OpenStack Releases Dalmatian: Enhancing AI Support and Security in Cloud Infrastructure

OpenStack Dalmatian: A Leap Forward in Cloud Infrastructure

The OpenStack Community has unveiled its 30th version, OpenStack 2024.2 Dalmatian, marking a significant milestone in open-source cloud infrastructure software. This release comes at a time when OpenStack is experiencing a surge in adoption, particularly as an alternative to VMware and for its suitability in supporting AI, machine learning, and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads 1

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Enhanced AI and HPC Support

Dalmatian introduces several key features that bolster OpenStack's capabilities for AI and HPC workloads:

1. Blazar, OpenStack's resource reservation service, now supports the reservation of GPU instances based on existing Nova flavors, providing more flexibility for AI system training 1

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2. The Nova compute service has been upgraded to offer improved support for hardware accelerators. With the libvirt driver (version 7.3.0 or newer), mediated devices for virtual GPUs can now persist across compute host reboots, enhancing efficiency for AI and HPC workloads 1

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Strengthened Security Measures

Security improvements are a central focus of the Dalmatian release:

1. The Ironic bare-metal provision service now requires hashed rescue passwords and mandates HTTPS for inter-service communication 1

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2. Nova can now detect virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) support for compute services, enhancing security management 2

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3. The Neutron networking service introduces a manager role to support its API, further fortifying the platform's security infrastructure 1

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User Experience Enhancements

Dalmatian brings several improvements aimed at enhancing usability, particularly for organizations migrating from VMware:

1. The OpenStack Skyline dashboard is now fully supported and production-ready, offering new features including support for Masakari, Designate, and FWaaS 1

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2. Ironic introduces runbooks for self-service maintenance, enabling project members to perform curated maintenance tasks on nodes 2

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3. The Manila shared file system service now allows users to manipulate storage capabilities through shared metadata 1

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Expanded Hardware Support

The Cinder block storage service has incorporated new drivers to better support storage equipment from major vendors such as Dell, NetApp, HPE, Fujitsu, and Hitachi 2

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OpenStack's Growing Ecosystem

OpenStack's integration with Linux and Kubernetes in the "Open Infrastructure Blueprint" allows users to deploy container-based, virtual machine-based, and bare metal-based workloads within the same infrastructure. This versatility, combined with its scalability and flexibility, has contributed to OpenStack's increasing popularity 1

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Thierry Carrez, general manager of the OpenInfra Foundation, emphasized the community's commitment to addressing evolving technology needs and integrating with a wide variety of open-source tools and cutting-edge hardware 1

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As OpenStack continues to evolve, the Dalmatian release sets the stage for future developments. The next major release, OpenStack Epoxy, is scheduled for April 2025, with Dalmatian reaching end-of-life in April 2026 2

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