ASERGO Newsletter June 2023

We're thrilled to share some exciting new features and improvements to our platform, designed to enhance your experience and streamline your Kubernetes operations. Here's a quick overview of what we've been working on:

Improved Kubernetes Dashboard

Our updated Dashboard now offers a more intuitive and user-friendly experience, allowing you to manage your clusters easily.

1. Fine-Grained Access Control: We have updated the user permissions page, introducing more granular access control for Dashboard and Kubernetes service permissions. With three predefined user group settings, allocating user permissions has never been quicker and easier.
2. Pre-release Features: You can now access features that have undergone beta testing but have not yet been fully released. As this is pre-release features, there might be some missing documentation or corner cases where the features do not yet work. All these features are successfully used in our own production environments.
3. Global Cluster Settings: If you have multiple clusters, you can now designate one as your primary cluster. This setting ensures that our resources are directed toward your most important cluster during emergencies. Additionally, this setting prevents "pre-release" features from being activated on your primary cluster.
4. Zero-trust Network Security Feature: Enhance your cluster security by enabling Zero-trust network. This feature implements network policies and segmentation on the host network, allowing necessary connections while blocking unauthorized access, all without disrupting internal cluster communication.
5. Independent Upgrades for Kubernetes and Node Operating Systems: After a long testing phase, you can now upgrade your Kubernetes and node operating systems independently via the Dashboard. This upgrade offers new features, patches, and support for new Kubernetes versions. If an upgrade fails, the system automatically rolls back to the previous version. This rollback process can also be done manually using the Dashboard.
6. One-Click Calico Upgrades: We have made it incredibly simple for you to upgrade the Calico network stack within your cluster. You can now perform this upgrade directly from the Dashboard with just a single click. This streamlined process helps you keep your cluster up to date with the latest networking technology.

Dedicated Servers

Introducing Our Enhanced Dedicated Server Offerings

While we continue to prioritize our Kubernetes solutions, we haven't forgotten about our dedicated server customers. We are excited to announce a new line of dedicated servers that incorporate many network advancements enjoyed by our Kubernetes customers.

1. Network Speeds: Choose from standard 10Gbit or 25Gbit options to suit your needs.
2. Access to Object Storage: Benefit from seamless integration with our new Object Storage service.
3. Powerful Processing: Equip your server with up to 32 CPU cores (64 threads) for impressive performance.
4. Expansive Memory: Configure your server with up to 384GB of RAM for demanding workloads.
5. Substantial Storage: Enjoy SSD storage capacities of up to 2 × 7.68TB.

Our updated dedicated server offerings are designed to provide you with the power, flexibility, and reliability you need to stay ahead in today's dynamic business environment. We are committed to continuously enhancing our services to meet your evolving requirements.

Looking Forward to Q3!

1. Object Storage Beta: We're looking for partners to help us test our new Object Storage product, which is expected to be generally available during Q3. Are you the one?
2. We are now building a data center ring in the greater Copenhagen area comprised of 3 data centers linked together with a new terabit fiber ring for our network infrastructure backbone. We will provide Object Storage, Backup, and Kubernetes cluster location across multiple data centers.
3. ISO 27001 Certification: We are close to completing our ISO 27001 certification process and expect to receive the auditor's final approval in Q3.

Why 25Gbit NICs

We've received inquiries about our recent move to 25/50Gbit/s network speeds, and we're excited to share our insights with you.

After thoroughly considering 25/50Gbit/s and 40Gbit/s options, we've determined that 25Gbit/s is ideal for optimally supporting our customers. The primary reason lies in energy efficiency and flexibility in utilizing PCIe lanes. A single 40GbE NIC requires at least one PCIe 4.0 x8 lane, resulting in a bandwidth utilization of only 62.5% while 2 × 25 Gbit requires only one PCIe 4.0 x8 lane.

The need for increased network speed is driven by the growing use of distributed file systems and high-availability databases that leverage SSDs across multiple servers. The table below demonstrates how 25GbE can enhance performance:

Type	Network Bandwidth
	10GbE	25GbE	50GbE
1.92 TB Sequential Read	3	6	12
1.92 TB Sequential Write	3	7	13
1.92 TB Random Read	4	9	47
1.92 TB Random Write	10	24	47
3.84 TB Sequential Read	3	6	12
3.84 TB Sequential Write	3	7	13
3.84 TB Random Read	4	9	17
3.84 TB Random Write	11	28	51
7.68 TB Sequential Read	3	6	12
7.68 TB Sequential Write	3	7	13
7.68 TB Random Read	4	9	17
7.68 TB Random Write	33	81	161

number of SSD devices

Our standard SSD sizes for distributed file systems and databases are 1.92TB, 3.84TB, and 7.68TB. We also accommodate requests for larger SSDs, with capacities of up to 30TB per SSD.

To ensure seamless future growth, each Kubernetes worker node is now equipped with 2 × 25 Gbit NICs, laying the groundwork for future upgrades to 2 × 25 Gbit per node.

We hope this clarifies our decision to adopt 25Gbit/s, and we're confident that this transition will significantly enhance your experience with our services.

Navigating the Energy Crisis: A Commitment to Sustainability and Affordability

The energy crisis that struck Europe in the autumn of 2022 and early 2023 presented significant challenges for many businesses, including ours. Throughout this difficult period, we remained steadfast in our commitment to maintaining the high quality of our services without passing the increased energy costs on to our customers.

We're proud to announce that our efforts to streamline operations and optimize energy usage have resulted in a 20% reduction in our CO2 footprint compared to pre-crisis levels. This achievement demonstrates our dedication to environmental responsibility and better equips us to withstand future fluctuations in energy prices and supply.

Stay tuned for more updates and enhancements as we improve our platform. We appreciate your continued support, and if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact us.

Wishing you success with your deployments!

Best regards,
The ASERGO Team