New Update: antsleOS 0.5.0

Official Release: antsle releases antsleOS 0.5.0

San Diego - August 22, 2017

100 %
Upgrade Now!

1. What's New?

Requires Restart! -- Please make sure you carefully read the instructions in section 2 below.

antsleOS, our high-performance multi-hypervisor that turns your antsle into an "IaaS in a box", has hit the next major release. Read on to learn about the main new features.

  • Improved docker integration

    Docker is now an integral part of antsleOS. You can run docker directly from within antsleOS, not just inside antlets. And yes - docker is fully integrated into the ZFS storage backend that is also used for antlets. You will see all your docker images and containers right in the same ZFS space as your antlets live in.

  • Run docker inside LXC antlets

    Other than using docker on the antsleOS level, you can also run docker inside antlets. While it has been possible in KVM antlets before, docker is now supported inside LXC antlets as well. This is the best of both (container) worlds: Create your virtual servers (that look and feel like complete physical servers) in zero-overhead LXC antlets, and install pre-packaged applications within docker containers, nested inside your LXC antlet. Use (1) LXC antlets to create complete virtual servers based on container technology and (2) inside those, run docker containers to get all your pre-packaged applications. Exciting stuff, we think. 

  • Kernel and package upgrades

    We've upgraded the kernel and all packages on the anstleOS level. While it adds the latest security updates, it also enables awesome features such as:

    - Easy USB passthrough using antman

    - Improved support for external storage, such as CIFS/SMB and iSCSI

    - Resolved problems regarding memory/CPU utilization under some circumstances

  • Laying the groundwork for the future

    We rebuilt many things in antsleOS to be prepared for the future.

    - The antsleOS updater (*not* the antman updater) will now push the kernel and package versions to your system, while preserving local changes.

    - Having integrated docker deeply into antsleOS, we now have the basis to make "docker" a third antlet type, besides KVM and LXC. Be prepared to see your docker containers and images right in our antMan GUI, soon to be released.

    - We've updated kernel options to support the latest virtualization/containerization features, as well as support a wide array of external storage. As an example, an antsle can now act as an iSCSI initiator. As always, we are looking forward to hear your thoughts and feedback on the matter 🙂

    Enjoy!

2. Installation Instructions

Preparations
- Login to your antsle via ssh: ssh [email protected]
- Download the upgrade script using this command: wget -N http://central.antsle.com/bin/aosupd-0.5.0
- Make the script executable: chmod a+x aosupd-0.5.0
- To start, run the update script: ./aosupd-0.5.0

Tips:
 - Make sure you do NOT cd, or navigate, inside the `/antlets` directory, or your session will be killed and you'll need to start over
 - If anything goes wrong, please restart your antsle and try again. If the error persists, contact [email protected]

The overall procedure should take about 20-40 mins (downloads are of course directly related to your internet connection speed), please plan accordingly. Here's the procedure explained:

Downloading assets
When initially running the script, it will download the new antsleOS image, which is 5.7G.

Stopping antlets
The script will list and ask you to stop the running antlets, if there are any.

Backing up and merging new image
Here the script will create a backup of your old environment in /antlets/_aosupd-workspace/root.bak. Then, it will merge your current configuration to the new image.

Finalizing the installation
The script will prompt you for a new password for a secondary SSH service, where you'll finish the installation. After finishing this step, the script will prompt you to close all remaining SSH sessions you may have, and will give you the instructions how to start the new SSH session. Remember to provide the new password you just input in this step.

Start a new ssh session with YOUR_PRIVATE_IP and port 80, the script should display your current private IP and give you the instructions to proceed.

Finally, in the new SSH session, type aoscompl and wait for the script to finish writing back the new image and restarting. That's it!