We’re excited to announce the full agenda for the upcoming CloudStack European User Group on 21 May in the Hague, at CBS – Statistics Netherlands — a full day dedicated to cloud infrastructure, digital sovereignty, storage innovation, and real-world Apache CloudStack deployments.
The event brings together industry experts, Apache CloudStack contributors, and infrastructure specialists to share practical insights, technical deep dives, and migration strategies.
Event Agenda
09:30 – 10:00
Registration and Morning Coffee
Start the day by networking with fellow Apache CloudStack users, partners, and community members.
10:00 – 10:15
Event Opening and Kick Off Ivet Petrova — Marketing Director, ShapeBlue
Welcome remarks and introduction to the day’s sessions.
10:15 – 10:30
CBS Digital Sovereignty Strategy Erik Logtenberg — CIO, CBS
An overview of CBS’s approach to digital sovereignty and cloud independence.
10:30 – 11:00
What's New in Apache CloudStack – Release and Features Overview Boris Stoyanov — Director of Engineering, ShapeBlue
Let’s take a look at the 4.23 release and what’s new. Attendees will walk through the latest features and enhancements, highlighting how they improve performance, usability, and scalability. Beyond the release notes, you’ll gain practical insights into how to apply these updates in real-world environments - helping you get the most value out of your CloudStack deployment.
11:00 – 11:10
Coffee Break
11:10 – 11:40
A Deep-Dive Into the Integration of CloudStack and Ceph Primary Storage Wido den Hollander — CTO, Your.Online
This session provides a deep dive into integrating Apache CloudStack with Ceph as primary storage - widely considered a gold standard for organizations building reliable, open-source IaaS platforms. We’ll explore architecture, deployment patterns, and key design considerations for creating scalable and resilient cloud environments.
Attendees will gain practical insights into performance optimization, high availability, and operational best practices, along with lessons learned from real-world experience of a decade working with both technologies.
11:40 – 12:10
Digital Sovereignty in Practice: Building a High-Performance Cloud Without Vendor Lock-In Swen Brüseke — CEO, ProIO
Digital sovereignty is no longer just a buzzword; it has become a critical survival strategy for enterprises. But how do you build a cloud platform that is performant, cost-effective, and truly free from vendor lock-in? proIO has been consistently relying on Apache CloudStack since 2013. In this session, we will discuss why private clouds are more relevant than ever in the current global climate and how we push our platform to its limits as "heavy users" to deliver premium Managed Hosting. We will provide technical insights into our stack—from Linbit-based Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) to our strategic partnership with ShapeBlue. Join us for a look behind the scenes from a CloudStack Committer’s perspective on the synergy between Open Source DNA and Enterprise requirements.
12:10 – 12:40
LINSTOR as CloudStack Primary Storage: From Theory to Production War Stories Rene Peinthor — Software Engineer, LINBIT
This talk will start with a theoretical introduction of LINSTOR-SDS and will then dive into common production problems and stories we encountered and how to avoid them.
12:40 – 13:40
Lunch Break
Afternoon Sessions
13:00 – 15:00
Apache CloudStack for Beginners – Workshop A dedicated hands-on workshop designed for newcomers and those looking to strengthen their Apache CloudStack fundamentals. Participants will learn core architecture concepts, deployment basics, and practical operational guidance.
13:40 – 14:10
Kubernetes is Not the New VM: Choosing the Right Abstraction for Modern Infrastructure Stoil Stoilov — Senior DevOps Engineer, StorPool Storage
In this talk, we challenge the “Kubernetes replaces VMs” myth and instead present a practical, operator-focused framework for deciding when to use Kubernetes and when to rely on virtual machines—especially in CloudStack environments. We will explore the fundamental differences between VMs and containers, including isolation boundaries, lifecycle management, networking models, and operational complexity. Through real-world scenarios, we’ll highlight where Kubernetes excels (cloud-native workloads, horizontal scaling, stateless services) and where VMs remain the better choice (stateful systems, legacy applications, strong isolation requirements, predictable performance). Finally, we’ll discuss how CloudStack users can combine both paradigms effectively—using VMs as the foundation and Kubernetes as a workload layer—rather than treating them as competing technologies.
14:20 – 14:50
Safeguarding Apache CloudStack – Data Protection & Recovery Powered by Commvault Ruben Renders — Solutions Director, MSP & Sovereign Solutions, Commvault
Explore how Commvault enhances Apache CloudStack with enterprise-grade data protection and recovery. Attendees will gain insight into Commvault’s broader portfolio while learning how to build a strong foundation for cyber resilience; supported by a demo and practical implementation blueprints.
14:50 – 15:15
Coffee Break
15:15 – 15:45
CloudStack Multisite Networking Noa Omer — Platform Engineer, Cyso Group
In this session, Noa, Platform Engineer at Cyso Cloud, presents how Cyso deploys Apache CloudStack to establish multisite networking across two geographically distributed regions. The presentation covers cross-region zone interconnectivity, network fabric design, and routing configuration, alongside an honest account of the operational complexities encountered and the outcomes achieved.
15:55 – 16:30
From VMware to CloudStack/KVM: A Structured Migration Strategy with Minimal Downtime Ingo Jochim, Head of Cloud Architecture & Prashanth Reddy, Cloud Architect — ShapeBlue
As organizations look to reduce vendor lock-in and regain control over their infrastructure, migrating from VMware to open-source platforms like Apache CloudStack with KVM is becoming an increasingly relevant path. However, such migrations require careful planning to ensure reliability, continuity, and minimal disruption to workloads.
This talk presents a structured, practical approach to migrating virtualized environments from VMware to CloudStack/KVM. It covers the full migration lifecycle, starting with environment discovery and detailed documentation, followed by planning and technical preparation. Attendees will learn how to validate the migration process through controlled
test migrations before executing large-scale mass migrations.
A key focus of the session is achieving migrations with minimal downtime. The presentation will explore techniques such as warm migration, performing an initial bulk data transfer in advance, and executing a short cutover window using delta synchronization to transfer only the final changes.
Join Us on 21 May
Whether you're new to Apache CloudStack or an experienced operator, this event offers valuable insights, technical learning, and networking opportunities.
Register now and meet the community on 21 May for a day of learning, collaboration, and Apache CloudStack innovation.
The event is supported by ShapeBlue, Cyso Group and CBS – Statistics Netherlands.