# OpenStack

> OpenStack is open source software to build private and public clouds, managed with Terraform and OpenTofu through the openstack provider.

- Source: https://www.itwonderlab.com/openstack/
- Published: 2026-06-15
- Updated: 2026-06-15
- Author: Javier Ruiz Jiménez (https://www.javierruizjimenez.com/)
- Site: IT Wonder Lab (https://www.itwonderlab.com/)

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**OpenStack** is open source software to build clouds on your own hardware. Companies run it as a private cloud and some providers offer public clouds based on it. It is made of services: Nova for compute, Neutron for networking, Glance for images, Cinder for block storage and Keystone for identity.

### Key concepts

- **Flavor**: the size of an instance (CPU, memory and disk).
- **Floating IP**: a public address mapped to the private address of an instance.
- **clouds.yaml**: the file with the credentials and endpoint of each cloud.
- **openstack provider**: the community [provider](https://www.itwonderlab.com/terraform-provider/) for Terraform and OpenTofu.

### Learn it

Follow [Terraform on OpenStack](https://www.itwonderlab.com/terraform-openstack-getting-started/).