CloudStack 4.18 will include several new features such as volume encryption, secure KVM VNC connections, VM autoscaling, and edge zones. It is expected to be released in Q4/Q1 as a long term support release. Some features still have work in progress and may not make the final release. The release includes many bug fixes and improvements to the management framework.

1. What's Coming In CloudStack
4.18
by Boris Stoyanov

2. About me
Software Engineer in Test
Joined CloudStack in 2016
PMC @ Apache CloudStack since 2019
Married, Dad of 2

3. About CloudStack 4.18
• LTS
• Expected Q4/Q1
• Lots of new features
• Kudos to Daan!

4. Disclaimer - it is work in progress
• There is no
fi
xed ETA yet
• Some of features might not make it
• Community effort

5. Volume Encryption
• Supported for KVM only
• Supported storage: NFS, Local storage, Shared mount point,
ScaleIO
• All Volume/VM lifecycle operations supported except live storage
migration and extraction
• Offering based - root/data disk offering

6. Secure KVM VNC connection using
CA framework
• Uses CloudStack CA framework - KVM only
• TLS authenticated and encrypted connection between CPVM and
guest VM
• All messages CP<>VM secured

7. Standardized API driven console
access
• New API for console proxying a VM
• One-time session
• Extra security token for session generation

8. VM Autoscaling
• ScaleUp/Down policies
• De
fi
ne AutoScaler Group: Template, Offering, Network/LB
• Custom counters: CPU, MEM, IN/OUT traf
fi
c, connections
• Group attributes: min/max members, duration/cooldown
min/max members etc.

9. Loose host anti-af
fi
nity/af
fi
nity group
• Strict af
fi
nity groups
• Non-strict af
fi
nity groups
• ConsiderLastHost

10. Edge Zones
• Ability to add remote compute resource
• Lightweight zone - no SecStorage, no network con
fi
guration
• Available with local storage and direct download templates
• KVM only

11. UserData as
fi
rst class resource
• CRUD APIs
• User data entity - name, userdata, parameters, domain, account
• Deploy VM facilitates the changes

12. UserData as
fi
rst class resource

13. UserData as
fi
rst class resource

14. Safe ACS Shutdown Feature
• Shutdown feature from UI
• Safely stop the management server
• Maintenance mode of speci
fi
c management server
• Monitor pending jobs via Infra tab

15. Logic driven global settings
• Categories
• UI improvements
• Input validation - revert to default

19. Improve guest OS support framework
• Guest OS management in the UI
• New APIs to facilitate add/remove GuestOSs
• Validation of the mapping per hypervisor support

20. Additional OS support
• EL9 (Rocky/Oracle Linux 9)
• Ubuntu 22.04
• Both for KVM hosts and management servers

21. Some more features
• Con
fi
gurable MTU for VR
• Custom DNS per for networks
• 2FA framework - starting with Google Authenticator
• Resource Metrics Framework
• Live Storage Migration for ScaleIO

22. Bug
fi
xes
• Many bug
fi
xes as part of LTS
• About 90 issues and PRs merged
• About 60 still open

23. Questions?