In a recent development, the free release of PaaS-platform Cozystack 0.40 is now available for use. This platform, built on Kubernetes, is designed to serve as a ready-made hosting solution for providers and a framework for creating both private and public clouds. By installing directly on servers, Cozystack covers all the necessary aspects of preparing infrastructure for managed services. Users can leverage Cozystack to run and provision Kubernetes clusters, databases, and virtual machines. The platform’s code is openly accessible on GitHub and distributed under the Apache-2.0 license.
Cozystack utilizes a technology stack consisting of Talos Linux and Flux CD. The system generates and updates images for the base components – system, kernel, and necessary modules – atomically, eliminating the need for components like dkms and a package manager while ensuring stable operation. An easy installation method is provided for setting up the platform in an empty data center using PXE and a Debian-like talos-bootstrap installer. Within Cozystack, users can quickly deploy various services such as Kafka, FerretDB, PostgreSQL, Cilium, Grafana, and Victoria Metrics.
Moreover, the platform includes a network infrastructure (fabric) based on Kube-OVN and utilizes Cilium for organizing a service network, MetalLB for service announcement, and LINSTOR for storage implementation. Storage is suggested via ZFS as the base layer with DRBD for replication. Additionally, a pre-configured monitoring stack with VictoriaMetrics and Grafana is available. KubeVirt technology is used to launch virtual machines directly in Kubernetes containers, offering integrations with the Cluster API for managing Kubernetes clusters within a hardware Kubernetes cluster.
In the latest release of Cozystack, a LINSTOR scheduler has been added for optimal pod placement. This feature works in tandem with the standard Kubernetes scheduler to place pods on nodes with LINSTOR storage efficiently. The scheduler prioritizes nodes with local replicas of requested volumes, reducing network traffic and improving I/O performance. An admission webhook has been implemented to automatically direct pods using LINSTOR CSI volumes to its scheduler, ensuring seamless integration without manual configuration.