External Storage Integration

Oct 2026

Run whitesky on your existing SAN arrays: keep your storage, replace only VMware. Rolling out across deployed cloud locations over the coming weeks.

External Storage Pools

LUNs from your existing arrays form a shared LVM volume group across the servers of a Server-Set, coordinated by SANLock. Conceptually like a VMware VMFS datastore, built on standard Linux technology. Data I/O goes straight to the array; only metadata is coordinated.

Live migration without disk copies

All nodes in a Server-Set see the same pool, so live migration only transfers VM memory. A built-in spare server per server block enables unattended rolling upgrades without losing capacity.

Online capacity expansion

Add a LUN, extend the pool — no downtime, no storage migration. One pool can mix LUNs from different arrays and vendors (compatibility is certified per vendor and SAN type), enabling phased array replacement.

Block-level change tracking for backups

dm-era tracks every changed 4K block per virtual disk, so backups transfer only changed blocks — agentless, transparent to the VM, and consistent across live migrations.

v3.1: VDI, Backups, OIDC, and Kubernetes Updates

Dec 2025

VDI support, backup management, external authentication, secure boot and Kubernetes 1.32

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Support for Windows 11 virtual desktops with configurable profiles, single-use or dedicated sessions, and agents for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Backup Management

Backup to multiple S3-compatible storage targets with automatic policy sync and repository overview for tracking backups and failures.

OIDC Authentication

External authentication via OpenID Connect for corporate SSO and third-party identity providers with configurable scopes and claims.

Secure Boot

UEFI Secure Boot support for VMs to ensure only signed software loads during boot.

Kubernetes & Rancher Updates

Kubernetes 1.32 and Rancher 2.10.3 with anti-affinity for master nodes and management clusters, local storage options, and ingress/load balancer management per worker pool.

v3.0.12: Smarter Deployments and Resilient Infrastructure

Apr 2025

Kubernetes and Rancher upgrades with local storage and anti-affinity for management clusters, plus userData templates for custom VM deployments

Kubernetes & Rancher

Upgraded to Kubernetes 1.32 and Rancher 2.10 with local storage support for Rancher and Kubernetes masters, plus anti-affinity for management clusters.

Custom VM Deployments with userData Templates

Added support for parameterized user data templates in VM images, enabling dynamic configuration during deployment without custom images or post-install scripts.

v3.0.3: Security and Streamlining

Oct 2024

a new set of features designed to enhance your cloudspaces with improved security, streamlined processes, and time-saving tools

WireGuard for Connected Cloudspaces

establish point-to-point encrypted tunnels between multiple cloudspaces using a streamlined VPN configuration

VPN access to Cloudspaces via WireGuard

enables secure, remote access to your cloudspaces from any location

Bulk VM creation

provision multiple virtual machines simultaneously

Rancher version controller

simplifies cluster management and enhances control over versioning in dynamic environments

Localization

you can now use the portal in your preferred language

v2.9: Introducing Physical Storage for VMs

Jun 2024

improving both system efficiency and user experience

physical storage for VMs

add and manage physical disks

Past

Completed features and improvements

Backup

backup

Backup management across multiple storage targets — including remote S3-compatible destinations. Policies can sync automatically between targets, eliminating the need for manual duplication and ensuring consistency. Fine-grained backup management and overview of all backups and failures with repository overview in target details.

Bulk VM Creation

vmdeploymentadmin

Provision multiple VMs simultaneously with automated configuration, image selection, and network setup, reducing deployment time.

Cache Configuration for Disks

storagecache

Added support for configuring cache devices and filesystem usage after disk creation, giving users more flexibility in performance tuning.

Certificate Lifecycle Management

backendsecurity

Introduces certificate creation, renewal, and assignment directly through the portal, with backend automation of secret rotation and expiry tracking.

Connected Cloudspaces via WireGuard

vpnWireGuardCloudspace

Establish encrypted point-to-point VPN tunnels between cloudspaces using WireGuard for secure and low-overhead cross-region communication.

Custom VM Deployments with userData Templates

vm-deployment

For more flexibility when deploying VMs, we’ve added support for parameterized user data templates. Image publishers can now attach templates to their VM images, defining configurable fields that users can populate during VM creation.

Customer Economic Modus: Self-Service Pricing & Quotas

adminbackend

A major enhancement that empowers administrators to define pricing per resource and manage customer quotas directly through the portal. This feature simplifies cost control and introduces full self-service economic governance for deployments.

Disk and Objectspace Role Management

iamrbacadminstorage

Role-based access control support for individual disks and objectspaces, improving data security segmentation.

