Developers working with OpenStack now have a Sandbox and a separate one-stop shop for the OpenStack APIs. The API site is “inspired by” sites like Twitter’s API resource page, and includes the OpenStack Identity 2.0, Compute 1.1 and Image 1.0 APIs. The OpenStack Sandbox provides a test environment for developers to try their code against.
Anne Gentle announcedthe OpenStack API reference yesterday to the OpenStack mailing list. It’s not 100% complete yet, Gentle says that Object Storage hasn’t been added yet. The site also doesn’t reflect non-standard extensions that may be used on some deployments, but is similar to the installation on the OpenStack Sandbox.
Jay Pipes announced the Sandbox yesterday on the OpenStack blog. Developers register for the service by joining the Facebook Group, and then receive a username, password and “Stack Dollars” for the sandbox. Says Pipes, “When you perform certain actions in TryStack – launching instances, creating volumes, etc – you consume Stack Dollars. Likewise, instances consume Stack Dollars as long as they are running. When you run out of Stack Dollars, you won’t be able to use TryStack services until your Stack Dollars are replenished.”
The refresh rate for Stack Dollars hasn’t been established yet, but the FAQ says “you should find you have ample credits available for almost any testing scenario. One tip: If the size of the server instances you launch doesn’t matter too much to your tests and experimentation, you’ll get more life out of your account by launching smaller instances. “
Developers also need to be aware that instances will only remain alive for up to 24 hours. (This is to keep the sandbox from being used “for evil” and to make sure everyone has an ample shot at sandbox time.)
The current Sandbox is based on OpenStack Diablo and lacks a Swift deployment. Another availability zone, using Essex, is planned for the OpenStack Sandbox “in the next three to six months.” This will be hosted in Las Vegas on HP hardware. Pipes also says that an installation of Swift object store is on the horizon, either as a separate availability zone or as part of the upcoming Essex deployment.
If you’re a Facebook-hater, a non-Facebook registration process is in the offing as well.
Given that Amazon has made available a free tier of AWS for some time, it’s probably a smart move on the Stacker’s part to have a free sandbox for developers to test against. Anybody signed up for this one yet? Let us know how the experience goes.
