Last week, the CloudStack European User Group once again brought together cloud builders, researchers, and technology providers to share knowledge, exchange experiences, and celebrate the power of open-source. ShapeBlue was proud to sponsor the event again this year, continuing our long-standing support for the Apache CloudStack community. We were also pleased to be joined by StorPool, who returned as sponsors and contributors.

The day was packed with thought-provoking sessions, technical insights, and engaging discussions:

Setting the Stage: Welcome, Community, and CloudStack 101 – Steve Roles, ShapeBlue  

The event kicked off with ShapeBlue’s Steve Roles, who welcomed attendees and provided an overview of the Apache CloudStack community. His talk covered the platform’s core features, architecture, and use cases, along with the latest news from recent releases. For many participants, this was an ideal introduction to the breadth and power of CloudStack.

Apache CloudStack: Powering Research in Apiculture, Aquaponics, and Advanced Networking – Mike Hinsley, GYOCYO

Mike Hinsley (GYOCYO) showcased fascinating use cases where CloudStack underpins cutting-edge research. From IoT-powered bee colony monitoring to automated aquaponics systems and complex networking testbeds, his talk highlighted how open-source infrastructure drives real-world innovation in unexpected fields.

 

Design and Build a Tier 1 Infrastructure for Your CloudStack Cloud – Nikolay Tenev, StorPool

Reliability, performance, and scalability were the themes of Nikolay Tenev’s session (StorPool). He explored how to design and build Tier 1 infrastructure for CloudStack clouds, enabling providers to achieve five nines uptime, deliver premium services like disaster recovery, and achieve cost savings through open-source technologies.

Double the Savings on Repatriation with an Ampere Combination – Pete Logan, Ampere

Pete Logan (Ampere) demonstrated how organisations can cut TCO even further when repatriating workloads from hyperscalers by using Ampere CPU-based systems. He showed how this architecture, in combination with CloudStack and ShapeBlue expertise, delivers efficiency and supports portability for Arm workloads.

Latency Is All That Matters, Not Bandwidth – Wido den Hollander, Your. Online

Wido den Hollander (Your.Online) shifted the perspective on performance by making a strong case for why latency—not bandwidth—should be the key consideration for cloud builders. His insights sparked important conversations about designing for responsiveness rather than raw throughput.

CloudStack Extensions Framework (XaaS) – Enabling Orchestrate Anything + Demo – Lucian Burlacu, ShapeBlue

In the afternoon, Lucian Burlacu (ShapeBlue) introduced the new CloudStack Extensions Framework. Through live demonstrations, he showed how this framework enables cloud builders to integrate custom services, third-party hypervisors, and orchestrators—unlocking new possibilities for extensibility and vendor neutrality.

Community Forum: Open-Source Collaboration

The day concluded with an open discussion led by Ivet Petrova, where participants explored the value of open-source independence, vendor-neutral infrastructure, and the collaborative strength of the CloudStack community. It was a fitting end to a day filled with knowledge sharing and community spirit.

Continuing Our Commitment

At ShapeBlue, we are proud to stand alongside the Apache CloudStack community once again, as both sponsors and contributors. Events like this show the strength of open collaboration and the impact of sharing expertise openly. Together with our partners, we remain committed to supporting the global growth and adoption of CloudStack.

We would like to thank all speakers and attendees for making this event a success. We look forward to the next opportunity to come together as a community.

The next opportunity is a significant one: the CloudStack Collaboration Conference, the largest annual CloudStack event, taking place from 19 to 21 November in Milan. Don’t miss out—register now!