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Next Gen vs. First Gen Feature Comparison

  • Article ID: 1732
  • Last updated on May 17, 2013
  • Authored by: Rackspace Support
  • (28 Comments)

The Open Cloud is no longer a concept or a vision sketched on a whiteboard -- It’s a reality.  Because on August 1st, 2012, Rackspace officially launched its open cloud, powered by OpenStack.

What does “Open” mean for you?

It means that you have the power to control your own destiny. No lock in, more scalability and the power of choice. In a nutshell, it’s the freedom to build your dream, leverage other partner technologies in the OpenStack community and move your code wherever you need it to go.

What does this mean for Rackspace?

Faster innovation so that we can build richer features and launch products you need more frequently.  Couple all of this with our most valuable asset: our people.  Fanatical Support® backs everything we do.  And this is just the beginning. Today we’re introducing three new products:

Cloud Servers powered by OpenStack

Scalable, flexible and open

New Cloud Control Panel

Completely redesigned from the ground up for speed and ease of use

Cloud Databases

For high performance MySQL databases in the cloud

The purpose of this of article is to detail the differences in functionality between our first generation Cloud Servers, our new open cloud servers and the different interfaces for accessing them. Please bookmark this page as it will change often.

Key:
Yes = Available
No = No plans
Planned = On the Roadmap

 Feature   API Classic Cloud CP New Cloud CP MyRack
Definition First Gen (v1.1) Next Gen (v2) First Gen First Gen Next Gen First Gen Next Gen
Manage Servers Create, Read, Update, Delete Servers Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes  Yes
Manage Images Create, Read, Delete Images Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Create Server Metadata  Add custom data about your server that can be queried later Yes (build only) Yes (build and rebuild) No No No Yes (build only) Yes (build only)
Update, Delete Server Metadata Modify custom data about your server that can be queried later No Yes No No No No Yes
Create, Read, Update, Delete Image Metadata Add or Modify custom data about your server that can be queried later No Yes No No No No No
View Limits See rate and absolute limits for your account Yes Yes No Planned Planned No No
Rebuild Server Re-create a server from an existing image Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Resize Server Scale up by choosing a different flavor Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reboot Server Perform a hard (power cycle) or soft (graceful) reboot Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reset Password Reset your password Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Rescue Mode Recover your system data if your server becomes non-bootable or is suffering from critical system errors Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Planned Planned
Console Access A useful troubleshooting tool if the network is unresponsive or you have locked yourself out No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Scheduled Images The ability to schedule creation of Cloud Server Images Yes Planned Yes Yes Planned Planned Planned
Additional IP addresses The option to assign more than one IP address to a server. Contact Support via support ticket to request additional IPv4 addresses for first- and next-gen servers. Yes Planned No No Planned No Planned
IPv6 Native public IPv6 support No Yes No No Yes No Yes
Regional Choice For geographies with more than one region, regional choice allows you to choose which region you interact with No Yes No No Yes No Yes
File Injection Inject data into the file system of the cloud server instance Yes Yes No No No No No
Shared IPs Share IP addresses amongst multiple cloud servers for high availability and failover Yes Planned No No Planned No No
256MB Flavor A first generation flavor size not offered in next generation cloud servers Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No
Disk Configuration Allows the file system to be managed by the system or by the user No Yes No No Planned No Yes
Bandwidth Usage Shows bandwidth in server info No Yes Yes Planned Planned No No
Diagnostics A quick view of server status with the ability to ping server and local IP No No No Planned Planned No No
  Related Features
Reverse DNS Establishes what domain is associated with an IP address No Yes (Cloud DNS) Yes Yes Yes No No
Managed Cloud Cloud Servers with a managed service level - Linux and Windows Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
RackConnect Hybrid capability that connect dedicated servers to public cloud servers - - - - - Yes Yes

Please Note:

  • All customers have access to the first and next gen APIs, the Classic Cloud Control Panel, and the New Cloud Control Panel.
  • MyRack is used by customers with dedicated servers and is the interface for RackConnect.
  • Additional IPv4 addresses can be requested for both first gen and next gen Cloud Servers by contacting Support. API and Control Panel management of additional addresses for next gen servers is in the works.

