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Launching TurnKey Hub into private beta: cloud deployment simplified

Alon Swartz - Mon, 2010/05/31 - 16:28 - 5 comments

Towards the end of last year we decided it was time to start working on an idea we've been toying with for a while. Mapping out the feature set was fun, and a lot of the current and future features are based on feedback we received from you guys and gals, as well as many related questions and comments from around the net.

Today after a last round of internal testing we are pleased to announce that we've launched TurnKey Hub into private beta:

https://hub.turnkeylinux.org

We've just sent out the first batch of invites. If you've already requested an invite, you should receive one as we roll them out. Please be patient. We initially have limited capacity so it's first come, first served.

What is this TurnKey Hub?

  • The short version: TurnKey cloud deployment: simplified.
  • The slightly longer version: An easy way to launch and manage TurnKey Linux appliances in the Amazon EC2 cloud (more clouds and VPS providers on the way).

A simple Amazon EC2 console optimized for TurnKey

Hub Servers

  • Launch TurnKey appliances in the click of a button.
  • TurnKey optimized firewall templates.
  • Configure custom passwords on launch.
  • Authenticate with personal SSH key in addition to EC2 keypairs.
  • Automatically setup EBS devices and Elastic IP's on launch.
  • Easier management with descriptive labels for all assets.
  • Unified interface for all regions and all your EC2 accounts.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's much more in development...

Upcoming features

  • More clouds: Support all clouds and VPS providers.
  • Backup: Automatic encrypted appliance backups.
  • Migration: Automatically restore backups anywhere.
  • You decide: Suggest features and help us prioritize.

In other words this is just the first modest step in a much more ambitious plan to continue making TurnKey easier to use, as Liraz recently explained:

"Imagine being able to develop your site on a locally running appliance (e.g., running in VirtualBox or VMWare). Then, when you're ready you can automatically migrate your appliance, with all your customizations to a cloud hosting provider of your choice."

So once you receive your invite, take the Hub for a spin, let us know what you think. We'd like to know how to make this better. What new features you'd like to see implemented. That sort of thing.

Remember, you can request an invite here.