OpenStack Cactus Release Supports Larger Cloud Deployments

It’s only been 10 weeks since OpenStack, the open source cloud community project, released its last major update. But now, OpenStack is launching the so-called OpenStack Cactus release, focusing on improving stability and reliability in larger-scale cloud deployments. More specifically, OpenStack says that much of Cactus’ development efforts have been centered around extending the API and enabling integration for enterprise technologies.

As a quick refresher: OpenStack, founded by Rackspace Hosting and NASA, relies on code contribution from its 60 member organizations to provide a full, open, service provider-hostable cloud platform. The OpenStack project itself has three components: OpenStack Compute, OpenStack Object Storage, and the relatively new OpenStack Image Service, which discovers, registers, and delivers virtual disc images.

Taken directly from the official press release, here’s the new features that Cactus brings to each, starting with OpenStack Compute:

• Support for all major virtualization technologies, including Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, LXC, QEMU, UML, VMware vSphere, Xen and Citrix XenServer;
• Live Migration support for KVM, which enables users to move running virtual machines from one physical host to another;
• Enhanced network management features, including IPv6 support for flat networking, advanced network configuration and QoS management with XenServer;
• New OpenStack API 1.1 with support for extensions, which allow developers to innovate more quickly by adding extensions to their local OpenStack installations ahead of the code being accepted by the OpenStack community as a whole;
• Multi-cluster region support, which allows administrators to manage servers in clusters, and create fault zones and availability zones; and
• Support for enterprise storage solutions, including Solaris iSCSI and HP SAN.

New features in OpenStack Object Storage include:

• An enhanced authentication system;
• The ability to collect and serve data that enables integration of service provider billing solutions or internal chargebacks; and
• Static web serving for faster and easier access to content.

And the OpenStack Image Service gets a command line interface and image verification.

OpenStack often uses major releases to highlight milestones in their community, and this is no exception – they’re reporting that since the previous release of Bexar, they’ve added 4,700 code commits and 40 new features were added by old partners like Canonical and new ones like Gluster.

Overall, it seems like the OpenStack project is progressing nicely and inching towards full enterprise adoption readiness. We’ll continue to closely monitor its progress, so stay tuned.

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