diff --git a/blog/2026-05-13-kiran-new-pmc/index.md b/blog/2026-05-13-kiran-new-pmc/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..2a8f29998 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026-05-13-kiran-new-pmc/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,102 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: 'Apache CloudStack Welcomes Kiran Chavala as a PMC Member' +tags: [community, news] +authors: [antonia] +slug: new-pmc-kiran +--- + +![](kiran.png "Blog Header Image") + +[Kiran Chavala](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiranchavala) is the newest PMC +member of the Apache CloudStack Project. As a QA Engineer at ShapeBlue, Kiran +brings over a decade of experience in cloud and IaaS technologies, along with a +strong track record of contributions across testing, feature validation, +observability, and community support. + +In this interview, Kiran shares his journey with Apache CloudStack, his +perspective on the value of open-source collaboration, and the projects he’s +been working on — from Terraform plugin releases to Kubernetes integration and +monitoring tools. He also discusses how global community collaboration drives +innovation and outlines his vision for the future of CloudStack, including +sovereign cloud initiatives, AI-ready infrastructure, and continued growth +driven by flexibility and vendor independence. + + + +##### Introduce yourself in a few words and what your job role/company is? + +I’m Kiran Chavala, a QA Engineer at ShapeBlue with over a decade of experience +in cloud and IaaS technologies. I work extensively with Apache CloudStack, where +my role involves testing new features, identifying bugs and security-related +issues, and ensuring overall product quality before releases. I also contribute +to improving user experience, documentation, and tooling within the CloudStack +ecosystem, while actively supporting users and community members. + +##### What do you think are the benefits of utilising open-source projects, like CloudStack? + +Open-source projects like Apache CloudStack provide unmatched flexibility, +transparency, and innovation. Organisations can avoid vendor lock-in and tailor +solutions to their specific needs while benefiting from a globally distributed +community of contributors continuously improving the platform. + +From my experience, open-source fosters faster innovation cycles—features evolve +through real-world feedback, and issues are quickly identified and resolved. It +also creates opportunities for collaboration across organisations, enabling +knowledge sharing and building highly scalable, production-grade cloud +environments without licensing constraints. + +##### How do you collaborate with the community distributed around the world? + +Collaboration in open source is inherently global, and I engage with the +CloudStack community through multiple channels. This includes participating in +mailing list requests, contributing to GitHub pull requests, and helping users +troubleshoot issues. + +I also share knowledge through blogs, talks, and documentation, which helps +onboard new users and contributors. Being part of a distributed community means +working asynchronously, respecting different time zones, and communicating +clearly through well-documented discussions and code contributions. This +collaborative model ensures that ideas and improvements come from diverse +perspectives. + +##### What are some key projects and developments you have worked on and are currently working on? + +I’ve contributed to Apache CloudStack across several areas, including UI +improvements, API validation, and feature validation. My work involves raising +issues and discussions in the CloudStack Community. + +I’m also actively working with the CloudStack Plugin and tooling ecosystem, +including: +* Served as Release Manager for the Terraform plugin of CloudStack +* Observability using Prometheus and Grafana +* Kubernetes integration with CloudStack +* Monitoring and benchmarking tools for cloud environments + +Additionally, I regularly experiment with new open-source technologies and share +my learnings through blogs and community discussions. + +##### How do you think the CloudStack project will continue to grow over the next five years? + +Apache CloudStack is well-positioned for steady, meaningful growth over the next +five years, especially as organisations increasingly prioritise control, +compliance, and flexibility in their infrastructure. + +One of the biggest drivers will be the rise of sovereign cloud initiatives, in +which governments and enterprises seek full ownership of their data, +infrastructure, and security posture. CloudStack’s open-source nature, combined +with its mature multi-tenancy and networking capabilities, makes it an ideal +platform for building sovereign and regionally compliant cloud environments +without relying on hyperscalers. + +Vendor lock-in becomes critical. CloudStack’s open-source model enables +organisations to retain complete control over their stack, choose their own +hardware and integrations, and build cloud environments that align with regional +and regulatory requirements—without being tied to a single vendor ecosystem. + +Another important area is AI and data-intensive workloads. The infrastructure +requirements for AI/ML—such as GPU orchestration, scalable storage, and +high-performance networking—align well with CloudStack’s strengths. With +continued enhancements around GPU support, automation, and integration, +CloudStack can serve as a strong foundation for private AI clouds and research +environments. diff --git a/blog/2026-05-13-kiran-new-pmc/kiran.png b/blog/2026-05-13-kiran-new-pmc/kiran.