Nomad

Basic Information

HashiCorp Nomad is a flexible, easy-to-use, and performant workload orchestrator designed to deploy and manage a mix of microservice, batch, containerized, and non-containerized applications. It is part of the HashiCorp ecosystem, integrating with tools like Consul for service discovery and Vault for secrets management.

• Model: Workload Orchestrator
• Version: Latest stable version varies; users should consult official HashiCorp releases.
• Release Date: Continuously updated.
• Minimum Requirements: For small-scale setups, 2 CPU cores and 4 GB RAM are recommended.
• Supported Operating Systems: Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• Latest Stable Version: Varies, check HashiCorp's official release page.
• End of Support Date: Not explicitly defined as a fixed date for the open-source version; support is continuous through updates and community. Enterprise versions have specific support agreements.
• End of Life Date: Not explicitly defined for the open-source version.
• Auto-update Expiration Date: Not applicable; updates are manual or managed through deployment pipelines.
• License Type: Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL 2.0) for the open-source version. A commercial version, Nomad Enterprise, is also available.
• Deployment Model: On-premises, cloud (public and private), and hybrid environments. It supports multi-cloud and multi-region federated deployments.

Technical Requirements

Nomad's technical requirements vary significantly between client and server roles, and depend on the scale and load of the cluster.

• RAM:
  • Client: At least 4 GB recommended for small-scale setups.
  • Server: 16-32 GB+ of memory for production deployments.
• Processor:
  • Client: At least 2 CPU cores recommended for small-scale setups.
  • Server: 4-8+ cores for production deployments. Nomad servers are multithreaded and the scheduler workers are CPU-bound.
• Storage:
  • Client: Sufficient disk space for task allocations.
  • Server: 40-80 GB+ of fast disk. Nomad stores all state in memory and two snapshots of this data onto disk, requiring fast I/O. Disk space should be at least twice the memory available to the server in high-load clusters. NVMe or Provisioned IOPS SSD storage is recommended for data directories.
• Display: Not directly applicable for a backend orchestrator.
• Ports:
  • HTTP API (Default 4646): TCP only, used by clients and servers.
  • RPC (Default 4647): TCP only, used for internal communication between client agents and servers, and inter-server traffic.
  • Serf WAN (Default 4648): Used by servers for gossip over LAN and WAN.
• Operating System: Linux, macOS, Windows (64-bit architectures only). Linux clients require `CAP_SYS_ADMIN` and `CAP_NET_ADMIN` capabilities for isolating tasks and setting up networking, often requiring clients to run as root.

Analysis of Technical Requirements

Nomad is designed for scalability, with requirements scaling significantly from small development setups to large production clusters. Server nodes, particularly, demand substantial CPU, memory, and fast disk I/O due to their role in managing state and scheduling. Network latency between servers is critical, ideally sub-10 milliseconds, to ensure liveness and high-throughput scheduling. Client requirements are more modest but still necessitate adequate resources for running diverse workloads. The software's ability to run on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and support for 64-bit architectures, provides broad deployment flexibility. However, specific Linux capabilities are needed for advanced client functionalities.

Support & Compatibility

HashiCorp Nomad offers broad compatibility and various support options, leveraging its ecosystem integrations.

• Latest Version: Varies, check HashiCorp's official release page.
• OS Support: Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• End of Support Date: Not a fixed date for the open-source version; ongoing through community and updates. Enterprise versions have defined support lifecycles.
• Localization: Primarily English documentation and interfaces. Localization features for the core orchestrator are not a primary focus.
• Available Drivers: Supports various task drivers including Docker, Podman, `exec`, `raw_exec`, Java, and Qemu for virtual machines.

Analysis of Overall Support & Compatibility Status

Nomad boasts strong compatibility across major operating systems and supports a wide array of workload types, from containerized to legacy applications, via its pluggable task drivers. This flexibility is a key strength, allowing it to manage diverse environments. Integration with other HashiCorp tools like Consul and Vault enhances its capabilities for service discovery, secrets management, and dynamic configuration. While the open-source version relies on community support and continuous updates, Nomad Enterprise offers dedicated commercial support. The absence of extensive localization is typical for infrastructure software of this nature.

