Orka v1.4.3

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Orka Release Notes

v1.4.3
November 11, 2020
Minor fix

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v1.4.2
November 9, 2020
macOS Big Sur support

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v1.4.1
August 18, 2020
Breaking change | Performance improvements

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v1.4.0
August 13, 2020
New features | Improvements | Bug fixes

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How to upgrade

Download CLI | API Docs

We’re continually working to provide you with new features, tools, and plugins, and improve your overall Orka experience. For the latest and greatest, be sure to update your CLI to 1.4.0 after your environment has been updated to 1.4.3. Here’s an overview of what changes with versions 1.4.3, 1.4.2, 1.4.1, and 1.4.0.

Every 1.4.x version contains the new features, improvements, and bug fixes from the earlier 1.4 versions.

Breaking change

You can no longer run orka top in the Orka CLI. Use orka node list or orka node status instead.

New features

Orka 1.4.2, 1.4.1, and Orka 1.4.0 introduce the following new features.

macOS Big Sur support

You can now spin up Orka VMs running macOS Big Sur.

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Big Sur Available

Currently, MacStadium provides a macOS Big Sur ISO. You can create or supply your own image, or upload an ISO yourself.

Orka Web UI (Beta)

You can now manage your Orka environment from a Web UI. This tool is currently in Beta and some advanced features may not be available.

To get started with the Orka Web UI, see Web UI Quick Start.

To launch the Orka Web UI:

1. Make sure that your environment is updated to 1.4.0.
2. Make sure that you're connected to your cluster via VPN.
3. In your browser, navigate to your Orka endpoint (http://<orka-IP> or https://<orka-custom-domain>).

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What's your Orka endpoint?

You can get the IP for your Orka endpoint from your IP Plan. It's the .100 address for your Private-1 network (usually, 10.221.188.100 or 10.10.10.100). You need to use http with the IP.

To get the custom domain for your Orka cluster, if enabled:

1. Log into your MacStadium account.
2. Go to Subscriptions (from the top right corner) and select your Orka cluster.
3. In the Subscription & Plan details, find your custom domain at the bottom. If you don't see a custom domain field, it's not enabled for your environment yet.
   You need to use https with your custom domain.

Note that you can use http://<orka-IP> and https://<orka-custom-domain> (if enabled) interchangeably.

Node dedication with the Orka CLI

Node dedication (node grouping) is now available in the Orka CLI.

• To check if any users are already grouped, run orka user list.
• To group or ungroup users, run orka user group.
• To check if any nodes are already dedicated, run orka node list.
• To dedicate a node or remove its node dedication, run orka node group.

For more information, see CLI Node Dedication.

Deployment date for VMs

To let you identify stale VMs more easily, the Orka CLI and the Orka API now show the date the VM was deployed.

• The Orka CLI shows a Deploy Date field for orka vm list and orka vm status operations.
• The Orka API returns a creationTimestamp field for VM list and VM status requests.
• The Orka Web UI shows a Deployed field on the details page for every VM.

Improvements

Orka 1.4.2, 1.4.1, and Orka 1.4.0 introduce the following improvements.

Performance improvements

• Deployment operations now run significantly faster. This improvement is most noticeable on high-workload environments.
• VM list operations now run significantly faster. This improvement is most noticeable on high-workload environments.

Added token authorization for several operations

• You now need to pass the Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN> header for reset password requests (POST /users/password).
• You now need to pass the Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN> header for delete user requests (DELETE /users/<EMAIL>).
• You now need to pass the Authorization: Bearer <TOKEN> header for delete logs requests (DELETE /logs).

New default base image

• Orka now uses Catalina.img as the default image for new Orka VMs.

Improved help in the Orka CLI

The Orka CLI no longer requires you to be logged in to run orka help.

Bug fixes

Orka 1.4.3, 1.4.2, 1.4.1, and Orka 1.4.0 introduce the following bug fixes.

General bug fixes

• Orka 1.4.3 resolves a minor environment issue affecting only 1.4.2 environments.
• You can now list K8s resources with your Orka kube account and kubectl get. Previously, kubectl get failed or succeeded randomly.
• Deleting a large number of VMs at once no longer causes a timeout.
• Deleting a scaled VM by ID and node now returns the correct error message: Cannot delete by ID and node.
• Deleting a scaled VM by name and node now returns the correct error message: You either do not have a deployment or you have to use the VM ID to delete this VM.
• Concurrent VM deployments now behave as expected. Previously, concurrent VM deployments could create VMs in a Pending state.

Orka CLI bug fixes

• The Orka CLI now lists deployed VMs accurately. Previously, the Orka CLI listed 0 deployed VMs when it couldn't retrieve all data for all deployed VMs.
• The Orka CLI now handles simultaneously issued commands as expected.

Orka API bug fixes

• The Orka API no longer times out when you request very long logs.

How to upgrade

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Scheduled maintenance window required

Orka 1.4.3 is a new virtualization and orchestration layer update. Orka 1.4.2 is a new virtualization and orchestration layer update. Orka 1.4.1 is a new Orka API release. Orka 1.4.0 is a new Orka CLI release. For more information, see Orka Upgrades.

This release requires a maintenance window of 1 hour.

1. Submit a ticket through the MacStadium portal.
2. Suggest a time for the maintenance window that works for you.
   The suggested time(s) must be Monday through Thursday, 5am to 6pm PST (8am to 9pm EST).