Orka FAQs

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Orka 2.4.x content

This page has not been updated to reflect the changes introduced in Orka 3.0. Some of the information might be outdated or incorrect. Use 2.4.x to 3.0.0: API Mapping and 2.4.x to 3.0.0: CLI Mapping to figure out the correct endpoints and commands.

Nodes

Are Orka nodes regular macOS machines?

How do I log on to my nodes directly?

VMs and VM configurations

Does Orka support Big Sur?

Are VMs and VM configurations shared across users in the same Orka environment?

What ports are exposed on my VMs in Orka?

How do I use the ports of my VMs?

How do I connect to my VM via VNC?

How do I connect to my VM via SSH?

How should I approach firewall whitelisting to ensure traffic to and from my VMs?

How do I disable VNC on my VM?

Do Orka VMs have normal network access?

Can I specify a private IP for the VM when I spin it up?

Can I deploy a macOS VM with a .yml?

How do I test my containers in Orka? For example, can I download them locally and test them?

Is Orka a private fork of Docker? Are Orka VMs true Docker containers?

Can I run other virtualization on my macOS Orka VMs? (For example, Docker containers)

My VM clock is now off, why is that?

Why is my VM in a Stopped state?

My VM is an ERROR state, what should I do?

Orka endpoints

What's the Orka service endpoint?

How do I test the Orka service endpoint?

Are the Orka endpoints secure?

Can I use HTTPS to access my Orka service endpoint?

Can I have a custom domain as my Orka service endpoint?

What's my Orka domain?

How do I access my environment via my built-in Orka domain?

Can I use the custom domain and the service endpoint IP interchangeably?

Does my Orka domain change how I access my Orka VMs via VNC/SSH/Screen Sharing?

Kubernetes & Docker

How do I access the underlying Kubernetes for my Orka environment?

What is sandboxing?

How can I regenerate my .kubeconfig-orka file?

Can I manage my Orka environment entirely with kubectl?

Where is the Kubernetes control plane running?

Can I deploy a macOS VM with a .yml?

Can I use Kubernetes ingress and affinity rules?

Are Orka VMs true Docker containers?

Can I use the built-in VNC and Screen Sharing capabilities to connect to a pod?

CI/CD

Is there a performance difference between bare metal and Orka?

Is there a performance difference between using Jenkins on-premises and in the cloud?

What CI/CD integrations are available for Orka?

How should I approach firewall whitelisting to ensure traffic to and from my VMs?

Can I develop Orka plugins and integrations myself?

Can I have multiple Jenkins masters spin up ephemeral agents on the same environment?

What's the minimum Orka setup to get started with CI/CD?

Images

How long does it take for MacStadium to provide a base image with the latest macOS major version after its release?

[I'm trying to upload an image and it's taking too long. Why?]images-faqs#im-trying-to-upload-an-image-and-its-taking-too-long-why)

How are base images stored?

Orka CLI & API

Can I install the Orka CLI with Homebrew?

What output types are supported?

Apple T2 Security Chip

Does Orka work with Apple's T2 Security Chip?

MacStadium has verified that Orka works on T2. Currently, the team is working to determine the optimal hardware configurations to work with.

Orka is supported on 2018 Mac mini and 6- and 12-core Mac Pros.

User management

Does Orka provide user role and permissions management?

Not at the moment. All users have the same role and permissions. In future versions, Orka might provide user roles and permissions management.

However, Orka distinguishes between administrative and non-administrative operations. Administrative operations (such as create user, reset password, delete another user's VMs, and others) require additional authentication with a valid Orka license key.

Monitoring

Can I monitor Orka performance? Are there any data visualization tools for Orka?

MacStadium provides LogicMonitor for hardware and basic pod monitoring. Additional monitoring feedback has been implemented by request in various customer environments. For more information, contact us.

You can also inject containers with your preferred management and monitoring tools into the cluster and build your own custom dashboards.

Pricing

How is Orka's pricing formed?

Orka is offered as a cloud solution. It's a combination of hardware, software, networking, and other services. Pricing depends on your use case and its respective requirements. For more information, contact us.

Roadmap

Is there a public roadmap for Orka?

No. Currently, the Orka product team is working on establishing a stable version of the internal roadmap. Once this version is in place, the team will consider making it public.