vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Also, beginning with this release, if your NSX-T instance is using legacy NSX licenses, you can now order NSX Data Center SP licenses to replace your legacy NSX licenses. You are responsible to select the appropriate NSX Data Center SP license edition based on your needs.

Zerto 9.5u1 support
: Zerto 9.5u1 is available to install on deployed instances.

Zerto v9.5u1 is not supported for vSphere 6.5 and 6.7. However, you can order stand-alone licenses for existing vSphere 6.x instances.

HCX Appliance activation with BYOL NSX Data Center Enterprise Plus license
: If you have a BYOL NSX Data Center Enterprise Plus license and you install VMware HCX, your NSX Data Center Enterprise Plus license key is now used to activate the HCX appliance. For more information, see BYOL HCX Enterprise edition and NSX Data Center Enterprise Plus.

Linux hardened repository for Veeam
: When you order Veeam, you can order a Linux hardened repository for immutable storage. For more information, see Linux hardened repository for immutable storage.

New and updated documentation
: The following documentation updates are available.



* VMware Cloud Foundation on VPC, a new architecture reference for a complete set of software-defined services for compute, storage, network security, Kubernetes management, and cloud management.
* Deleting vSphere clusters, a new topic about deleting VMware vSphere clusters by managing your resources and canceling hosts and licenses on your own.



REST API updates
: The [VMware Solutions API](https://cloud.ibm.com/apidocs/vmware-solutions) provides support for scaling existing VMware vSphere clusters.

User interface updates and enhancements
: The user interface is updated with various error messages and tooltip enhancements and provides the following enhancements.



* A vertical progress indicator bar is now available on the ordering page for VMware Solutions Shared offerings. The progress indicator maps to each section and helps to quickly browse to different areas of the page.
Any missed changes are applied when the inaccessible data center comes back online.
* Single Site service offers affordable access to COS in a selected data center.





 COS private and public endpoints 

Endpoints are URLs that applications use to issue COS commands and exchange data with COS. Every endpoint uses the same application programming interface (API) to interact with COS.

Servers that are provisioned within IBM Cloud use private API endpoints for services, including COS. Private endpoints provide your IBM Cloud servers with high-speed, direct connections to services, with no added bandwidth costs.

COS private endpoints provide IBM Cloud customers with access to the same COS data that is accessible from within IBM Cloud, but public endpoints permit access from any internet-equipped location.

Two caveats apply to COS public endpoints:



* Use of public endpoints can incur metered costs for bandwidth beyond the usage charges imposed by the COS service.
* Even though all data is encrypted in transit, customers can have privacy concerns or regulatory restrictions that are related to data transmitted through the internet.









 What is IBM Cloud Direct Link? 

IBM Cloud Direct Link on Classic is a product suite that gives customers the ability to create secure, private connections between their remote network environments and their IBM Cloud deployments. Data that is exchanged by Direct Link is never exposed to the internet.





 Using Cloud Object Storage (COS) over IBM Cloud Direct Link 

IBM engineers developed a method that allows an IBM Cloud customer who purchases COS and Direct Link to make remote connections to COS private endpoints. This type of connection extends the advantages of private service endpoints, so they can be used by client systems outside of IBM Cloud facilities.

This solution is diagrammed and described in the sections that follow.



 Reverse proxy 

Basic premise: Remote clients pass requests, including secure credentials, through a private server to COS.

Zoom

![reverse=proxy](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs-content/v1/content/d7287ec7418d843dbd7caf286d842c439df6979e/direct-link/images/reverse-proxy.png)

