Miona Aleksic
on 22 July 2025
The integration delivers reliable, cost-effective virtualization for modern IT infrastructure
Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has collaborated with Dell Technologies on a native integration between Canonical LXD and Dell PowerFlex software-defined infrastructure. The combined solutions for open source virtualization and high-performance software-defined storage ensure tight coupling between the virtualization layer and the underlying storage infrastructure, enabling optimized performance, reliability, and feature utilization for organizations looking to modernize their infrastructure.
Performance and efficiency
Native integration allows LXD to leverage PowerFlex’s unique capabilities without the overhead of intermediary plugins or abstraction layers. This streamlined communication ensures that storage resources are utilized optimally. For performance-critical workloads, this direct integration minimizes latency and enhances IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second), making it particularly beneficial for applications requiring high throughput and low latency.
Advanced feature utilization
Dell PowerFlex offers excellent performance with a robust set of features. When directly integrated with LXD, these capabilities can be exposed as native features within the LXD environment. This means that developers and administrators can manage snapshots or storage policies directly from LXD’s UI, command-line interface or API, without needing to interface separately with the PowerFlex management console. Such seamless integration simplifies management and helps maintain a unified operational workflow.
Simplified operations and scaling
Direct integration also aligns with the scalability goals of modern IT environments. LXD, designed for providing lightweight infrastructure, benefits from PowerFlex’s ability to scale storage resources elastically. Native integration ensures that as workload demands increase, new storage pools and volumes can be easily created from the same environment without requiring manual intervention or configuration changes through intermediary systems. This saves time and reduces the risk of misconfigurations or bottlenecks.
Enhanced reliability and support
By avoiding the universal plugin model, which introduces a generic abstraction layer, native integration focuses on reliability and stability tailored to the specific characteristics of PowerFlex. Canonical and Dell’s collaboration can ensure that updates, patches, and optimizations are tested and validated for this integration, offering a robust and reliable solution for enterprise environments.
“At Canonical, we focus on simplifying infrastructure management through open-source solutions,” said Cédric Gégout, VP Product at Canonical. “By integrating LXD’s lightweight virtualization and Dell PowerFlex’s powerful storage features, we give customers a seamless cloud-like experience. This collaboration gives businesses the tools they need to accelerate their cloud transformations and foster innovation for a wide range of use cases across industries.”
Choice and flexibility
Dell and Canonical also offer an integration for Dell PowerFlex and Canonical OpenStack. This ensures that organizations have the flexibility to design their infrastructure in the most optimal way for their business needs.
Want to learn more about Dell PowerFlex and LXD? Download our whitepaper
About Canonical
Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, provides open source security, support and services. Our portfolio covers critical systems, from the smallest devices to the largest clouds, from the kernel to containers, from databases to AI. With customers that include top tech brands, emerging startups, governments and home users, Canonical delivers trusted open source for everyone.
Learn more at https://canonical.com/
