Compute Nest is an end-to-end platform for independent software vendors (ISVs) and service providers to publish, deliver, operate, and monetize software services — and for customers to deploy and manage those services.
For service providers
Service publishing
| Feature | Description | References |
|---|
| Private services | Resources and software are deployed in the customer's Alibaba Cloud account. | Create a private service |
| Fully managed services | Resources and software are deployed in the service creator's Alibaba Cloud account. | Create a fully managed service |
| Hosted O&M services | Two variants: private services with hosted O&M enabled, and fully hosted O&M services. | Create a hosted O&M service |
| Git-based service creation | Import a Git repository to create a service, reducing setup complexity for developers and ISVs. | Create a service by using a Git repository |
| Service testing | Test a service before submitting it for review and publication. | Test a service |
| Service publishing | Submit a service for review to make it available to customers. | Publish a service |
| Unpublish or delete a service | Unpublish: customers can no longer use the deployment URL, but existing service instances are unaffected. Delete: the service is removed from the console and the deployment URL becomes invalid; existing service instances are unaffected. | Unpublish a service / Delete a service |
Service configuration
| Feature | Description | References |
|---|
| ROS templates | Create a template in the Resource Orchestration Service (ROS) console and import it into Compute Nest by copying the content or uploading the template file. | Create and verify a ROS template |
| Parameter sets | Bundle some or all service parameters into a preset configuration. Customers select a parameter set instead of configuring each parameter individually. This simplifies the configurations and provides best-practice settings for users. | Configure parameter sets |
| Parameter mapping | For fully managed services in custom mode, define dependency relationships between parameters so that Compute Nest automatically sets the associated dependent parameters to the predefined values based on the value of the dependency parameter when a customer creates a service instance. | Configure parameter mappings |
| Deployment packages | Package deployment carriers — ECS images, Helm charts, files, and container images — for use during service deployment. | Deployment packages overview |
| User authorization | When you create a fully managed service, you can select a Resource Access Management (RAM) role and grant the required permissions to the PassRole action. This enables Compute Nest to assume the specified role to create related resources. | Grant PassRole permissions to a RAM user / Create a Compute Nest RAM role |
Service operations
| Feature | Description | References |
|---|
| Service upgrades | After publishing a new service version, customers can upgrade their service instances to get new features or fixes. | Service upgrade overview |
| Configuration change | Customers can modify parameter values or switch to a different parameter set after a service instance is created, if the service provider has enabled this feature. | Configuration change overview |
| Monitoring and alerts | Built-in monitoring combines CloudMonitor for resource monitoring and Prometheus for application monitoring. | Monitoring and alerting overview |
| Log management | View application logs within service instances to support fault diagnosis and monitoring. | Log management overview |
| Private network interconnection | Establish private connections to service instances using virtual private cloud (VPC) peering or PrivateLink. | Configure VPC access for a service |
| Custom O&M operations | Create custom O&M templates and operation manual pages tailored to your service, so customers can perform maintenance tasks directly. | Configure custom O&M operations |
| Free trials | Offer free trials of private services for the service providers and their users. | Use a private service that supports free trial |
Advanced features
Service sales
| Feature | Description | References |
|---|
| Alibaba Cloud Marketplace | Publish services as products in Alibaba Cloud Marketplace. Select a sales mode that matches your service's characteristics and pricing model. | Selling Compute Nest services in Alibaba Cloud Marketplace |
| Compute Nest SaaS Boost | A development tool and framework for software as a service (SaaS) builders. Provides out-of-the-box features and components to facilitate business logic development — helping SaaS developers build, deploy, scale, and sell applications — and reduces development costs. | What is Compute Nest SaaS Boost? |
| Custom sales | Configure custom sales settings for a private service, including the validity period of service instances and the data accessible by applications in those instances. | Custom sales |
Managed O&M
| Feature | Description | References |
|---|
| ECS instance O&M via VNC | When Workbench cannot meet O&M requirements — for example, Windows instances that need a graphical interface — connect to ECS instances using Virtual Network Computing (VNC). | Access ECS instances by using VNC |
| Hosted O&M service instance management | View all published service instances by using the hosted O&M feature. | Manage hosted O&M service instances |
Distribution
| Feature | Description | References |
|---|
| Distribution authorization | Authorize distributors to distribute your published services. Distributors can then deliver services directly to end customers. | Distribution management |
Delivery management
| Feature | Description | References |
|---|
| O&M announcements | Publish O&M announcements for your services. Compute Nest automatically creates maintenance items for the associated service instances. | — |
| Service deployment permissions | Configure a customer whitelist to restrict access to a service's deployment URL. Grant deployment permissions to whitelisted customers only. | Modify service deployment permissions |