Security Status

Nomad's security model emphasizes user-implemented measures, as it is not secure by default.

• Security Features:
  • mTLS (Mutual TLS): Encrypts communication between Nomad clients and servers, preventing unauthenticated access and tampering.
  • ACLs (Access Control Lists): Enforce fine-grained access control and authorization for authenticated connections.
  • Namespaces: Allow granular access control to job information in multi-tenant clusters.
  • Sentinel Policies (Enterprise): Provide granular control over components like task drivers.
  • Gossip Encryption: Encrypts server-to-server communication (Serf protocol) using symmetric keys.
  • Integration with Vault: For secure secrets management and distribution.
  • Workload Identity: Supports federating access to cloud providers like AWS and GCP.
• Known Vulnerabilities:
  • CVE-2025-4922: ACL policy lookup flaw allowing privilege escalation through prefix-based policy shadowing. Fixed in Nomad Community Edition 1.10.2 and specific Enterprise versions.
  • CVE-2025-1296: Unintentional exposure of workload identity token and client secret token in audit logs.
  • CVE-2025-3744: Nomad Enterprise jobs bypassing mandatory Sentinel policies.
  • CVE-2024-1329: Template renderer vulnerable to arbitrary file write via symlink attacks. Fixed in Nomad 1.7.4, 1.6.7, and 1.5.14.
• Blacklist Status: Not applicable.
• Certifications: Not explicitly stated for the open-source version.
• Encryption Support: Full transport encryption for all network traffic (gossip, HTTP, RPC) using mTLS and symmetric keys. Supports external KMS or Vault for key encryption.
• Authentication Methods: ACL tokens, OIDC, JWT, API key authentication (via interfaces like Shipper).
• General Recommendations:
  • Enable mTLS and gossip encryption.
  • Implement ACLs for fine-grained access control.
  • Use Vault for secrets management.
  • Run Nomad agents with the least privilege required, ideally as unprivileged users.
  • Regularly update and patch Nomad and its dependencies.
  • Secure communication ports (4646, 4647, 4648) with firewalls and security groups.
  • Rotate credentials frequently.
  • Consider sandbox runtimes (e.g., gVisor, Kata Containers) for untrusted code.
  • Audit job and task configurations for sensitive information exposure.

Analysis on the Overall Security Rating

Nomad offers robust security features, including strong encryption (mTLS, gossip encryption) and comprehensive access control mechanisms (ACLs, namespaces, Sentinel policies). However, it is crucial to note that Nomad is not "secure-by-default," requiring explicit configuration of these features by the user. Recent vulnerabilities, such as the ACL policy lookup flaw (CVE-2025-4922) and arbitrary file write (CVE-2024-1329), highlight the importance of diligent patching and adherence to security best practices. Proper configuration, integration with Vault for secrets, and running with least privilege are essential for maintaining a secure Nomad environment.

Performance & Benchmarks

Nomad is known for its performance and scalability, designed to handle high-throughput scheduling.

• Benchmark Scores: Nomad can schedule thousands of containers per second and scale to thousands of nodes in a single cluster.
• Real-world Performance Metrics: Optimizes resource utilization through bin packing. It is designed for high-throughput, bursty traffic, and ephemeral infrastructure.
• Power Consumption: Not directly measured for the software itself. Server power consumption depends on underlying hardware and workload.
• Carbon Footprint: Not directly measured for the software. Indirectly influenced by resource efficiency and infrastructure choices.
• Comparison with Similar Assets:
  • Kubernetes: Nomad is often compared to Kubernetes. Nomad is considered simpler, more lightweight, and offers broader workload support (containers, non-containerized, batch, VMs). Kubernetes is a more complete system with a larger ecosystem, handling more than just scheduling (service discovery, secrets, routing). Nomad is preferred for simplicity, diverse workload management, resource efficiency, and integration within the HashiCorp ecosystem.
  • Docker Swarm: Nomad offers more powerful and extensible features due to its driver concept, allowing heterogeneous clusters.