External Authentication via OIDC

oicdlogin

Allows admins to configure and manage external authentication providers using the OpenID Connect (OIDC) protocol. Once set up, customers can authenticate through their own identity systems, such as corporate SSO or third-party providers. Each OIDC provider can be configured with different scopes and claims, enabling fine-grained access control and can be enabled or disabled separately.

External Network Management

networkingingressload balancer

Enhanced ingress and load balancer configuration, including support for external IPs, annotations, and nested cloudspace exposure.

External Storage Integration

storage

Run virtual machines on existing SAN arrays. LUNs form a shared LVM External Storage Pool coordinated by SANLock — conceptually like VMware VMFS, built on standard Linux technology. Live migration without disk copies, online capacity expansion with LUNs from multiple vendors (compatibility certified per vendor and SAN type), and agentless incremental backups through dm-era block-level change tracking. Released, rolling out across deployed cloud locations.

Ingress & Load Balancer Enhancements

ingressload balancer

Manage ingress controllers at the worker pool level—enabling optional deployment and the ability to add or remove controllers per pool. Load balancer support for external cloudspace IPs, with the option to specify the external network via service annotations. Additionally, both management and Kubernetes clusters can be deployed in nested cloudspaces, with the ability to select the external network used to expose the Rancher UI.

Kubernetes 1.32 Upgrade & Deployment Improvements

kubernetesanti-affinityHA

Support for Kubernetes version 1.32 for newly created clusters, bringing the latest upstream enhancements and security patches. In addition, clusters deployed within a single cloudspace now automatically place master nodes in an anti-affinity group, improving availability by spreading nodes across different hosts.

Local Storage Options for Kubernetes and Rancher

kubernetesrancherlocal storage

Choose to use local storage for Kubernetes master node disks and Rancher data disks. This improves performance for workloads requiring low-latency disk access while still allowing flexibility depending on deployment requirements.

Localization and Multilingual Support

LocalizationMultilingual

Multilingual support in the portal. Users can submit translation suggestions directly through the interface.

Objectspaces Buffer Storage

storageObjectspacesperformance

Introduced buffer storage layer to objectspaces for improved write performance and burst traffic handling.

Physical Storage Disks (NVMe)

storageNVMeperformance

Users can now attach high-performance NVMe disks to VMs directly from the portal, ideal for latency-sensitive workloads.

Rancher HA Improvements

rancherHAanti-affinity

VMs in Rancher management clusters are now also distributed using an anti-affinity group when deployed together, reducing the risk of a single point of failure in high-availability setups. Rancher version is also updated to 2.10.3.

Rancher Kubernetes as a Service (KaaS)

kubernetesrancherKaaS

Deploy Rancher management clusters with full VCO integration, IAM support, and flexible HA or single-node setups.

Secure boot

security

Support for Secure Boot by introducing a new boot type: uefi-secure-boot. This enhances VM integrity by ensuring only signed, trusted software is loaded during the boot process.

Unified Image Management with Cloud Controller Manager

backend

Enables multipart uploads, tagging, and centralized handling of image definitions. This improvement streamlines how VM images are created, updated, and organized.

Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) Support

vdi

Support for creating and managing Windows 11 virtual desktops through configurable VDI user profiles. Each profile defines machine specs, VM templates, user roles, cloud-init scripts, vGPU settings, and session behaviors—whether single-use or dedicated. Customers can control standby pools, backup policies, and lifecycle rules including recycling time and post-session availability. A downloadable agent for Windows, macOS, and Linux initiates WireGuard tunnels and launches RDP sessions via the dedicated VDI landing page.

Virtual GPU Management

gpuvGPUvmportal

Users can reserve and attach vGPU profiles directly when creating VMs, with automatic billing and cleanup. Admins can define GPU profiles on G8 nodes and monitor usage seamlessly.

VPN Access to Cloudspaces

vpnremote accessWireGuard

Secure remote access to cloudspaces using WireGuard. Provides encrypted tunnels ideal for remote administration.

vTPM Support for Virtual Machines

security

Enable a virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) when creating a VM through the portal. vTPMs provide each VM with a secure, isolated environment for storing encryption keys and supporting features like secure boot. Once enabled, managing the VM — including actions like creation, restart, or deletion — will require a password, enhancing overall security and compliance.

Now

Features and improvements we're currently working on

AI for Cloud Control

deploymentAI

Lets users manage their cloud resources by just talking to an expert assistant, instead of clicking through menus.

