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SCS Release 6 released

20 March 2024

Superior full-stack cloud solution

Sovereign Cloud Stack releases version 6

Berlin, 20 March 2024The Sovereign Cloud Stack project has released its sixth version.

The focus of Release 6 is on the SCS Kubernetes Distribution Cluster Stacks, which can be rolled out directly on the IaaS reference implementation via the Cluster Stack Operator. The reference implementation now also includes the Observability Platform and enhanced identity and access management. Through collaboration with ALASCA e.V., greater speed and scope have been achieved in the area of standardisation with the development of comprehensive open standards in line with the requirements of the German government cloud strategy. Overall, with Release 6, SCS offers an easy-to-operate, sovereign full-stack cloud solution.

SCS provides all the cloud technology fundamentals needed to achieve digital sovereignty and implement open source strategies. Many users of cloud services from the public sector, but also from the private sector and academia, expect „cloud“ to be container-based technology that, in the best case scenario, can be hosted and operated with digital sovereignty. This is now even easier to achieve: SCS offers a digitally sovereign, secure, complete, standardised open-source container layer as the basis for all containerised applications.

SCS Full Stack: Combination of IaaS and KaaS Reference implementation completed

Release 6 introduces Cluster Stacks, the second version of SCS's Kubernetes as a Service reference implementation, which can now be seamlessly rolled out on SCS's Infrastructure-as-a-Service reference implementation thanks to the implementation of the Cluster Stack Operator. The cluster stacks are implemented entirely with Kubernetes on-board tools such as operators, replacing the old implementation, which integrated and automated the cluster API with the help of scripts. The cluster stacks are complemented by identity and access management and an observability platform, which ensure that the stack is more secure and easier to operate.

SCS thus offers an integrated full-stack cloud solution that combines a scalable, secure cloud infrastructure with a container platform on which development and testing can be carried out in line with the latest requirements. SCS continues to offer a standard-based software solution that has been developed openly by many contributors and is completely open, allowing operators and users to influence and shape it and offering a high degree of transparency – the perfect foundation for driving forward digitally sovereign innovation at all levels in Germany and Europe.

Cooperation on standardisation

Last autumn, the collaboration between the SCS project and ALASCA e.V. was further intensified. The focus of this cooperation is on the further development of open standards, as required, for example, in the German administration cloud strategy. Release 6 shows how fruitful this collaboration already is. Examples of SCS standards include:

New stable version 4 for the SCS-compatible IaaS certificate area.
New draft of version 1 for the new certificate area SCS-compatible KaaS.

For operators of SCS cloud environments, it is advantageous that the implementation of the standards and the certification they enable provide them with a simple quality criterion (in the best sense of the word) that relates not only to interoperability and openness, but also to robustness, security and timeliness. This allows them to reassure not only their customers, but also themselves, of the quality of their offering. For users, interoperability is of course the most interesting aspect: they can roll out their workloads to the clouds of several operators without any major surprises, which gives them a high degree of flexibility and, in some cases, may even open up an alternative to the large hyperscalers (AWS, Google, Azure).

Easy operation of cloud environments

Overall, Release 6 clearly demonstrates that SCS cloud infrastructure can be operated efficiently: this was and remains one of the key value propositions of the SCS project, alongside control and ease of provisioning for end users. The operating tools have been consistently expanded to simplify everyday workflows for operating personnel. The continuous standardisation of further aspects and, in particular, the implementation of standards by providers who do not use the IaaS reference implementation underline the relevance of the standardisation work. With the latest developments and the release of cluster stacks for OpenStack, Kubernetes cluster deployment environments are easier and more efficient to manage.

The reference environment now also includes a standardised Kubernetes environment at the infrastructure level, into which operators can integrate their own tools (e.g. for billing or capacity management); with identity and access management (IAM) from the SCS reference implementation, a supplied service also makes use of this integration option. The expansion of the SCS documentation also contributes directly to the efficient operation of SCS cloud environments. Examples, instructions and links to the repositories make the structure of SCS clear, understandable and efficient.

About the Sovereign Cloud Stack project

SCS has been funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) since July 2021 and is based at the Open Source Business Alliance – Federal Association for Digital Sovereignty e.V. A growing international ecosystem of more than 25 companies with over 50 software developers is contributing to the success of the Sovereign Cloud Stack, in collaboration with thousands of developers in the upstream communities at the Open Infra Foundation, Cloud Native Compute Foundation and others. Together, open standards for a modern, federatable open-source cloud and container platform are defined and implemented in an open development process using proven open-source components. At the same time, operational knowledge and practices are made transparently accessible in order to minimise the difficulties involved in providing high-quality and secure cloud services. Six providers are already using SCS technology productively to operate truly sovereign and GDPR-compliant public cloud offerings. Additional SCS-based cloud infrastructures (public and private clouds) are under construction. SCS also contributes to Gaia-X and provides the development platform for the Gaia-X Federation Services / Cross-Federation Service Components (GXFS/XFSC).

About the Open Source Business Alliance (OSB Alliance) e.V.

The Open Source Business Alliance (OSB Alliance) is the association of the open source industry in Germany. It represents over 200 member companies that generate more than EUR 126 billion annually. Together with scientific institutions and user organisations, it is committed to anchoring the central importance of open source software and open standards for successful digital transformation in the public consciousness. It also aims to promote innovation in the field of open source. The OSB Alliance's goal is to establish open source as the standard in public procurement and in research and economic development. This is because open source and open standards are essential foundations for digital sovereignty, innovation and security in the digital transformation, and thus the answer to one of the greatest challenges of our time.