Extensions Framework (XaaS) - Enabling Orchestrate Anything
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The Extensions Framework in Apache CloudStack enables seamless integration of external services (XaaS) into the CloudStack ecosystem. It allows operators to register custom extensions. This mechanism supports a wide range of extension types including orchestrators, network elements, and authenticators empowering users to tailor CloudStack behaviour to suit their infrastructure needs. For example, a Proxmox extension can be registered to manage VM lifecycles through custom scripts, showcasing the power and adaptability of the framework. ---------------------- The CloudStack India User Group 2025 took place on July 11th in Greater Noida, India. The event once again brought together open-source cloud professionals, contributors, developers, and users for a day of deep technical insights, knowledge sharing, and community connection.
Extensions Framework (XaaS) - Enabling Orchestrate Anything
- 1. Extensions Framework & Orchestrate Anything Harikrishna Patnala, Abhishek Kumar @ CloudStack India User Group 2025
- 2. About us ● PMC and Committer @ Apache CloudStack project ● Been involved with the project for over 6 years now ● Staff Software Engineer @ ShapeBlue Abhishek ● PMC and Committer @ Apache CloudStack project ● Born and brought up in CloudStack ● Lead Software Engineer @ ShapeBlue Hari
- 3. Why Extensions??? ● Plug in External Logic Easily ○ Integrate custom scripts or tools directly into CloudStack workflows ○ Ideal for operators and developers outside the core project ● Decouples external logic from core CloudStack ● Enhances automation use-cases ● Define custom actions
- 4. What can be achieved ? ● Can integrate new VM provisioners or hypervisors ○ Proxmox ○ Hyper-V ○ MaaS ○ Baremetal ● Define custom actions like ○ Snapshots ○ Clone operations ○ Backups ● Can integrate new Network extensions
- 5. Extensions Framework ● Integrates external systems and workflows ● An executable binary or script in any programming language that acts as a bridge between CloudStack and the external system ● Targeted for 4.21.0 release
- 6. Extensions Framework - contd. ● Extensions of different types can be defined. Current iteration will support Orchestrator type. ● Communication using JSON structured payload ● Ability to define custom actions to provide further flexibility ● Extension binary or script file(s) will be placed at /usr/share/cloudstack-management/extensions/<EXTENSION_NAME> ● Extension data will be stored at /var/lib/cloudstack/management/extensions/<EXTENSION_NAME>
- 8. Extension - Workflow Example
- 9. ● Operators can define custom actions for each extension ● Supports user-defined input parameters, success/error messages, allowed role types ● Actions can be linked to specific resource types Custom Actions
- 10. Custom Actions - Workflow
- 11. Orchestrator Extension ● Allows instance deployment on external systems ● Built-in extensions added for: ○ Proxmox ○ Hyper-V ● Allows deploy, start, stop, reboot, expunge operations. More can be added using custom actions ● (Optional) Prepare action allows extension to update some of the fields CloudStack instance before deployment ○ Eg. MAC address for the instance
- 13. Adding extension ● Basic details - name, path, type, type-specific configuration ● Optional metadata in form of key-value pair which will be passed to the binary/script
- 14. Registering extension with resource(s) ● Select resource ● Optional metadata in form of key-value pair which will be passed to the binary/script
- 15. Add additional resources For orchestrator, ● Host ● Template ● Service offering (optional)
- 16. Use extension (Trigger action) ● No specific difference for end- user ● For orchestrator, end-user will select the corresponding template and instance will be deployed
- 17. Adding custom action ● Define name, description, allowed roles, timeout, parameters, success/error messages ● Parameter can be defined for different types and validation format ● Messages allow string expansion ● Optional metadata
- 18. Running custom action ● Run action show for the applicable resources ● Auto generated UI with value options, validations
- 19. Demo
- 20. Future & What’s Next ● Will be a part of CloudStack 4.21.0 release # ● New types - network, authenticator, etc ● Usability improvements - feedback from community ● Extension marketplace???
- 21. Discuss Q & A, feedback… https://github.com/apache/cloudstack/pull/9752 https://github.com/apache/cloudstack-documentation/pull/523 https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/CLOUDSTACK/CloudStack+Extensions+Fr amework+-++Orchestartor+or+External+Deployment+Integration https://download.cloudstack.org/testing/nightly/
Editor's Notes
- #11: Continues with VM Ingestion functionality first introduced in CloudStack 4.14 with VMware support Would make CloudStack onboarding easier.
- #13: CloudStack currently support native, LDAP and SAML based authentication
- #14: CloudStack currently support native, LDAP and SAML based authentication
- #16: CloudStack currently support native, LDAP and SAML based authentication
- #17: CloudStack currently support native, LDAP and SAML based authentication
- #18: CloudStack currently support native, LDAP and SAML based authentication