Other Differences

  • Next gen runs the standard OpenStack Compute v2 API + Rackspace Extensions.
  • Only next generation Cloud Servers are compatible with Cloud Block Storage and Cloud Networks. First generation Cloud Servers are not compatible.
  • The smallest next generation flavor size is 512MB. There will not be a 256MB flavor.


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28 Comments

Whoever wrote this article, needs to take another look at the table header. I can't make sense of it. What column(s) do I have, and what columns could I possibly have ?
By John Campbell on Sep. 26, 2012

I know the intent is that each column represent availability of features in each environment, first-gen and open cloud. Each pair of columns is then under a product - the Cloud Servers API, the first and next-generation control panels for Cloud Servers, and the MyRack control panel for RackConnect.

Was that the part of the header that was unclear, or are you having formatting/display issues? Just trying to get a feel for what we can improve on the table.
By jered.heeschen on Oct. 3, 2012

I think he means that when you scroll down on the page you can't tell which column belongs to what.
By Meisam Mulla on Oct. 18, 2012

Ah, thanks Meisam. We'll see what we can do to make the table easier to read when you scroll down.
By jered.heeschen on Oct. 18, 2012

It all makes a lot more sense now that I know that "CP" means control panel. I still have no idea what "MyRack" means, I suppose that is some sort of internal company jargon for some Rackspace product. Is it a control panel?

I guess the "First Gen" "Next Gen" in the second row is referring to the difference between the backend setup inherited from Slicehost, and a OpenStack backend.

It is now more clear. Next Gen can either mean "Open Stack Backend" or it can mean "A new an improved Control Panel".

Is it possible to migrate a first gen instance to the new backend infrastructure?
By John Campbell on Oct. 26, 2012

Can you please add in BLOD letters that currently rackspace NextGen does not have the capability to add more than one dedicated IP! This is very important for people who run business level application and need SSL!
By Santosh on Oct. 26, 2012

Thanks for pointing that out, Santosh. We'll get a line in there for additional IP addresses.
By jered.heeschen on Oct. 26, 2012

I fail to see purpose of this table, or the current push for "next gen CP" for that matter, at this point in time. To me this table reads as "News! At present you're best off sticking to the generation you've been at since signing up, as first gen CP provides all that next gen does and more".

Am I perhaps missing something?
Are you getting droves of customer requests for next-gen, and if so what's the driver?
By Jonas on Oct. 31, 2012

Hey Jonas,

This table is meant to be informative so customers can know which features have been implemented into Next-Gen. We're encouraging customers to use Next-Gen cp because of the improved UI.

-Rae
By Rae D. Cabello on Nov. 1, 2012

Why was the 256M instance deprecated from the next gen servers? Is the pricing for 256M instances on the first gen still 0.015/hour? Will the 256M first gen server instance go away eventually? Many times i find it advantageous to have a number of smaller servers load balanced than have a next step up server, not to mention so do many of my clients.
By phil on Nov. 3, 2012

Where are you guys keeping the reports in the "Next Generation" control panel? I can't find it! Under reports, I could find total bandwidth in/out and disk usage. I cannot find that under the account drop-down (top right), but it's available under the account section in the old control panel.
By Patrick on Nov. 13, 2012

The reports are still pending for the new control panel, but we are working on getting them implemented. For now you'll only be able to access them through the first-generation control panel.
By jered.heeschen on Nov. 14, 2012

What is a first gen of a next gen cp? That is so confusing.
By Chris on Nov. 14, 2012

It's a fancy way of saying our old CP and our new CP. It's a temporary naming system until the new CP has feature parity with the old CP and we can retire the older one.

The "first-generation CP" is the one at:

https://manage.rackspacecloud.com

And the "next-generation CP" is the one at:

https://mycloud.rackspace.com
By jered.heeschen on Nov. 15, 2012

I think he is referring to the two columns underneath each of the CPs, which are, I believe, talking about the capabilities of that control panel to manage first and next gen servers. EG: in the next gen CP, you can modify ipV6 only for next gen servers, but not for 1st gen servers (as of Dec 12, anyway).
By Bryan on Dec. 12, 2012

Thanks for the clarification Bryan. I'd missed the "of" in his question, and that makes all the difference.
By jered.heeschen on Dec. 13, 2012

I did my own benchmarking and put the results here: http://seancombinator.com/rackspace-firstgen-vs-opencloud
By Sean Conner on Nov. 16, 2012

Looks to me that Next-Gen is how RackSpace gets moved over to IPv6, and the elimination of the 256K 0.015 cent/hr option is how we are all getting forced to pay for it!

