Virtuozzo Application Platform 8.3

This document is preliminary and subject to change.

In this document, you will find all of the new features, enhancements and visible changes included to the Virtuozzo PaaS 8.3 release.

AlmaLinux 9 Base OS Image

Starting with the current 8.3 release, Virtuozzo Application Platform starts transitioning to the software stacks based on the new AlmaLinux 9 images (from the previously used CentOS 7). Such a change ensures support of all the up-to-date functionality, modern security standards, and compatibility with all the latest software solutions.

The transition process will be gradual and non-intrusive. It follows the next points:

• AlmaLinux 9 images are supported starting with the 8.3 platform version and won’t be available on the preceding versions.
• All the newly released stack versions will be based on AlmaLinux 9, so the whole pool of images will be seamlessly replaced with the new OS over time.
• Updates for the CentOS 7 based images will still be provided in case of critical patches and security issues.
• In the dashboard, tags based on the AlmaLinux 9 will be explicitly highlighted.
• Redeployment from the CentOS 7 to the AlmaLinux 9 version of the stack can be performed without any setbacks. However, downgrading back to CentOS 7 is not supported.
• The up-to-date list of the software stacks based on the AlmaLinux 9 image can be checked in the linked document.

Alongside the AlmaLinux 9 image implementation, some new functionality is introduced, including updated key generation (rsa-sha2-256 and rsa-sha2-512 signatures support), updated Guacamole (Web SSH) client, and nftables netfilter (replaces iptables). The nftables solution is a new recommended choice for firewall rules management. It offers unified and consistent syntax (contrary to the xtables utilities), high performance through maps and concatenations, and increased security as rules get translated into bytecode. At the same time, all the dashboard UI and API calls remain the same as before so that the management process is unchanged.

Other stack-related changes include an updated list of supported OS distributions, including CentOS Stream 9 addition and Debian 9 deprecation.

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Subscription Improvements

The recently implemented Subscription-Based Product solution was further improved in the current release to ensure the best experience for the customers. All the new changes are seamlessly integrated into the dedicated dashboard’s Subscription section.

One of the most requested features is the possibility to update the number of installations for the existing subscriptions. Starting with the 8.3 platform upgrade, the appropriate functionality was fully implemented. The update window is available using the new Edit Subscription option. Here, user can increase and decrease Quantity based on their need:

• Upon upgrade, an additional invoice will be automatically generated by the platform.
• In case of a downgrade (no less than the existing number of instances), the account’s balance will be recharged according to the subscription price and remaining billing period.

Another new feature is the ability to switch subscription plan within the same product. This solution availability depends on the hosting provider. If available, you’ll see the corresponding Switch Subscription option for the required installation.

Lastly the ability to enable/disable Auto Pay option was implemented, allowing to switch between automatic (with default payment method) and manual payment for the subscriptions.

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Action Initiator for Emails

Virtuozzo Application Platform provides a powerful collaboration functionality that allows multiple users to work on the same account. However, with high participants number and active development, it may become difficult to track all the actions performed by individuals and create confusion on whether the account is compromised. In order to help the tracking efforts, the email notifications were extended with the “action initiator” data. Depending on the operation, it can be the email address of the collaboration member or a reference to the internal trigger (e.g., automatic horizontal scaling).

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API Changes

Below, you can find a list of all changes to the public API in the 8.3 platform version (compared to the preceding 8.2.2 ones):

• Added new SetAutopay, MoveProduct, UpdateSubscription, UpcomingInvoice, and DiscardUpdateSubscription API methods due to subscription changes.
• Added a new invalidateSessions parameter to all the password reset methods, which allows terminating all active user sessions (except the current one).

The API documentation’s complete review has started in order to provide a comprehensive description of all the methods and their parameters. Currently, most of the billing and environment services have been updated. You can expect complete coverage over the course of several future releases.

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Fixes Compatible with Prior Versions

Below, you can find the fixes that were implemented in the Virtuozzo Application Platform 8.3 release and also integrated into previous platform versions by means of the appropriate patches.

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Software Stack Versions

The software stack provisioning process is independent of the platform release, which allows new software solutions to be delivered as soon as they are ready. However, due to the necessity to adapt and test new stack versions, there is a small delay between software release by its respective upstream maintainer and integration into Virtuozzo Application Platform.

The most accurate and up-to-date list of the certified software stack versions can be found on the dedicated documentation page.

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Bug Fixes

In the table below, you can see the list of bug fixes applied to the platform starting from Virtuozzo Application Platform 8.3 release:

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