The Release and New Features of Mesos 1.0.0

Please join me in welcoming the first major release of Apache Mesos. However, as many of you will know, Mesos has been in use for at least five years. So this is less of a major release, since every release has major new features and fixes, and more of a confirmation of its position within the industry.

However, that isn't to say there aren't any new important features.

One long term goal is to replace the Mesos and Docker containerisers with a unified version to reduce the amount of duplication and remove the dependencies on external runtimes. Introduced in 0.28 and continuing into 1.0.0, the unified containeriser marks one of the most aggressive new features in Mesos.

It allows users to use one of a number of container specifications in a unified way with no external dependencies. For example, it is possible to run docker and rkt containers with no Docker/rkt daemon.

It also enables new features that might be difficult with opinionated runtimes. For example, 1.0.0 introduces unified container support for the Container Network Interface (CNI) specification. CNI is an open networking standard that instantly adds the ability to use a range of networking technologies like Weave Net, Calico or Flannel.

With Mesos, K8s and CoreOs all backing CNI, this is a clear signal to Docker that herding users towards a Docker-centric networking stack might not have been the best idea.

The HTTP APIs have also been hardened and this version adds Agent APIs, which means that the vast majority of use cases are now possible using the HTTP api. For example, all the features are now present to write frameworks outside of the confines of the Java/C++ APIs. However, lower level components still do not have a HTTP API, e.g. isolators.

Aside from the CNI isolator, further isolators have been added for GPU, XFS and Docker Volume isolation.

For more information, see the change log.

But these new features are all part and parcel of a new Mesos release. The real distinction is the realisation that Mesos does provide a valuable alternative to the other orchestration systems. It is a confirmation of self-belief. That Mesos deserves its rightful place in the orchestra that is the cloud. Thanks to all the Mesos developers and users that make it happen. Cheers!

P.s. Minimesos fans will be happy to note that it will be shipping with Mesos 1.0.0 images very soon!