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sheepdog/sheepdog

Free

Distributed Storage System for QEMU

FreeFree tier
Type
Open Source
Visit Website GitHub (38 stars)

About sheepdog/sheepdog

Sheepdog is an open-source distributed storage system designed for QEMU/KVM virtual machines. It provides highly available block-level storage volumes with advanced volume management features including snapshot, cloning, and thin provisioning. Sheepdog uses a cluster management backend (corosync, local, zookeeper, or Accord) to manage membership and broadcast messages across nodes. It requires at least three x86-64 machines and supports data redundancy via replication. Released under GPLv2, Sheepdog is ideal for building scalable and fault-tolerant storage for virtualized environments.

Key Features

Highly available block-level storage volumes for virtual machines
Advanced volume management: snapshot, cloning, thin provisioning
Multiple cluster management backends: local, corosync, zookeeper, Accord
Data replication for redundancy (configurable copy count)
Open source under GPLv2

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Open source with permissive GPLv2 license
  • Supports multiple cluster backends for flexibility
  • Advanced volume management features (snapshot, clone, thin provisioning)
  • Designed for high availability with replication
  • Active community and wiki documentation
Cons
  • Requires at least three x86-64 machines for production use
  • Setup complexity depends on cluster backend (e.g., corosync configuration)
  • Limited to Linux and x86-64 architecture
  • No native GUI; command-line interface only

Best For

Virtual machine storage for QEMU/KVMCloud infrastructure block storageData center storage with high availabilityTest and development environments for distributed storage

FAQ

What is Sheepdog?
Sheepdog is a distributed storage system for QEMU that provides highly available block-level storage volumes to virtual machines, with support for snapshot, cloning, and thin provisioning.
What are the requirements to run Sheepdog?
Sheepdog requires three or more x86-64 machines and a cluster engine such as Corosync, or it can use local, zookeeper, or Accord drivers.
How do I install Sheepdog?
Installation instructions are provided in the INSTALL file distributed with the source package. Pre-built binaries may be available via Linux distribution repositories.
Is Sheepdog free to use?
Yes, Sheepdog is open source software released under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2).