24.03, the first release of Backend.AI in 2024, has been released. This update brings significant improvements to the UI and user experience, making it even more functional to install and operate. It includes the following updates since 23. 9, which include

Backend.AI Core & WebUI

• We've made installing Backend.AI even easier with the addition of a TUI-based installer, which automates the download process and makes it easy for users to install and get started with Backend.AI.

• New: Added trash functionality to vfolders. Files in unused vFolders are now moved to the trash instead of deleting them completely, and are then deleted through a complete deletion process. New: Added an argument value to indicate the state of the vfolder.
• New: Added Backend.AI Model Store, where you can now store, search, and easily utilize various machine learning and deep learning models.
• Added metadata for indexing to vfolders to utilize indexes instead of full directory scans for queries.
• Improved system resource utilization by introducing a limit policy for session creation based on the number of pending sessions and requested resource slots. This new resource policy option helps filter and set the maximum value for resource presets and custom resource sliders in the Session Launcher.
• We've added dark themes to the WebUI, so users can now choose from a variety of options to suit their personal preferences.

• Improved screen tuning for unaligned line breaks, whitespace, and extruded announcements in the WebUI, as well as stability improvements such as session name validation.
• The Session Launcher for Model Serving also limits UI input so that only as much input is available as the allocated resources.
• Added an allowAppDownloadPanel argument to hide the WebUI app download panel in the config.toml file for different UI user options.

Backend.AI is constantly evolving to provide a more powerful and user-friendly experience while supporting a variety of environments in the ever-changing AI ecosystem. We look forward to seeing what's next! Make your AI accessible with Backend.AI!