:
- Development Lab
- Home Love
- Environments like Pocs or Sandboxing Production
Why should you care?
Because legacy virtualization tools are more expensive, bloated and developer-friendly. The PCD Community Edition flips that script.
You run your VMs with cloud-native UX, instant scalability and self-service provisioning without any complexity.
Also Read: Platform9 introduces partner programs to accelerate VMware migration
What you need to get started
Before you jump, you have the necessary gear.
Minimum requirements:
- 12 cpus (16 recommended)
- 32GB RAM
- 50GB disk space (100GB priority)
- Ubuntu 22.04 AMD64 Images
- Virtualization enabled in the BIOS (especially if you are using nested virtualization)
If you have a decent lab server or mid-tier workstation, you can go.
About Linux/macos? Super simple
Open the device and run it.
curl -sfL https://go.pcd.run | bashThe script handles everything: downloads, dependencies, deployments, and more. When you finish, it will appear.
- Fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
- Admin Login Credentials
If you are not using DNS, add the following to your /etc /hosts file:
echo " pcd-community.pf9.io" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
echo " pcd.pf9.io" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts Once the installation is complete, launch the browser on the same machine and go to:
https://pcd-community.pf9.io
If you add a manual DNS entry, it resolves fine. Community Edition uses self-signed certificates, so your browser may complain. Just accept the warning and continue.
Leave the default domain as AS-IS. Click “Use local credentials” In the top right corner, log in with the administrator username and password that appears at the end of the installation.
image: Thank you to Platform9
On Windows? We have you too.
open Notepad as an administratorthen open this file.
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hostsScroll down and add these two lines – replace
Save and close the file. That’s it – your machine can now resolve PCD UI.
Also, 5 Best Modern Virtualization Solutions for 2024
Access the UI
Same transaction on Windows: Go to https://pcd-community.pf9.io to accept the certificate and log in using the credentials provided after installation.
Next Step: Set Your Method
1. Change the administrator password
[プロファイル]→[管理設定]→[資格情報を更新]Click. easy.
image: Thank you to Platform9
2. Create a virtualized cluster
Define a blueprint and add a hypervisor node. Please follow this guide To make it right.
3. Start the first VM
Select images, allocate resources, and spin up! It’s a complete step here.
You are not yourself. Platform9 crew hangs out reddit. The documentation is always up to date:
https://platform9.com/docs/private-cloud-director
Ask, explore, build, share.
Why is this important?
Platform9 has lowered the bar for private clouds. Anyone can now build it without budget approval or vendor contracts.
Whether you’re a home rubber, a VMware refugee, or just tired of clunky tools, PCD Community Edition It’s your new playground.
Try it now. It’s free. It is fully functional. And it just works.
