A month after its previous 6.4 release, Incus, an open-source container and virtual machine manager, released its latest update, Incus 6.5, focusing on boosting performance.
In light of this, tasks that previously took a substantial amount of time, like startup checks and resolving numerous profiles and devices, have now been optimized. These enhancements result in performance increases by an astonishing 20-30 times, reducing times from tens of minutes to mere seconds.
The new release also introduces several new capabilities to improve user interaction and system management.
One of the standout features is the auto-restart function for instances, which allows application containers to automatically restart up to 10 times within a minute if they exit unexpectedly. This is particularly useful for maintaining service continuity in the face of application crashes or reloads.
Further enhancing the CLI experience, the update brings consistency and customization to the output of list commands. Users can now tailor their output using the “–format” and “–columns” options, making it easier to script and automate tasks with Incus.
On the virtualization side, Incus 6.5 extends its functionality with several advancements in virtual machine management. New hooks and scriptlets for QEMU via QMP (QEMU Machine Protocol) allow for detailed configuration and dynamic response handling, catering to more complex and specific user needs.
We cannot fail to mention that the release debuts live disk resizing for VMs, enabling adjustments to the root disk or any attached disk without rebooting the system. This feature allows for immediate utilization of expanded storage capacity, significantly enhancing real-time data management.
Lastly, on the network front, Incus 6.5 includes initial support for health checks in OVN load-balancers. These checks ensure better reliability and service availability by monitoring and managing backend performance based on customizable parameters such as health check intervals and failure thresholds.
Users are encouraged to try out these new features by visiting the Incus online platform, which provides a hands-on experience with the latest version.
For more information about the Incus 6.5 container and virtual machine manager changes, visit the release announcement or check out the full changelog.
