We are happy to announce that the first phase of the scheduled upgrades is complete. We have successfully developed a full-fledged, production-ready containerization platform for hosting WordPress applications.
On the new platform, every application is made up of a set of services, each running in its own Virtual Container, that are pulled together to form the complete instance.
On Containers…
A Container is an encapsulation of operating system resources into a self-contained unit, within which services run, independent of, and isolated from, other services running in their own containers.
Containers are light-weight alternatives to virtual machines. They provide better service isolation than traditional shared hosting environments.
Containerization technologies, such as OpenVZ, allow each container to emulate a complete stand-alone server. They are commonly used for Virtual Private Servers by major web hosting providers.
At GrottoPress, we use Docker. Docker containers are designed to emulate a minimal service environment, rather than an entire operating system. They are lighter and faster to execute.
Going Forward…
As a result of this milestone, we are declaring the old platform deprecated; we will only provide minor updates for that until it is eventually discontinued. We are not admitting any new accounts on there.
We are beginning to move sites from the old platform to the new. You should receive a mail about this, with details of the new plan your site is being moved to.
Next Steps…
For now, we are working on stabilizing the new platform, and migrating sites from the old.
The next phase is to build the GrottoPress application, featuring a support portal, billing system, control panel and more.
It’s still too early to conclude on the whens and whats. We will post updates to our blog.
Questions?…
We are happy to answer them. You may contact support with any questions or clarifications needed.