Newly Launched Canonical's Low-Maintenance, Open Source Cloud Platform - Insights From ZDNet

Newly Launched Canonical’s Low-Maintenance, Open Source Cloud Platform - Insights From ZDNet

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Today, Canonical announced the release of a new cloud solution, called MicroCloud, which was created specifically for scalable clusters and edge deployments for all types of businesses.

MicroCloud was built with simplicity, security, and automation at its core to help minimize the time required for deployment. With MicroCloud, businesses can deploy the solution with a single command, which results in a fully functional cloud solution in minutes.

Also: AI at the edge: Fast times ahead for 5G and the Internet of Things

According to Juan Manuel Ventura, Head of Architectures & Technologies at Spindox, “With MicroCloud, the focus shifts away from struggling with cloud operations to solving real business challenges.”

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With a priority on security, every MicroCloud component is built with strict confinement and over-the-air transactional updates to preserve data and make it possible to easily roll back should an error occur and upgrade without downtime. With this, MicroCloud can be deployed as both an on-premise cloud or on edge deployments for remote locations. By doing this, organizations can use the same infrastructure primitives and services, regardless of where they are needed.

Cédric Gégout, VP of Product at Canonical, addresses specifically the issue MicroCloud addresses when he says, “As data becomes more distributed, the infrastructure has to follow. Cloud computing is now distributed, spanning across data centers, far and near edge computing appliances. MicroCloud is our answer to that.” He adds, “By packaging known infrastructure primitives in a portable and unattended way, we are delivering a simpler, more prescriptive cloud experience that makes zero-ops a reality for many Industries.”

Also: Red Hat goes to the edge

MicroCloud can be used on commodity and high-end hardware and can be run on Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and even Ubuntu Core. MicroCloud workloads can be run using Kubernetes or via system containers. Those who use LXD can trust system containers will behave similarly to traditional virtual machines but will consume fewer resources while delivering bare-metal performance. Coupled with Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro + Support subscription, users can rely on an enterprise-grade, open-source solution with full support for a cost-effective solution.

MicroCloud is offered as a part of Canonical’s Ubuntu Pro subscription (with different support tiers available), so if you already subscribe to the service, you’ll have full access to the new platform. MicroCloud uses per-node pricing with zero hidden fees.

Read more about Canonical’s MicroCloud from the official GitHub page , the dedicated Canonical MicroCloud page , or view the official launch on YouTube .