In-Depth
Cloud-Based macOS Systems
I have extensive experience working with virtualization, ranging from Kubernetes (K8s) to remote desktop technologies on Microsoft, Linux, and VMware systems. I have consistently relied on these platforms but have never employed Apple systems for enterprise virtualization.
I recently wrote an article about Orka Desktop, a free desktop virtualization program that enables users to create and manage macOS virtual machines (VMs).
This tool helps automate the deployment of ephemeral VMs based on saved custom images, supporting everything from simple Xcode builds to fully integrated, automated CI/CD pipelines. But I wanted to better understand the company behind Orka Desktop: MacStadium.
The more I explored MacStadium, the more intrigued I became. I soon realized that Orka Desktop (Orka is a portmanteau of "Orchestration with Kubernetes on Apple") is just one product in the Orka line that MacStadium offers. This article will delve further into MacStadium and examine its Apple-based services and products.
The Company
MacStadium was founded in 2012 to supply developers and enterprises with dedicated cloud-based Mac servers and services for developing, testing, and deploying macOS applications.
The company originated in Atlanta and has expanded its global operations over the years, establishing datacenters in key technology hubs, including Silicon Valley, Dublin, and Frankfurt. This geographical expansion enabled them to cater to an international clientele, ensuring low-latency access and reliability for users worldwide.
MacStadium's Orka Product Line-up
MacStadium's key product offerings are divided into three categories. Their major thrust is virtualization for Macs, which revolves around their Mac Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and headless workstations.
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Apple Hypervisor
Many people don't realize that macOS has had a built-in type 2 hypervisor since 2014, when it was released with macOS 10.10 Yosemite. It is a low-level API, so developers, not end users, use it.
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VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop created GUIs for it, which were designed for more casual use. In contrast, MacStadium used the API to programmatically create, manage, control, and destroy macOS VMs for enterprise use.
Orka Technology
Orka Engine is central to MacStadium's suite. It offers macOS virtualization through a command-line interface (CLI) on macOS hosts. It automates VM deployment and management on macOS devices. One of its key features is its ability to test users' code on VMs based on various macOS images.
Virtualization & Cloud Review covered the 2019 debut of Orka in the article, "MacStadium Introduces macOS Orchestration with Kubernetes on Apple Hardware."
One of the key features of Orka Engine is its ability to run on a headless workstation, that is, on Apple servers without monitors, or through a GUI. This allows developers to manage VMs through a CLI or integrate with orchestration tools.
It uses Apple's Hypervisor Framework to deliver VMs with near-native performance on macOS. Using this, developers can create and configure VMs with specific CPU, memory, disk, and display settings to match their development and testing needs. The Engine supports integration with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) tools, facilitating automated build and test workflows for macOS and iOS applications.
MacStadium's Orka Cluster is an enterprise virtualization and orchestration solution designed for macOS and the Orka Engine for use with Intel and Apple Silicon macOS systems. It was developed and designed to optimize Kubernetes (K8s) to orchestrate containerized macOS workloads. This enables development teams to efficiently manage and deploy macOS virtual machines, integrate them with a company's CI/CD pipelines, and automate complex workflows. This ability is crucial for enterprises looking to bring the power of K8s to their macOS development processes, just as other products do for Windows and Linux.
An Orka Cluster is comprised of a control plane, which runs inside K8s, for orchestration (provisioning and de-provisioning) VMs. A cluster can be composed of as few as two nodes and can scale up to hundreds of nodes. It has an image repository to store and distribute the images to these nodes.
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Whereas the engine offers the virtualization technology for the hosts, an Orka cluster combines these hosts, or nodes, to enable the rapid deployment of VMs on them. The cluster supports everything from simple Xcode builds to automated CI/CD pipelines.
Orka Deployment Options
One of the neat things about the Orka cluster is that it can be deployed on public and private clouds.
MacStadium Mac Cloud Compute is MacStadium's offering for Orka Cluster. It features dedicated, genuine Apple hardware hosted in MacStadium datacenters, with a proven track record of reliability and security. These datacenters have 24/7 monitoring and redundancy systems to ensure uninterrupted and secure delivery of their services.
Orka on AWS is an interesting offering. It provides all the features and functionality of Orka Cluster within an AWS datacenter and is billed by AWS.
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Orka on Azure is an interesting partnership as it leverages Microsoft Azure and Azure DevOps to push workflows to the Orka cluster, thereby providing a seamless workflow and autoscaling for macOS build agents using an Azure DevOps workflow.
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This partnership enables a single point for DevOps and CI/CD, with Orka handling the scheduling and orchestration of macOS builds while allowing Azure to do the same for Windows and Linux workflows.
Orka On-Prem allows workloads unsuitable for MacStadium or AWS datacenters to run on a company's local hardware. Companies may want to do this for several reasons, from data governance to reusing their existing investment in Apple hardware.
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MacStadium solutions are dedicated and designed for CI/CD workflows on macOS systems, which is essential for modern software development practices. By providing dedicated Apple hardware and macOS cloud solutions, MacStadium enables developers to automate testing and deployment processes, reducing time to market and enhancing the overall quality of their applications.
MacStadium has carved out a niche for itself by offering specialized software and Apple infrastructure solutions for macOS developers and enterprises. In my next article, I will spend some hands-on time with another of MacStadium's offerings: macOS remote desktops.
About the Author
Tom Fenton has a wealth of hands-on IT experience gained over the past 30 years in a variety of technologies, with the past 20 years focusing on virtualization and storage. He previously worked as a Technical Marketing Manager for ControlUp. He also previously worked at VMware in Staff and Senior level positions. He has also worked as a Senior Validation Engineer with The Taneja Group, where he headed the Validation Service Lab and was instrumental in starting up its vSphere Virtual Volumes practice. He's on X @vDoppler.