cloud-init
Cloud images are operating system templates and every instance starts out as an identical clone of every other instance. It is the user data that gives every cloud instance its personality and cloud-init is the tool that applies user data to your instances automatically. Including datasource and module references, and plenty of examples. While cloud-init started life in Ubuntu, it is now available for most major Linux and FreeBSD operating systems. For cloud image providers, then cloud-init handles many of the differences between cloud vendors automatically — for example, the official Ubuntu cloud images are identical across all public and private clouds.
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Windows Server Failover Clustering
Failover Clustering in Windows Server (and Azure Local) enables a group of independent servers to work together to improve availability and scalability for clustered roles (formerly known as clustered applications and services). These nodes are interconnected via hardware and software, and if one node fails, another assumes its roles through an automated failover process. Clustered roles are actively monitored and, if they stop functioning, are restarted or migrated to maintain service continuity. The feature also supports Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs), which provide a unified, distributed namespace and consistent shared storage access across nodes, reducing service disruptions. Typical uses include high‑availability file shares, SQL Server instances, and Hyper‑V virtual machines. Failover Clustering is supported on Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025, and in Azure Local environments.
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NEC EXPRESSCLUSTER
NEC EXPRESSCLUSTER is a high-availability software solution designed to maximize business continuity and disaster recovery while preventing data loss. It supports recovery from hardware, network, and application failures without requiring costly shared storage disks. The software boasts a proven track record with over 17,000 customers worldwide and more than 30,000 cluster systems deployed over 20 years. EXPRESSCLUSTER supports various applications, including major databases like Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle DB, email servers, ERP systems, virtualization platforms, and cloud services such as AWS and Microsoft Azure. Key features include automatic failover, real-time data mirroring, and comprehensive failure detection across system resources. NEC’s software helps businesses reduce downtime, save costs, and ensure reliable IT operations across many industries globally.
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Phillux
Phillux is a virtualization platform for your own servers. It manages virtual machines and LXC containers along with storage, images, virtual networks, snapshots, clones, backups and a per-guest firewall - from a single host up to a small cluster with shared OCFS2 storage and live migration of running VMs.
Windows 11 guests get UEFI, Secure Boot and a virtual TPM 2.0 automatically and install unattended. Linux guests boot from ready cloud images via cloud-init. Existing guests import from VMware ESXi or Proxmox.
The firewall attaches to each guest's network device, not the host, so a wrong rule can never lock you out. A ransomware brake watches writes beneath the guest and pauses a machine when data turns to noise - halted, not killed, so the step is reversible and the encryption key stays in frozen memory.
Every function is a documented REST endpoint. Runs on Debian 13, licensed per CPU socket. Your data stays on your hardware: no cloud, no telemetry.
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