Week 6 – Roadmap Update

We are inviting a limited number of users to preview our newest updates in Beta. If you would like to be considered for inclusion, submit a ticket with your Pagoda Box username, and the phrase “BETA TEST”.

Here are some of the major features in the upcoming release:

API
It has extended our timeline projections, but we decided to include an API that will automate infrastructure control for SaaS developers, tech start-ups or anyone else with the inclination. Documentation will follow at some point in the future, but this release will migrate our entire web dashboard to an API (yes, we take our own medicine).

Dashboard
We’ve totally redesigned the Dashboard to accommodate upgraded services, plus standardized the interface to streamline future releases. This also eliminates a few persistent UX snags from the current dashboard.

In-Dashboard Help
To each page in the dashboard, we’re adding explanations, tips and helpful links to the Guides Section. If you’re not sure what a feature does or how it works, in-dash help will provide a quick, on the spot resource.

Dashboard Theatre
We’re introducing an interactive, realtime preview of your entire network architecture. See which components are running ‘hot’. Watch as deploys build new web infrastructure, reroute traffic, then decommission former instances. Follow transactions and dataflow through your entire infrastructure. Show a board of directors how the infrastructure works. It’s a completely new way to look inside your infrastructure, and this is only Version 1.

Public, Private and Dedicated Servers
This one is big. Designate shared, virtual private, or bare metal resources for any component. Mix and match, or scale from micro resources to fully dedicated clusters with a few clicks. We automate the networking, migration and scaling across all resource types without taking services offline during transition.

*Please note that Dedicate servers are charged in advance, one month at a time.

Analytics
Finally! We know many of you have been anticipating this one. Analytics are now standardized to represent up to the minute health of public, private or dedicated resources. High-level overviews and more granular drilldown details provide RAM, CPU, LOAD and DISK usage and variable hourly averages.

Triggers
Analytics also powers new alert and scaling Triggers. Customize Triggers to email multiple people, and/or auto-scale when component resources reach a pre-determined level of RAM, CPU, LOAD or DISK Usage.

Ping Monitoring
We monitor infrastructure services 24/7. Ping monitoring will soon provide application level visibility, as well, through email alerts and dashboard monitor.

Streaming Logs
We’re providing dashboard access to streaming and historical logs for all components and services, filterable by date and component (ex: DB1). Matching command line log access will be included in version 2.

Terminal Access
We’re providing terminal access to all component processes. Access any web, db or other component to see what’s running, why it froze, use ad-hoc commands, or run Top. This feature may require a slightly extended timeframe.

Auto DB Back-ups
We’re adding automation to existing database back-ups. Schedule how often, and how many back-ups you want. New backups are added as old back-ups are deleted.

Transaction Engine – Validation, Queuing & Simultaneous Deploys
If you’ve ever waited on a “Stuck Transaction” (deploy, scale, etc.), this one’s for you. We’re adding validation to catch the most common errors, like Boxfile misconfigurations. This should dramatically reduce the frequency of “contact a system administrator” messages.

We’re also introducing a queue, rather than simply locking transactions. You will be able to deploy, then scale, then deploy again in rapid succession. If a transaction is in progress, we’ll just add another to the list.

For sites with multiple instances, deploys will also be much faster. We’ll deploy code to the first instance, verify functionality, then deploy to every other instance simultaneously.

Recover and Reboot
Sometimes, it helps to just reset. If your app becomes unresponsive, Recover will restart services (like PHP) inside your instances. Reboot will restart your entire instance, including every instance if you’ve scaled.

DNS Aliases and URL Paths
This addition opens some interesting possibilities for complex applications. You can point incoming requests to a specific infrastructure component. For example, www.domain.com/blog can be directed to a small Public web component housing a WordPress blog, while www.domain.com/store is pointed to a much more robust Dedicated ecommerce component. Each is independently configurable through the Boxfile (different language, environment, etc) and horizontally / vertically scalable.

Dedicated Outbound IP
Soon, outbound IP addresses will include a fixed option, rather than varying inside a block of IPs. Inbound IP addresses already include a dedicated option.

Rename Components
What else is there to say about this feature?

Set Local Server Time
Reset your infrastructure’s timeclock to your local timezone. Changes apply to every component in your application, and new components inherit your designated local time.

Network Storage Visibility
Track your data usage on Pagoda Box through the dashboard.

Dashboard Preview

Thank you for your interest and continued support.