Lower volume customers suffer with a 46.7% PRICE INCREASE!
By David Walton on Jan. 21, 2013

The change on the backend was primarily implemented to move us to OpenStack and allow us to offer more add-on services (like Cloud Block Storage and virtual networks), along with IPv6. A side effect of the change was a difference in how the virtual CPUs are allocated to instances.

On first-gen servers, 4 vCPUs are allocated to all Linux servers up to 16GB of RAM. Unfortunately, because the CPUs on the host server aren't being shared proportionally and kept strictly controlled, it can sometimes be the case that one instance on a host can use more of the host's CPU and leave less actual processing power for other instances.

On next-gen servers the vCPU allocation scales, so a 512MB or 1GB instance gets 1 vCPU, 2GB and 4GB get 2 vCPUs, and so forth. While this means a lower vCPU allocation in many cases, the upside is that each instance is more likely to have access to its full allocation of vCPUs because the vCPUs aren't as oversubscribed. The allocation might be less, but the reliability of that allocation is improved.

Unfortunately the way the scaling worked, the 256MB instances would have been allocated only half a vCPU, and that would have been less than ideal. That change in vCPU allocation is why it was decided that the 256MB instances would be removed as an option for next-gen but the price on the 512MB instances would be reduced to try and make up for the absence of a smaller option.

You can still create first-gen Cloud Servers instances for now, including 256MB instances. They won't be able to use some of the newer services, but they'll be more suited for applications that have low RAM requirements but would benefit from burst CPU use.

There are more details about the virtual CPU allocation in this article:

http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_center/whitepaper/cpu-in-next-generation-cloud-servers
By jered.heeschen on Jan. 21, 2013

Jered - thanks for the extra color on this issue. The key for me in your posting were the words "...for now...". I must look to the future and I can't base a business on such instability. If first-gen was always going to be around then yeah, I could go with Rackspace.

The price point just doesn't work anymore, and in the first-gen offering you were #1. Compared to other companies, your next-gen RAM is cheap and your CPU is MOST expensive. I have to buy a 8GB RAM machine at $350/mo to get the 4 vCPUs that I get on a first-gen for $11/mo!?!? C'mon, this dog don't hunt!!
By David Walton on Jan. 22, 2013

Completely understandable. The "for now" was quite deliberate - I don't know if first-gen instances will be forced to eventually upgrade, but I do expect they'll remove the ability to make new first-gen instances someday (though not real soon).

The end of that article I linked mentions an intention to add new service plans that emphasize CPU, but I can't say when that would happen either.
By jered.heeschen on Jan. 22, 2013

Is there an estimate on when scheduled images will be available for next-gen servers?
By Michael on Apr. 11, 2013

Not yet, I'm afraid. I know they're actively working on it, but I wouldn't expect it to be available any sooner than May or June.
By jered.heeschen on Apr. 11, 2013

Is there an estimate on when additional IP addresses will be available for the next generation servers? Also will we be notified when it's added.
Thanks.
By Lee on Apr. 12, 2013

I've made a note of your email address, Lee, and I'll make sure to notify you when the feature is available. I know they're working on it, and had hoped to have additional IPs available already. Hopefully they'll resolve any snags soon.
By jered.heeschen on Apr. 12, 2013

Thanks Jered, much appreciated
By Lee on Apr. 15, 2013

Our first gen 16gb server uses a Quad-Core AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 2374 HE running at 2200Mhz. Second gen now use Six-Core AMD Opteron(tm) Processor 4170 HE running at 2100Mhz.

I've benchmarked it and the 2nd gen actually runs slightly slower which is disappointing (unless you utilize all 6 cores). When are you going to offer better, faster CPUs?
By Craig Carnell on May. 20, 2013

There is some variance among our hosts, unfortunately, as some are newer than others. It's a problem management is aware of, and they're looking into possible solutions. Unfortunately I can't offer any kind of timeline.
By jered.heeschen on May. 20, 2013

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