GO VM FREE
Run Kubernetes on Bare Metal, Zero VMs Required
Bare metal is finally viable—no more expensive, wasteful VMs. Virtual clusters and virtual nodes give you isolation without the overhead.
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Why do we still need VMs to run Kubernetes workloads?
That defeats the purpose of Kubernetes. We’ve just replaced pet VMs with pet clusters—each with 3 to 5 VMs—adding cost and complexity. Kubernetes was built for large shared clusters, but instead of solving for multi-tenancy, we spun up thousands of tiny ones. That’s the problem we set out to solve— making it finally viable to run Kubernetes on bare metal, without sacrificing isolation.”
Lukas Gentele
Co-Founder & CEO of vCluster
Co-Founder & CEO of vCluster
We Make Bare Metal Work, The Container Native Way
One big Kubernetes cluster per data center should be enough—but sharing is hard. That’s why teams spin up tiny clusters made up of VMs, wasting compute capacity and money. Now you can share one big cluster, no VMs required.
How Aussie Broadband eliminated 195 VMs by switching to bare metal Kubernetes and vCluster
“vCluster enabled us to consolidate our Kubernetes infrastructure from nearly 200 VMs down to a single bare-metal cluster, cutting private cloud costs while improving performance and efficiency.”
Michael Norris
Platform Engineer @ Aussie Broadband
Platform Engineer @ Aussie Broadband
1K+
CPU cores saved
$0
VMware licensing costs
Virtual Machines: The Hidden Tax on Your Kubernetes
“We run 8,000 VMs just to host containerized workloads we already trust.”
VM sprawl
Each cluster runs on its own VMs, multiplying cost and complexity.
Low utilization
Most VM-backed clusters use less than 20% of CPU and memory.
License shock
VMware costs ~$4k per CPU core—and grows with every cluster.
Slow delivery
Separate VM and Kubernetes teams add friction and risk.
On-Demand Virtual Clusters Instead of Underutilized, Separate Kubernetes Clusters
Lightweight control planes that give every team a true Kubernetes experience—without spinning up a single VM.
Launch in Seconds
vClusters spin up in under 3s—no more ticket queues.
Lightweight
Just a few pods, no guest OS or hypervisor overhead.
Built-in Isolation
Each vCluster has its own API server, etcd, and RBAC.
Runs Anywhere
CNCF-compliant; works on any bare metal or cloud K8s.
Self-Serve
Developers create clusters with kubectl or CI—no waiting.
vNode: Node‑Level Isolation Without Hypervisors
Add a security envelope around every tenant workload so you can safely and dynamically share the same physical nodes.
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Your Fast Lane to Bare Metal Performance
Create one high‑performance bare‑metal cluster per data center.
Spin up lightweight virtual clusters for each team or workload, no extra VMs required.
Isolate workloads at the node layer with virtual nodes for iron‑clad security.
Decommission VMs and reclaim compute, memory, and budget.
Faster, Leaner, Safer: Compare The Bare Metal Advantage
VM per Cluster
vCluster + vNode on Bare Metal
Provisioning time
10 – 30 min
< 30 sec
Cluster density per host
4 – 8
100+
CPU / Memory overhead
High
Very Low
License fees
$$$$
$
Operational complexity
VM + K8s
K8s only
Node-level isolation
Hypervisor boundary
Virtual node
Node utilization
10 – 25%
60 – 80%
Cost Down. Density Up. Isolation Built‑In.
Up to 80 % infrastructure savings
By eliminating VM overhead.
5× higher node utilisation
With dynamic virtual clusters.
Instant environments
Developers self serve new clusters in seconds.
Hardened multitenancy
vNode sandboxes each tenant at the kernel boundary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this replace legacy apps still running in VMs?
No, vCluster only helps workloads already on Kubernetes. Legacy VMs stay where they are.
How is security enforced without a hypervisor?
vNode combines user‑namespaces, seccomp filtering, and kernel hardening to contain escapes.
What about OpenShift?
vCluster works with any CNCF‑conformant Kubernetes distribution using containerd ≥ 1.7 and Linux kernel ≥ 6.1. Support for CRI‑O is on our roadmap.
Can I try it before I buy?
Yes, qualified teams receive a guided POC and 30‑day evaluation licence.
Ready to Go VM Free?
Book a 30 minute discovery call and learn how quickly you can move to bare metal Kubernetes.