.NEXT 2026: Nutanix Introduces NKP Metal, Bringing Bare-Metal Kubernetes to its Platform

Nutanix, a player in hybrid multicloud computing, 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 organizations end up having to build a highly specialized 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 organizations 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 virtualized 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 virtualized environments,” said Dan Ciruli, VP and GM, 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, organizations can deploy and manage containerized 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, organizations will be able to provision, scale, patch, and update bare-metal Kubernetes environments while retaining operational consistency used for virtualized 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.

Ecosystem Commentary

• “Bare-metal Kubernetes is a common mode of operation for demanding AI and edge workloads. With Ubuntu, the world’s leading operating system for containerized environments, NKP Metal will bring to enterprise customers a consistent, familiar, and seamless experience. Combining Ubuntu-based workflows developers love with Nutanix’s enterprise-grade automation and data services removes the operational friction of managing physical infrastructure at scale,” said Aniket Ponkshe, director, software alliances, Canonical
• “With NKP Metal running on Cisco infrastructure solutions, including our new Cisco Unified Edge platform, customers will gain the performance benefits of physical hardware with a cloud operating model, eliminating the operational gap between infrastructure and Kubernetes. By extending Nutanix lifecycle management into Kubernetes environments and integrating with Cisco Intersight for unified visibility and control, we’re simplifying how organizations deploy and operate modern applications from core data centers to edge locations and sovereign environments,” said Jonathan Gorlin, senior director, product management, Cisco Compute
• “NKP Metal is designed for the kinds of environments – bare-metal edge deployments, dense AI infrastructure, and performance-intensive workloads – that generate the highest volumes of logs, metrics, and events. That’s exactly where Cribl Edge excels: getting observability data under control at the source, before it overwhelms downstream systems. We’re excited to see partners, like Nutanix, bring data management capabilities to the edge from day one,” said Vlad Melnik, VP, business development and global alliances, Cribl
• “Bare-metal Kubernetes is the frontier for performance-intensive applications, but it requires a hardware foundation that is both powerful and easy to manage. Intel is proud to support the launch of NKP Metal, bringing the raw power of Intel Xeon with its high core counts and superior memory bandwidth to Nutanix’s cloud-native stack. Together, we are eliminating the complexity of physical infrastructure management, allowing developers to run containerized AI and modern workloads at the edge and in the data center with maximum speed and operational consistency,” said Srini Kirshna, fellow, data center products, Intel
• “Deploying Kubernetes often presents unique challenges. The integration of NKP Metal with Lenovo’s high-performance, resilient ThinkSystem servers will provide a unified operating model that spans from the data center to the furthest remote site. Together with Nutanix, we are delivering an automated experience for bare-metal containers that keeps critical infrastructure reliable and easy to scale,” said Scott Patti, VP, infrastructure solutions group, Lenovo
  “Nutanix and SolarWinds share a common mission: helping organizations manage VMs and bare-metal Kubernetes under a unified platform. With AI-powered insights and our new SolarWinds AI Agent delivering deep visibility into the physical layer, we’re giving enterprises the confidence to deploy complex applications and AI workloads knowing their full stack is optimized, observable, and resilient,” said Amiya Adwitiya, senior product director, SolarWinds
• “Enterprises are increasingly looking to deploy cloud-native applications directly on bare-metal infrastructure to maximize performance, efficiency, and control. Our collaboration with Nutanix on NKP Metal will bring together Nutanix’s powerful Kubernetes platform with Supermicro’s optimized, high-performance server solutions, enabling customers to seamlessly deploy, manage, and scale modern applications with enterprise-grade reliability and simplified operations,” said Vik Malyala, SVP, technology and AI, Supermicro