Nutanix has announced NKP Metal which extends the Nutanix operating model and Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP) solution to support Kubernetes deployments directly on bare-metal infrastructure.
Running Kubernetes on bare metal can deliver the performance and flexibility many modern workloads require, particularly for edge environments and AI training workloads that rely on dense GPU infrastructure. But operating these environments at scale often introduces new complexity, from provisioning physical servers to managing firmware updates and integrating storage and networking services. As a result, many organisations end up having to build a highly specialised and siloed team for managing bare-metal Kubernetes deployments.
Unlike solutions which are strictly hypervisor- or Kubernetes-based, NKP Metal supports a dual-native architecture in which containers and virtual machines operate as first-class infrastructure under a unified operating model including for AI and other performance-intensive workloads that often run directly on bare-metal infrastructure.
NKP Metal represents an extension of the Nutanix operating model and HCI stack to bare-metal Kubernetes environments, enabling organisations to run containers directly on physical infrastructure while maintaining a consistent level of automation, lifecycle management, networking, and enterprise data services they rely on in virtualised environments. As part of this approach, customers can choose to consume Nutanix storage through a container storage interface or use Cloud Native AOS as a purpose-built storage option for true bare-metal Kubernetes deployments while leveraging Nutanix Data Services for Kubernetes-native data services, extending the Nutanix experience end to end while keeping storage closer to Kubernetes workloads.
“Running Kubernetes on bare metal has traditionally meant sacrificing the operational simplicity of virtualised environments,” said Dan Ciruli, Vice President and General Manager, Cloud Native, Nutanix. “With NKP Metal, we’re extending the Nutanix operating model to bare-metal Kubernetes, combining automated lifecycle management with integrated Cloud Native AOS data services to deliver the simplicity, consistency, and enterprise storage capabilities customers need on their physical infrastructure.”
Cloud-Like Simplicity for Bare-Metal Kubernetes
With NKP Metal, organisations can deploy and manage containerised workloads on physical servers while maintaining the operational simplicity, automation, and enterprise services of the Nutanix Cloud Platform solution.
NKP Metal will also simplify the lifecycle management of physical infrastructure. Leveraging capabilities such as automated node deployment with Nutanix Foundation and Operating System and Firmware lifecycle management through Lifecycle Manager, organisations will be able to provision, scale, patch, and update bare-metal Kubernetes environments while retaining operational consistency used for virtualised workloads.
Availability
The NKP Metal deployment option is available to early access to NKP PRO and NKP ULT license users now, and it will go to general availability in the second half of 2026.
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