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b30d6e0f3 Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-05-13-kiran-new-pmc/kiran.png differ diff --git a/blog/2026-05-13-manoj-new-committer/index.md b/blog/2026-05-13-manoj-new-committer/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..0a86fe488 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026-05-13-manoj-new-committer/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: "Apache CloudStack Welcomes Manoj Kumar as a Committer to the Project" +tags: [community, news] +authors: [antonia] +slug: new-commiter-manoj +--- + +![](manoj.png "Blog Header Image") + +[Manoj Kumar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/manoj-kumar-66b627a/) is now a +Committer to the Apache CloudStack project. In this interview, he shares his +journey as a software engineer at ShapeBlue and his experience contributing to +Apache CloudStack. He discusses some of his key contributions to the project, +including platform improvements, automation features, and the CloudStack +One-line Installer, while also highlighting the importance of community +collaboration and consistent contribution. + +Manoj also reflects on major developments in CloudStack over the past two years, +such as GPU support and VMware-to-KVM migration, and shares his thoughts on +future opportunities around observability, infrastructure integrations, and +AI-focused workloads. + + + +##### Introduce yourself in a few words and what your current job role is? + +I’m Manoj Kumar, a Senior Software Engineer at ShapeBlue. I’ve been in software +engineering for around 14 years, working across different domains—from digital +marketing systems to large data platforms at Oracle and Master Data Management +solutions. + +At ShapeBlue, I work on Apache CloudStack. My day-to-day work involves building +new features, fixing issues, writing documentation, and reviewing PRs. It’s a +mix of development and community collaboration. + +##### What are some of your key contributions to the Apache CloudStack project? + +I’ve worked on a range of features across backend, UI, automation, and platform +improvements: + +* CloudStack One-line Installer: GitHub Repository +* Instance Lease feature +* Making KVM domains persistent when unmanaged from CloudStack +* Enforcing password changes after admin reset (root/domain users) +* Auto-populating templates during zone deployment + +Recently, I’ve also started actively participating in PR reviews and +release-related activities. That’s been a great learning experience and has +helped me understand the project more deeply. + +##### What would your advice be to people interested in the CloudStack project, but not sure how to get involved? + +My advice is simple—start small and stay consistent. + +There are many ways to contribute beyond just code: + +* Join the community and follow discussions to understand how things work +* Try installing and using CloudStack (the one-line installer helps a lot) +* Documentation is a great starting point and very impactful +* Pick an area you’re comfortable with—UI, backend, database, scripts, etc. +* Report issues and try fixing them when possible +* Ask questions and share your experiments with the community +* Be patient; contributions grow over time with consistency + +##### What do you think are some of the standout features introduced in the last two years? + +A few things stand out for me. +GPU support is a major addition, especially with growing AI/ML workloads. The +extension framework is another important improvement that makes CloudStack +easier to extend in a clean way. + +There has also been solid progress on VMware-to-KVM migration, helping users +move toward open infrastructure. Improvements in backup and recovery have also +strengthened day-to-day operational reliability. + +##### What are some features that have not been developed yet and are not in the current roadmap that you would like to see? + +From my perspective, there are a few interesting areas for future improvement. + +Better observability and operability would go a long way—especially for +large-scale environments, where debugging and visibility can be challenging. + +Deeper storage and networking integrations would also be valuable as +infrastructures become more heterogeneous. + +And finally, I think there is a big opportunity in the AI infrastructure +space—making CloudStack more aligned with GPU-heavy, high-performance, modern +data center workloads. diff --git a/blog/2026-05-13-manoj-new-committer/manoj.png b/blog/2026-05-13-manoj-new-committer/manoj.png new file mode 100644 index 000000000..14c01b6ed Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-05-13-manoj-new-committer/manoj.png differ diff --git a/src/pages/who.mdx b/src/pages/who.mdx index 976680451..b045fb7dc 100644 --- a/src/pages/who.mdx +++ b/src/pages/who.mdx @@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ The following data is subject to change. The up-to-date information can be found - Abhishek Kumar (shwstppr) - Alena Prokharchyk (alena1108) +- Alexandre Mattioli (alexandremattioli) - Alex Huang (ahuang) - Alex Karasulu (akarasulu) -- Alexandre Mattioli (alexandremattioli) - Andrija Panic (andrijapanic) - Animesh (animesh) - Boris Schrijver (boris) @@ -75,22 +75,23 @@ The following data is subject to change. The up-to-date information can be found - Suresh Anaparti (sureshanaparti) - Sven Vogel (svogel) - Syed Ahmed (syed) +- Vishesh Jindal (vishesh) - Wei Zhou (weizhou) - Wido den Hollander (widodh) - Wilder Rodrigues (ekho) -- Will Stevens (swill) - William Chan (willchan) +- Will Stevens (swill) **Committers**: -- Abhisar Sinha (abhisar) - Abhinandan Prateek (aprateek) +- Abhisar Sinha (abhisar) - Abhishek Kumar (shwstppr) - Ahmad Emneina (ahmad) - Alena Prokharchyk (alena1108) +- Alexandre Mattioli (alexandremattioli) - Alex Huang (ahuang) - Alex Karasulu (akarasulu) -- Alexandre Mattioli (alexandremattioli) - Amogh Vasekar (amoghvk) - Andrija Panic (andrijapanic) - Anh Tu Nguyen (tuna) @@ -120,6 +121,7 @@ The following data is subject to change. The up-to-date information can be found - Devdeep Singh (devdeep) - Disheng Su (edison) - Erik Weber (erikw) +- Fabricio Duarte Junior (fabricio) - Frank Maximus (fmaximus) - Funs Kessen (snuf) - Gabriel Beims Bräscher (gabriel) @@ -152,6 +154,7 @@ The following data is subject to change. The up-to-date information can be found - Kelcey Damage (kdamage) - Kelven Yang (kelveny) - Kevin Kluge (kluge) +- Kiran Chavala (kiranchavala) - Kirk Kosinski (kirk) - Kishan (kishan) - Koushik Das (koushik) @@ -224,7 +227,7 @@ The following data is subject to change. The up-to-date information can be found - Wei Zhou (weizhou) - Wido den Hollander (widodh) - Wilder Rodrigues (ekho) -- Will Stevens (swill) - William Chan (willchan) +- Will Stevens (swill) - Xin Zhang (frankzhang) - Yoshikazu Nojima (ynojima)