Ursa Major: How rocket scientists deploy Kubernetes
Bare Metal Hybrid
Defense Aerospace
North America 
Ursa Major is a company of rocket scientists, making advanced rocket propulsion systems in a one-of-a-kind facility where they design, build, and test engines in one location. They are the leading independent rocket propulsion provider and a critical player in building the defense industrial base in the United States.
Challenge
- ITAR compliance and security
- Bare metal and cloud support
- High operational overhead
Environment
- On-prem and cloud
Impact
- Unified and secure operating system across all clusters
- Reliable and painless updates
Why Sidero and Omni
- Out-of-the-box security
- Ease of use
Out-of-the-box security and support needs on a budget
Ursa Major needed a unified Kubernetes deployment platform for both in-house and cloud environments. Due to the sensitive nature of their industry, ITAR compliance and strict security requirements made built-in security essential.
The Ursa Major team had concerns about managing Kubernetes across heterogeneous hardware, as this is often complex and fragile, especially during OS updates. They needed a vendor that would streamline on-premise cluster setup, provide reliable support, and reduce operational overhead. The team considered VMware and other large vendors, but found the licensing and support costs were cost prohibitive.
On-prem, out-of-the-box Kubernetes via Omni and Talos Linux
“We found that Omni and Talos Linux were simple to set up, delivering more security out of the box, and because Talos is purpose-built for Kubernetes it was rock solid during updates.”
Gwendolyn James, Staff DevOps Engineer, Ursa Major
Ursa Major chose Sidero to support their infrastructure strategy. The Sidero team conducted a design review of Ursa Major’s proposed Kubernetes layout, selecting Talos Linux as the operating system across the clusters and Omni for centralized management.
Ursa Major integrated Omni with an on-premises GitHub for authentication, unifying the authentication of Kubernetes and provisioning clusters and machines within their enterprise systems through Omni. Sidero continues to provide ongoing professional support and services for the on-premise cluster.
Unified, rock-solid infrastructure
“Omni has made it simple for us to deploy new clusters, scale up or down, and it lets us focus on our applications–not Kubernetes. Omni makes Kubernetes just work for us. Talos Linux and Omni are such an excellent experience that we have deployed more on-premise clusters and everything has just worked.”
Gwendolyn James, Staff DevOps Engineer, Ursa Major
With Talos Linux and Omni, the Ursa Major team is able to manage in-house and cloud environments with ease. Because Talos Linux is specially made for Kubernetes, it has proven rock solid during updates, providing streamlined operations at a cost-effective price point compared to other vendors, allowing them to effortlessly deploy yet more on-prem clusters.
Talos’s built-in security ensures that Ursa Major is able to stay compliant. With a minimal attack surface, API-driven management, and minimal binaries in the OS, Talos Linux provides a reliable foundation for Ursa Major’s security. Running Omni on their infrastructure has also simplified their security audit requirements.