Virtual Machine Orchestrator

Palette Virtual Machine Orchestrator (VMO) enables you to run and manage VMs alongside containers on Kubernetes. Instead of maintaining separate hypervisor and container platforms, VMO consolidates both workload types into a single infrastructure layer built on KubeVirt. You can deploy VMO on bare metal servers in data centers, at Edge locations, and in airgapped or regulated environments.

With VMO, you can create, start, stop, migrate, snapshot, and clone VMs using the same Kubernetes cluster that runs your containerized applications. VMO handles the underlying infrastructure, including storage, networking, identity management, and observability, so you do not need to assemble and maintain separate tools for each concern.

Use Cases

VMO is designed for organizations that need to manage VM workloads on Kubernetes. Common scenarios include:

• Hypervisor consolidation - Replace a traditional hypervisor with a Kubernetes-native VM runtime to reduce licensing costs, simplify operations, and unify your infrastructure management.

• VM-to-container migration - Run VMs and containers side by side during a gradual transition. Move workloads to containers at your own pace without maintaining two separate platforms.

• Edge and distributed sites - Deploy VMs at Edge locations and remote sites where a standalone, self-contained platform is easier to operate than a centrally managed hypervisor.

• Airgapped and regulated environments - Run VMs in disconnected or compliance-sensitive environments with built-in FIPS 140-3 support, airgapped package management, and standalone identity management.

Deployment Approaches

VMO is available through two deployment approaches: PaletteAI VM Launchpad (recommended) and VMO Pack.

Capability	VM Launchpad	VMO Pack
Palette connection	Not supported	Required for profile authoring; optional at runtime with locally managed Edge clusters
Deployment method	bootable ISO	Palette cluster profile or exported cluster definition
Golden image builder	Yes	No
Snapshot policies	Yes	No
Airgapped package management	Yes	No
Built-in identity management	Yes (OIDC, Keycloak, local accounts)	Palette-managed OIDC by default, with local accounts, Keycloak, and external OIDC available
Observability (metrics dashboards)	Built-in (OTel, PromQL)	Requires external setup
VM Migration Assistant	Yes	Yes
Cluster lifecycle management	Self-managed (Local UI)	Palette-managed or self-managed (Local UI)
Imported cluster support	No	Yes

VM Launchpad (Recommended)

The VM Launchpad is the recommended way to deploy VMO. It provides a standalone, bootable ISO that you install directly on bare metal or Edge devices. After installation, link your devices together to form a cluster with VMO preconfigured and ready to use. No connection to Palette is required.

The appliance includes a purpose-built management UI designed specifically for VM operations, with built-in identity and access management, golden image workflows, airgapped package management, snapshot policies, and observability dashboards. This self-contained approach is well suited for distributed sites, Edge locations, airgapped environments, and regulated environments.

If you are new to VMO, start with the VM Launchpad. Refer to Install VM Launchpad to get started.

VMO Pack

VMO Pack is the original approach to deploying VMO. You create a cluster through Palette and add the Virtual Machine Orchestrator pack to a curated cluster profile. VM management is accessed through the Palette UI.

VMO Pack remains fully supported. However, we recommend using the VM Launchpad for new deployments because it provides a dedicated VM management experience with standalone authentication, operational tooling, and capabilities that are not available in the pack approach.

Next Steps

Take the following steps to get started with VMO. Once you have a VMO cluster, you can also explore the Virtual Machine Migration Assistant to learn how you can migrate existing VMs from VMware vSphere to your VMO cluster.

VM Launchpad

1. Review the VM Launchpad overview to learn about the appliance architecture and capabilities.

2. Follow the Install VM Launchpad guide to install the appliance on your devices and create your cluster.

3. Use the Create Your First VM guide to deploy your first VM.

Refer to the VMs section to learn how to create and manage golden images, templates, and snapshots.

VMO Pack

1. Review the Architecture page to learn about the components involved in enabling VMO.

2. Follow the Create a VMO Profile guide to prepare everything you need to deploy your first VMO cluster. If you are using VMO in an airgapped environment, review the Install VMO in Airgap Environments guide first.

3. Refer to the Create and Manage VMs section for information on deploying VMs and performing standard VM operations.

4. Review the Advanced Topics section to learn how to create VM and disk templates, manage VM resources, and perform other advanced operations.