The concept of a private cloud is often associated with expensive enterprise servers, racks full of hardware, and a technical team for maintenance. However, Engineer Pablo del Arco has shown that it’s possible to break that paradigm: with a Raspberry Pi 4 and OpenNebula 7.0, he has built a fully functional private infrastructure for less than €50.
The key lies in the fact that the latest version of OpenNebula includes native ARM64 support, allowing the same platform used in corporate environments to run on low-cost, energy-efficient devices. The outcome is not just a home experiment but a viable model for edge computing deployments in sectors such as industry, energy, or mobility.
An edge cloud where it’s needed
Edge computing has become a paradigm shift: more data is being generated outside traditional data centers, yet current infrastructure remains designed to centralize everything. Up to now, running real workloads at the edge meant using overly heavy platforms or tools ill-suited for production.
OpenNebula 7.0 “Phoenix” addresses this challenge with:
- Native ARM support, with precompiled packages and appliances for ARM64.
- Smart scheduling with AI (OneDRS) to optimize VM placement and automate migrations.
- Hybrid and multi-cloud deployment, unifying edge, private data centers, and public clouds.
- Optimization for resource-constrained environments, with smaller footprints, quick boot times, and fewer dependencies.
- Unified and federated management of distributed clusters from a single control panel.
Practical applications
This deployment approach opens doors to:
- Federated AI training across distributed networks.
- Energy orchestration in substations and microgrids.
- Real-time analytics for industrial and IoT environments.
- Secure edge nodes for smart mobility and V2X.
- Autonomous low-latency services in remote locations.
What’s needed to set up a private cloud with Raspberry Pi
The basic requirements are minimal:
- Raspberry Pi 4B (4 GB or 8 GB RAM).
- Storage: microSD of 32 GB or more (preferably USB SSD).
- Network connection, preferably Ethernet.
- 64-bit operating system (Ubuntu Server or Raspberry Pi OS Lite).
With these components and the MiniONE installer, you can quickly deploy an OpenNebula node with a KVM hypervisor, private network, and ready-to-use VM templates.
Beyond the lab
This experience demonstrates that what was once a proof of concept can now be a real option for edge infrastructures. If a single device can run a private cloud, a fleet of Raspberry Pis can become the foundation of a distributed, secure, and efficient network for multiple sectors.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is a private cloud on Raspberry Pi truly viable for production environments?
Yes, as long as workloads are suitable for its resources and it’s integrated within edge or distributed architectures.
2. What advantages does OpenNebula 7.0 offer over other ARM solutions?
Its native support, AI-powered planning, and federated management make it more robust than less mature alternatives in enterprise settings.
3. What types of applications are most recommended for this environment?
IoT, real-time analytics, edge AI deployments, low-latency networks, and distributed microservices.
4. Can it be expanded to a multi-node cluster?
Yes, by connecting multiple Raspberry Pis and managing them from a single control panel, or combining edge nodes with central data centers.
Source: LinkedIn of Pablo del Arco and Medium blog