Analysis of the Overall Performance Status

HashiCorp Nomad excels in performance and scalability, capable of orchestrating thousands of tasks per second across large clusters. Its bin packing algorithm efficiently utilizes resources, leading to optimized infrastructure usage. The lightweight nature and single-binary deployment contribute to its operational simplicity and reliability. While direct power consumption and carbon footprint metrics for the software are not available, its resource efficiency can contribute to lower operational costs and potentially a reduced environmental impact of the underlying infrastructure. Nomad's ability to handle diverse workloads, including legacy applications alongside containers, provides a significant advantage over container-centric orchestrators like Kubernetes in certain use cases.

User Reviews & Feedback

HashiCorp Nomad generally receives positive user reviews, highlighting its simplicity and flexibility.

• Strengths:
  • Simplicity and Ease of Use: Runs as a single binary, is self-contained, and has a straightforward architecture. Job specifications are simple and declarative.
  • Flexibility and Diverse Workload Support: Orchestrates containers (Docker, Podman), non-containerized applications (executables, Java), batch jobs, microservices, and virtual machines (Qemu).
  • Scalability and Performance: Handles thousands of containers per second and scales to thousands of nodes.
  • Resource Efficiency: Optimizes resource utilization through bin packing.
  • HashiCorp Ecosystem Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Consul for service discovery and Vault for secrets management.
  • Multi-Cloud/Multi-Region Support: Designed for portability across various environments.
• Weaknesses:
  • Smaller Ecosystem/Community: Compared to Kubernetes, Nomad has a smaller ecosystem of third-party tools and a smaller user community, which some users perceive as less extensive support.
  • UI/Monitoring: The web-based UI and built-in monitoring capabilities are sometimes considered less extensive or user-friendly than alternatives.
  • Security Configuration: Not secure by default; requires explicit user configuration for security features.
  • Networking Complexity: Can have a learning curve for networking concepts, especially when integrating with Consul.
• Recommended Use Cases:
  • Microservices Deployment: Ideal for deploying and scaling microservices.
  • Batch Processing Workloads: Efficiently runs batch jobs and high-performance computing tasks.
  • Legacy Application Modernization: Orchestrates existing non-containerized applications.
  • Multi-Cloud and Edge Computing: Offers portability and lightweight management for diverse environments.
  • Organizations seeking simplicity and resource efficiency over the complexity of full-stack orchestrators.

Summary

HashiCorp Nomad is a powerful and flexible workload orchestrator that stands out for its simplicity, performance, and ability to manage a wide range of application types across diverse infrastructures. Its single-binary deployment and declarative job specifications contribute to a low operational overhead and ease of use, making it an attractive option for organizations prioritizing efficiency and straightforward management. Nomad's strengths lie in its robust scheduling capabilities, efficient resource utilization through bin packing, and seamless integration within the HashiCorp ecosystem, particularly with Consul for service discovery and Vault for secrets management. It is highly scalable, capable of handling thousands of tasks per second and supporting large clusters, and offers strong multi-cloud and multi-region deployment options.

However, Nomad requires explicit configuration for its comprehensive security features, as it is not secure by default. Users must actively implement mTLS, ACLs, and gossip encryption to secure their deployments. While its community is active, it is smaller than that of Kubernetes, which might mean a less extensive third-party tool ecosystem and fewer shared experiences. The built-in UI and monitoring capabilities are also sometimes perceived as less feature-rich compared to alternatives.

Overall, Nomad is an excellent choice for organizations that need a performant, flexible, and resource-efficient orchestrator for heterogeneous workloads, especially those already invested in the HashiCorp stack. It is particularly well-suited for microservices, batch processing, legacy application modernization, and edge computing scenarios where operational simplicity and broad workload support are paramount. While it demands careful attention to security configuration, its core design principles offer a compelling alternative to more complex orchestration solutions.

The information provided is based on publicly available data and may vary depending on specific device configurations. For up-to-date information, please consult official manufacturer resources.