Figure 1. Reverse proxy
default_branch optional, updatable String default_branch The default branch of the Git repo. 
 enable_traceability optional, updatable, Default: false Boolean enable_traceability Set this value to true to track the deployment of code changes by creating tags, labels and comments on commits, pull requests, and referenced issues. 
 git_id optional, immutable String git_id Set this value to github for github.com, or to the GUID of a custom GitHub Enterprise server. 
 has_issues optional, updatable, Default: true Boolean toolchain_issues_enabled Set this value to true to enable issues on the GitHub repo and add an Issues tool card to the toolchain. Set the value to false to remove the tool integration card from the toolchain. This setting does not impact whether issues are enabled on the GitHub repo itself. 
 integration_owner optional, updatable String integration_owner Select the user that the Git operations are performed as. 
 owner_id optional, immutable String owner_id The GitHub user or organization that owns the repo. This parameter is required when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This value is computed when you link to an existing repo. 
 private_repo optional, immutable, Default: false Boolean private_repo Set this value to true to make the repo private when you create a repo or clone or fork a repo. This parameter is not used when you link to an existing repo. 
 repo_id optional, immutable String repo_id The ID of the GitHub repo. 
 repo_name optional, immutable String repo_name The name of the GitHub repo to create. This parameter is required when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This value is computed when you link to an existing repo. 
 repo_url optional, immutable String repo_url The URL of the GitHub repo for this tool integration. This parameter is required when you link to an existing repo.
api_root_url optional, updatable String api_root_url The URL of the Git Repos and Issue Tracking API. 
 api_token optional, updatable Password api_token The Personal Access Token (PAT). This parameter is required only if the auth_type is set to pat, otherwise it is ignored. 
 auth_type optional, updatable, Default: oauth String auth_type Set the authentication method to use to access the Git provider. 
 default_branch optional, updatable String default_branch The name of the default branch of the Git repo. 
 enable_traceability optional, updatable, Default: false Boolean enable_traceability Set this value to true to track the deployment of code changes by creating tags, labels and comments on commits, pull requests, and referenced issues. 
 git_id optional, immutable String git_id Set this value to hostedgit to target Git Repos and Issue Tracking. 
 has_issues optional, updatable, Default: true Boolean toolchain_issues_enabled Set this value to true to enable issues on the Git Repos and Issue Tracking repo and add an Issues tool integration card to the toolchain. Set this value to false to remove the tool integration card from the toolchain. This action does not impact whether issues are enabled on the Git Repos and Issue Tracking repo itself. 
 integration_owner optional, updatable String integration_owner Select the user that Git operations are performed as. 
 owner_id optional, immutable String owner_id The Git Repos and Issue Tracking user or group that owns the repo. This parameter is required when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This value is computed when you link to an existing repo. 
 private_repo optional, immutable, Default: true Boolean private_repo Set this value to true to make the repo private when you create a repo, or when you clone or fork a repo. This parameter is not used when you link to an existing repo. 
 repo_id optional, immutable String repo_id The ID of the Git Repos and Issue Tracking project.
auth_type optional, updatable, Default: oauth String auth_type Set the authentication method to use to access the Git provider. 
 default_branch optional, updatable String default_branch The name of the default branch of the Git repo. 
 enable_traceability optional, updatable, Default: false Boolean enable_traceability Set this value to true to track the deployment of code changes by creating tags, labels and comments on commits, pull requests, and referenced issues. 
 git_id optional, immutable String git_id Set this value to gitlab for gitlab.com, or to the GUID of a custom GitLab server. 
 has_issues optional, updatable, Default: true Boolean toolchain_issues_enabled Set this value to true to enable Issues on the GitLab repo and add an Issues tool integration card to the toolchain. Set this value to false to remove the tool integration card from the toolchain. This action does not impact whether issues are enabled on the GitLab repo itself. 
 integration_owner optional, updatable String integration_owner Select the user that Git operations are performed as. 
 owner_id optional, immutable String owner_id The GitLab user or group that owns the repo. This parameter is required when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This value is computed when you link to an existing repo. 
 private_repo optional, immutable, Default: true Boolean private_repo Set this value to true to make the repo private when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This parameter is not used when you link to an existing repo. 
 repo_id optional, immutable String repo_id The ID of the GitLab project. 
 repo_name optional, immutable String repo_name The name of the GitLab repo to create. This parameter is required when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This value is computed when you link to an existing repo.
Reserved virtual servers 

IBM Cloud® Virtual Servers reserved instances offering is a great option if you want guaranteed resources for future deployments and cost savings. You choose between either a 1 or 3-year contract term for your reserved capacity. Within that reserved capacity, you can reserve a set of up to 20 virtual server instances of a specific size and provision those instances when you need them. You are guaranteed this capacity within the POD and data center of your choice for the life of the contract term.

Reserved virtual server instances offer many advantages, including the following benefits:



* Guaranteed capacity

When you reserve capacity, this capacity is guaranteed for the life of your contract term.
* Global availability

The reserved virtual server offering is available in data centers across the globe.
* Reliable provisioning

You can provision and reclaim virtual server instances to your reserved capacities at any time.
* Cost savings

Choosing either a 1 or 3-year contract term allows for consistent monthly payments and reduced costs compared to hourly or monthly virtual server billing cycles.



