Ladies and germs, lots of features and fixes in this update. Firstly, let’s have a standing ovation for the AutoPilot Developers. They really rocked this latest release 👏👏. New features and enhancements are based on user feedback, so if you’d like to see something new, let us know!
As a reminder, new features are available only to brand new server deployments, while existing releases are locked in for long-term reliability. Sometimes we can backport a feature into your existing deployment, but this has to be done on a case by case basis, so let’s stay in touch about how your server needs are evolving.
So what’s new? TLDR;
- New PHP/LEMP/LAMP template
- PSR-0 fix additional details
- Clone feature
- New Shopware release
- Domain name wildcard
- Only latest version for new deployments
- Patches released & completed
- P003M – More SSH keys
- P004C – RDS backup fix
- P005O – Logrotate fix
- P006C – autoscaling no longer resets minimum nodes
You know you want it…let’s dive in!
NEW FEATURES
Deployment Cloning Feature (api/205)
Our favorite beta feature is cloning your deployment! Go into “Deployment → Settings” and scroll down to discover a new superpower to clone your existing deployment!
The checklist options are very self-descriptive.
- You can clone the live deployment as it is right now or take a fresh snapshot/backup. Using an existing backup is (of course) faster since you don’t need to wait for a fresh backup. This is generally recommended for Dev snapshots, but for production you probably want to take a fresh image.
- You can use a new release of the operating system or use the same one that is currently being used in your live deployment. User beware! If you choose to upgrade your OS and you have made OS-level changes such as installing New Relic or other root level tools, it will all disappear as you’re swapping out the boot image.
It’s not perfect, but very very VERY close!
LEMP/PHP Framework Hosting (act/135)
Another new superpower! Launch a custom PHP app easily! Of course you get all the other toys aside from LEMP such as OpenSearch, Redis and Varnish (if needed). By default it comes configured with a clean virtual host without all the app-specific tweaks that we put in place for Magento and Shopware.
By the way LEMP stands for:
- L – Linux/GNU
- E – Nginx (if you don’t understand why it’s an E, say it out loud)
- M – MySQL or MariaDB
- P – for PHP which originally stood for “Personal Home Page,” but over time transmuted to the recursive acronym “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.”
Www-cache for clusters to resolve PSR-0 (ajc/268, ajc/288, ajc/289)
We mentioned PSR-0 in the previous Change Log article for May. Now this PSR-0 feature has been rolled out, vastly improving website performance. Less reliance on shared file systems means higher performance even for non-PSR zero systems. If you want to test whether this helps your deployment, get in touch with our support.
Valkey, new fork of Redis (jrd/117)
There was a bit of drama in the open source world when Redis changed its license away from the highly permissive BSD license to a more restrictive license so the big cloud vendors picked up their toys and went home, and forked a new project called Valkey. We, as in JetRails, don’t have public opinions about any of this but when our supported platforms start specifying Valkey in their requirements, we follow suit. So now although it may say Redis in the JetRails configurator, you might be getting Valkey under the hood. 🤷
ENHANCEMENTS
Autoscaling Interface Changes/Upgrades (portal/114, patches/7, act/132)
We have heard that not everyone loves going into the “Auto-Scaling” tab to modify their autoscaling configuration, This has been moved into the “Adjust” tab instead. To be honest, we don’t love this either and are working to make it even more intuitive. Stay tuned. Also we took steps to make sure that when you resize, it’s more gradual and does not reset your “Minimum” number of nodes.
Only Provision One Latest Version Of Application (act/131)
Maintaining multiple recent versions of apps was a bit difficult, and frankly we’ve had it! Now when you create a new hosting deployment, we will install a well-tested version of Magento, Shopware or WordPress. One version with a single set of requirements. Less time maintaining backwards compatibility that most of our users don’t need anyway. As a consequence, you can only change Application Settings (like PHP versions, Composer, Varnish, etc.) after the original deployment finished.
Add Wildcard To Server Name and Vhost (ajc/277)
New deployments have wildcard domain built in by default. If you send your visitors to “ww2.<yourdomain>.com” or “superduper.<yourdomain>.com” it will just work. This is a small quality of life issue but we hear it’s a welcome change.
Finance Role (api/216)
Finally! If you always wanted a user that should be able to view invoices and pay bills, but have no ability to cause mayhem like deleting deployments or modifying PHP versions, you’re in luck! This feature just dropped, so invite your CFO. We double dog dare you.
BUG FIXES
Too many bug fixes to list and frankly we’re surprised you’re still reading this.
OTHER/MISC
Maintenance Window Alert (portal/107)
We are really super duper serious that we need you to tell us when we can upgrade your deployments. If you don’t, we’ll keep nagging you! Go to “Deployment → Settings” and pick that Maintenance Window!
