November was a busy month for Katapult. As we wrap up the year, we're excited to share what the Katapult Labs team has been up to. From refining the platform and improving the user experience to finalising launches and setting the stage for what’s next, it’s been a month of progress. Here’s a closer look at what we’ve achieved:

Object Storage Launch

Following a successful beta phase, the full public launch of Katapult Object Storage went live on 21st November. This marks a significant milestone and lays the groundwork for delivering scalable and reliable cloud-based solutions.

Documentation

We know that great features need even better documentation. In preparation for the Object Storage launch, we recognised the importance of providing clear and comprehensive resources to support users. Just in time for launch, we revamped our documentation to give you everything you need to get started and succeed with Katapult.

Improved User Signup Flow

We’ve streamlined the signup process. Previously, you had to enter your email, wait for a link, and then begin the signup flow. Now with just one click, you’re straight into signing up. We’ve also fine-tuned the flow with copy updates and small tweaks to reduce friction and improve the overall experience.

Clearer Pricing

Transparency is something we pride ourselves on. To make this even clearer, we’ve added price calculations wherever costs are incurred, such as when adding a virtual machine. This ensures you’ll always know exactly what you’ll be charged for our services.

HTTP Redirect

Our new HTTP Redirect feature makes it easy to redirect HTTP and HTTPS requests from any hostname to a specified URL—no web server configuration needed. Whether it’s redirecting multiple domains to a homepage or creating memorable subdomains, this update is designed to save time and simplify your workflow.

DNS TXT Verification

Previously, migrating active domains to Katapult DNS without downtime wasn’t possible. With the introduction of TXT record verification as an alternative to nameserver name verification, seamless domain migrations are now a reality.

Looking Ahead

Here are a few highlights of what’s already in flight and what we’ll be working on over the next few months:

Global Backup Policies

We will be introducing the ability to configure one or multiple global backup policies at the organisation level. These policies automatically apply to all disks within the organisation, simplifying backup management and ensuring consistency.

Account Top-Ups (Deposits)

We’re introducing the ability to deposit funds into your account for future invoices. This will reduce friction during account creation by allowing you to top up before using services, while also minimising manual intervention for our support team.

Improvements for SSH Continuous Key Management

We’re transitioning to a new system where virtual machines pull the latest SSH keys directly from Katapult. This update enhances both security and efficiency, making key management smoother and more reliable.

Improved Security Groups

Our engineers are planning the release of new security groups that will be faster, more robust, and offer greater flexibility. These updates will reduce the time it takes to apply security groups across clusters and environments. While security groups currently apply only to virtual machines, this project lays the groundwork to extend support to load balancers as well.

Notification Centre

We’re making progress on a Notification Centre to centralise all alerts and updates in one user-friendly interface. This feature will help keep you informed without being overwhelmed by unnecessary information.

Cloud-Init

We’ve refined the requirements for cloud-init and drafted a comprehensive technical specification. This will enhance the automation and flexibility of launching a Virtual Machine configured to suit your needs. Cloud-init provides no-install first-boot configuration management of a cloud instance.

Container Registry

We’re developing a technical specification for a container registry service backed by Katapult Object Storage. This will deliver a reliable and efficient solution for storing and managing container images.

Virtual Network Resource Management in Terraform

We’re working on enabling virtual network management for VMs via the API and Terraform. While the API work is already complete, development on the Terraform Provider is underway. Once finished, this will allow you to define and manage Virtual Networks directly using Terraform.

Load Balancer Improvements

Over the next few months, we’ll be planning to add more support to our load balancers including name-based routing, path-based routing, IPv6 Support, and QUIC. We’re starting with name-based routing, which enables traffic to be routed based on the HTTP host header value. This feature is comparable to AWS ALB's Listener Rule functionality, offering more flexible traffic management by conditionally routing requests based on the host header.

That’s all folks

It’s been a busy and rewarding month at Katapult, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made. As we look to the new year, we’re eager to continue delivering features and improvements that truly matter to you. Stay tuned—2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year!

P.S. Apologies for the AI-generated image – it seems even the machines can’t master festive catapults. If you think you could do better (and we’re sure you can), we’re hiring a new designer. Check out our designer vacancy.