Single Node Deployment

deployment

Develop and implement functionality that enables the deployment of our platform on a single node, allowing users to easily install, test, and explore the features and capabilities of the system in a simplified, standalone environment.

whitesky Meneja as Software

deploymentself-hostedmanagement

The Meneja cloud location manager available as standalone software. Provides centralized management and orchestration for G8 environments.

Soon

Planned for the next release or two

Unified Marketplace

marketplaceinvoicing

Single-invoice access to PaaS, SaaS, and AI workloads — simplifying procurement

Later

Coming in the next 6-12 months

Asynchronous VM Replication

VMreplicationdisaster recoverysnapshotsmulti-site

Asynchronous replication of consistent VM snapshots across cloud locations will enable disaster recovery on a per-VM basis. This provides more granular control compared to geo-redundant backends, offering flexibility in replication strategies tailored to individual workloads.

Improved Storage Efficiency with Discard (TRIM/UNMAP)

storagediscardperformanceTRIMUNMAP

Adding support for discard (TRIM/UNMAP) operations to our software-defined storage system. This allows deleted files to inform the backend that space is free, enabling better optimization, reduced flash wear, and more efficient use of storage capacity.

Linked Meneja Instances and Directory Service

menejaself-hostedmanagement

Linking separate Meneja instances, for example self-hosted or air-gapped installations, and a Meneja directory service to find and connect them.

Linux VDI Desktops

vdilinux

Linux virtual desktops delivered through the same VDI profiles as Windows desktops, with directory integration via LDAP or similar services. Today, whitesky VDI delivers Windows 11 desktops.

Nested Object Storage Backends

object storagescalabilitygeo-redundancyRAIDinfrastructure

Introducing support for nesting object storage backends. This enables RAID-0-like scale-out or RAID-1-like geo-redundancy for both block and S3-compatible storage, allowing high performance or high availability across locations.

Rancher and Kubernetes Version Updates

kubernetesrancher

Support for newer Rancher releases and the Kubernetes versions that come with them. Today, containerspaces support Rancher 2.10.

whitesky Platform as Software

deploymentself-hostedplatform

The complete whitesky.cloud platform available as software for deployment on own infrastructure. Supports multiple Linux distributions including RHEL, SUSE, and Ubuntu.

Updates and changes

External Storage Integration

Run whitesky on your existing SAN arrays: keep your storage, replace only VMware. Rolling out across deployed cloud locations over the coming weeks.

External Storage Pools

Live migration without disk copies

Online capacity expansion

Block-level change tracking for backups

v3.1: VDI, Backups, OIDC, and Kubernetes Updates

VDI support, backup management, external authentication, secure boot and Kubernetes 1.32

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Backup Management

OIDC Authentication

Secure Boot

Kubernetes & Rancher Updates

v3.0.12: Smarter Deployments and Resilient Infrastructure

Kubernetes and Rancher upgrades with local storage and anti-affinity for management clusters, plus userData templates for custom VM deployments

Kubernetes & Rancher

Custom VM Deployments with userData Templates

v3.0.3: Security and Streamlining

a new set of features designed to enhance your cloudspaces with improved security, streamlined processes, and time-saving tools

WireGuard for Connected Cloudspaces

VPN access to Cloudspaces via WireGuard

Bulk VM creation

Rancher version controller

Localization

v2.9: Introducing Physical Storage for VMs

improving both system efficiency and user experience

physical storage for VMs

Highlights of what we’re cooking

Past

Backup

Bulk VM Creation

Cache Configuration for Disks

Certificate Lifecycle Management

Connected Cloudspaces via WireGuard

Custom VM Deployments with userData Templates

Customer Economic Modus: Self-Service Pricing & Quotas

Disk and Objectspace Role Management

External Authentication via OIDC

External Network Management

External Storage Integration

Ingress & Load Balancer Enhancements

Kubernetes 1.32 Upgrade & Deployment Improvements

Local Storage Options for Kubernetes and Rancher

Localization and Multilingual Support

Objectspaces Buffer Storage

Physical Storage Disks (NVMe)

Rancher HA Improvements

Rancher Kubernetes as a Service (KaaS)

Secure boot

Unified Image Management with Cloud Controller Manager

Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) Support

Virtual GPU Management

VPN Access to Cloudspaces

vTPM Support for Virtual Machines

Now

AI for Cloud Control

Single Node Deployment

whitesky Meneja as Software

Soon

Unified Marketplace

Later

Asynchronous VM Replication

Improved Storage Efficiency with Discard (TRIM/UNMAP)

Linked Meneja Instances and Directory Service

Linux VDI Desktops

Nested Object Storage Backends

Rancher and Kubernetes Version Updates

whitesky Platform as Software