Reserved virtual server instances are public instances that use SAN-backed storage. The following families of public instances are available for this offering.



Table 1. Public virtual server family selections

 Families Description 

 [Balanced](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/virtual-servers?topic=virtual-servers-about-virtual-server-profilesbalanced) Best for common cloud workloads that require a balance of performance and scalability. Uses network-attached storage. 
 [Compute](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/virtual-servers?topic=virtual-servers-about-virtual-server-profilescompute) Best for moderate to high web traffic workloads. 
 [Memory](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/virtual-servers?topic=virtual-servers-about-virtual-server-profilesmemory) Best for memory caching and real-time analytics workloads. 





 Limitations 

Consider the following limitations before you reserve capacity and provision a reserved virtual server instance:



* You can't use variable compute profiles.
* You can't upgrade or downgrade your instances.
* Reserved capacity cannot be canceled; however, you can reclaim virtual server instances in that capacity.
If you aren't using this plug-in, leave these settings at the default.

[wal_level](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/runtime-config-wal.html)



* Default - hot_standby
* Restarts database - YES
* Notes - Controls WAL level. Allowed values are hot_standby or logical. Set to logical to use logical decoding. If you are not using logical decoding, using logical increases the WAL size, which has several disadvantages and no real advantage. If you check your configuration using SHOW wal_level; in psql. As of version 9.6 the value hot_standby is mapped to replica.



[max_replication_slots](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/runtime-config-replication.html)



* Default - 10
* Restarts database - YES
* Notes - The maximum number of simultaneously defined replication slots. The default and minimum number of slots is 10. Twenty slots are reserved for internal use by your deployment for High-Availability (HA) purposes. To use slots, you need to set the value above 20 and have one slot per consumer. Add one extra slot over the minimum per expected consumer. Using wal2json and not increasing max_replication_slots can impact HA and read-only replicas. If you are not using wal2json, leave this setting at the default.



[max_wal_senders](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/runtime-config-replication.html)



* Default - 12
* Restarts database - YES
* Notes - The maximum number of simultaneously running WAL sender processes. The default, and minimum, is 12. One wal_sender per consumer is required. Twenty slots are reserved for internal use by your deployment for High-Availability (HA) purposes. You need to set the value above 20 and it is recommended to add one more wal_sender over the minimum per expected consumer.
default_branch optional, updatable String default_branch The name of the default branch, for example, main. 
 enable_traceability optional, updatable, Default: false Boolean enable_traceability Set this value to true to track the deployment of code changes by creating tags, labels and comments on commits, pull requests, and referenced issues. 
 git_id optional, immutable String git_id Set this value to bitbucketgit for bitbucket.org, or to the GUID of a custom Bitbucket server. 
 has_issues optional, updatable, Default: true Boolean toolchain_issues_enabled Set this value to true to enable issues on the Bitbucket repo and to add an Issues tool card to the toolchain. Set this value to false to remove the tool integration card from the toolchain. This setting does not impact whether Issues are enabled on the Bitbucket repo itself. 
 integration_owner optional, updatable String integration_owner The user who performs Git operations. 
 owner_id optional, immutable String owner_id The Bitbucket user or group that owns the repo. This parameter is required when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This value is computed when you link to an existing repo. 
 private_repo optional, immutable, Default: false Boolean private_repo Set this value to true to make the repo private when you create a repo, or when you clone or fork a repo. This parameter is not used when you link to an existing repo. 
 repo_id optional, immutable String repo_id The ID of the Bitbucket repo. 
 repo_name optional, immutable String repo_name The name of the Bitbucket repo to create. This parameter is required when you create a repo, or clone or fork a repo. This value is computed when you link to an existing repo. 
 repo_url optional, immutable String repo_url The URL of the Bitbucket repo for this tool integration. This parameter is required when you link to an existing repo.
If the vSAN option in the vCenter Server instance order is used, then the vCenter Server instance also provides the storage resources. The vCenter Server instance consists of one or more clusters that host vSphere® ESXi hosts. The following VMs are hosted on the consolidated or management cluster:



* Customer workloads are your VMs that are being backed up by the Veeam service and that you want some or all of them to use immutable backup.
* The vCenter server appliance manages the vSphere resources and provides a single management plane.
* The NSX-T manager cluster consists of three manager appliances that provide the management and control plane for the virtualized networks, also known as the overlay networks.
* Active Directory™ and domain name service (ADDNS) are the Microsoft® Windows® 2019 VMs configured for Active Directory and DNS.



