FOSS Project Spotlight: Ravada

Ravada is an open-source project that allows users to connect to a virtual desktop.

Currently, it supports KVM, but its back end has been designed and implemented in order to allow future hypervisors to be added to the framework. The client's only requirements are a web-browser and a remote viewer supporting the spice protocol.

Ravada's main features include:

• KVM back end.
• LDAP and SQL authentication.
• Kiosk mode.
• Remote access for Windows and Linux.
• Light and fast virtual machine clones for each user.
• Instant clone creation.
• USB redirection.
• Easy and customizable end-user interface (i18n, l10n).
• Administration from a web browser.

It's very easy to install and use. Following the documentation, virtual machines can be deployed in minutes. It's an early release, but it's already used in production. The project is open source, and you can download the code from GitHub. Contributions welcome!

—Francesc Guasch