* The Veeam service instance in the diagram shows the Veeam Backup and Replication (BUR) server that is deployed as a VM. However, the solution architecture can be based on the VM, VSI, or bare metal deployment options. The Veeam BUR server is a Microsoft Windows 2019 server that hosts the Veeam components.
* NTP service - Infrastructure resources are configured to use the IBM Cloud NTP service for their time reference.
* DNS service - Infrastructure resources use the ADDNS servers for name resolution. The ADDNS servers use the IBM Cloud DNS service for requests that they cannot resolve directly.
* Backup Admins are your existing team responsible for the production backup.
* IaaS Admins are your existing team responsible for the maintenance of the infrastructure.



Your existing vCenter server environment might differ from the previous due to a number of reasons, including:



* You have a vCenter Server instance with vSAN. This solution architecture does not dictate the type of vSphere data store.
* You have extra optional services, such as Caveonix, VMware Aria Operations Manager, and VMware Aria Operations™ for Logs.
* You select a different option for the Veeam service as three options are available. This solution architecture does not dictate the VM option for the Veeam service.
Open the details of each domain mapping and record the CNAME value, for example, custom.<your-random-id>.us-south.codeengine.appdomain.cloud or custom.<your-other-random-id>.us-east.codeengine.appdomain.cloud.
3. Navigate to the details page for each application and select Domain mappings tab and then, select No external system domain mapping in the system domain mappings section. This step ensures that your applications are only accessible through the custom domains when called from outside of this project.
4. In your Cloud Internet Services (CIS) instance, navigate to Reliability. > Global load balancers > Origin pools and edit the existing origin pools by changing the Origin address to the CNAME that you recorded earlier.



Your global load balancer is now pointing to your Code Engine app.





 Does my app need to follow any specifications? 

Your app must follow the [12-factor app methodology](https://12factor.net/).





 What types of workloads are available with Code Engine? 

Code Engine supports two types of workloads: Applications and Batch Jobs.

An application, or app, runs your code to serve HTTP requests. In addition to traditional HTTP requests, IBM Cloud® Code Engine also supports applications that use WebSockets as their communications protocol. The number of running instances of an app are automatically scaled up or down (to zero) based on incoming requests and your configuration settings. An app contains one or more revisions. A revision represents an immutable version of the configuration properties of the app. Each update of an app configuration property creates a new revision of the app.

A job runs one or more instances of your executable code. Unlike applications, which handle HTTP requests, jobs are designed to run one time and exit. When you create a job, you can specify workload configuration information that is used each time that the job is run.



 Determining the type of workloads that you want 

Most Cloud Foundry applications can migrate to Code Engine. However, if your Cloud Foundry application does not wait for an incoming HTTP request, then jobs are probably the better choice.
* Channels: While Fabric channels are a powerful mechanism for partitioning and isolating data, they also provide the primary foundation for data privacy. Only members of the same channel can access the data of this channel. To ensure channel security, the channel configuration update policy is configured to define the number of channel operators who need to agree on the channel update request before a channel can be updated. Therefore, a clear process must exist for defining the organizations that are allowed to join and update channel.
* Ledger data: Implicit in the blockchain permissioned network is the notion that an agreed upon policy of multiple endorsers is required to sign (approve) a transaction before it can be committed to the ledger. Before any information can be added to the ledger, a clear and well-established process for defining the ledger information must exist. Data on the ledger is immutable.
* Smart contracts: All smart contracts should be reviewed by channel members before they are installed and executed on peers in their organization. Likewise, all updates to smart contract should be reviewed before the updates are applied to a peer. See this topic on [Upgrading a smart contract](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/blockchain?topic=blockchain-ibp-console-smart-contracts-v14ibp-console-smart-contracts-upgrade) for the steps that are required.
* HSM integration: After you have configured an HSM for your environment, you have the option of configuring your nodes to use the HSM to generate and store private keys. See [Configuring a CA, peer, or ordering node to use the HSM](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/blockchain?topic=blockchain-ibp-console-adv-deploymentibp-console-adv-deployment-cfg-hsm) for more information.







 Enable network policy 

Enable network policy will automatically install when the console is created. In the operator deployment specification, the operator needs to add an environment variable IBPOPERATOR_CONSOLE_APPLYNETWORKPOLICY and set its value to true.

kubectl edit deploy ibp-operator -n <offering-namespace>

In the environment section under spec.containers, add the following: