> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/release-notes/september-2026.md).

# September 2026

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## What's new

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Confidential VM is now available in the DCD**</mark>](/cloud/compute-services/compute-engine/confidential-computing-vm/how-tos.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 17**

You can now create and manage **Confidential VM**s directly in the Data Center Designer (DCD). Previously available only through the API, DCD support now covers the full Confidential VM lifecycle: provisioning a VM, attaching storage and network interfaces, and performing start, stop, reset, and delete operations. Confidential VMs use AMD SEV-SNP hardware-enforced memory encryption to protect data in use, and are available in the `de/fra/2` location.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**HTTP transport for the IONOS CLOUD MCP Server**</mark>](/cloud/ai/mcp-server/configuration/transport.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 11**

The <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> **MCP Server** can now serve the MCP protocol over Streamable HTTP in addition to stdio. Start it with [<mark style="color:blue;">`--transport http`</mark>](/cloud/ai/mcp-server/configuration/transport.md#select-the-transport) (or [<mark style="color:blue;">`IONOS_MCP_TRANSPORT=http`</mark>](/cloud/ai/mcp-server/configuration/environment-variables.md)); the default remains `stdio`, required by desktop clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and VS Code. The HTTP endpoint does not encrypt traffic or check who is connecting. Keep it bound to loopback (`127.0.0.1`) so only your own machine can reach it, or, if remote clients need access, put it behind a [<mark style="color:blue;">reverse proxy</mark>](/cloud/ai/mcp-server/configuration/transport.md#one-server-one-account) that adds TLS and authentication.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Opt-in write operations in the IONOS CLOUD MCP Server**</mark>](/cloud/ai/mcp-server/configuration/write-operations.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 7**

The <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> **MCP Server** can now create, update, and delete resources on [<mark style="color:blue;">Compute Engine</mark>](/cloud/compute-services/compute-engine.md) and [<mark style="color:blue;">Managed Kubernetes</mark>](/cloud/containers/managed-kubernetes.md). The server remains read-only by default: the 77 write tools register only when you set the `IONOS_MCP_TOOL_SCOPE` environment variable to `write` or `destructive`, and every create, delete, and disruptive action takes a two-step confirmation.

Write operations create real, billable resources, and deletions cannot be undone. You are responsible for everything created, modified, or deleted in your account through these tools, and for the resulting charges.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**User Privileges for Nextcloud Workspace Management**</mark>](/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/how-tos/set-user-privileges-nextcloud-workspace.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 4**

You can now control which <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> users in your organization can provision, edit, and delete Nextcloud Workspaces. A new DCD group privilege called **Access and manage Nextcloud Workspace** allows you to delegate infrastructure-level administration. This privilege governs administrative access at the <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> level only, and it does not affect user, group, or permission management within your Nextcloud Workspace instance.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**DBaaS MariaDB v2 is now available in the DCD**</mark>](/cloud/databases/mariadb/how-tos/v2.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 3**

You can now create and manage <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> **DBaaS MariaDB v2** clusters in the Data Center Designer (DCD). MariaDB v2 supports MariaDB Long-Term Support (LTS) versions, including 10.6, 10.11, 11.4, 11.8, and 12.3. The DCD supports the full lifecycle of v2 clusters, including cluster creation, configuration updates, backup-based restore, and cluster deletion.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**New Block Storage performance classes**</mark>](/cloud/backup-and-storage/block-storage/overview/storage-performance.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 1**

Block Storage offers three new performance classes for Virtual Data Centers (VDCs):

* **Essential:** Cost-efficient, for infrequently-accessed data and backups.
* **Balanced:** General-purpose, balancing cost and performance.
* **Performance:** High-throughput, for databases and latency-sensitive applications.

Existing VDCs storage types are unaffected. The following changes apply to new and existing VDCs:

* New storage created through the DCD supports only the new [<mark style="color:blue;">Storage Performance</mark>](/cloud/backup-and-storage/block-storage/overview/storage-performance.md) classes.
* New storage created through the [<mark style="color:blue;">API</mark>](https://api.ionos.com/docs/cloud/v6/#tag/Volumes) or [<mark style="color:blue;">Terraform</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/tools-terraform) supports **Essential**, **Balanced** and **Performance** storage classes and **HDD**, **SSD Standard**, and **SSD Premium** for backward compatibility. For more information, see [<mark style="color:blue;">FAQ</mark>](/cloud/backup-and-storage/block-storage/block-storage-faqs.md#do-hdd-and-ssd-still-work-alongside-the-new-performance-classes).

These new performance classes rename the previous HDD and SSD options; the underlying technology is unchanged.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**NIC Multi-Queue for Network File Storage**</mark>](/cloud/backup-and-storage/network-file-storage/overview.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 1**

<code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> Network File Storage (NFS) clusters now automatically use [<mark style="color:blue;">NIC Multi-Queue</mark>](/cloud/network-services/vdc-networking/nic-multi-queue.md), distributing network traffic across multiple queues based on available CPU cores to improve throughput and reduce latency. The feature is activated by default on NFS clusters with at least two CPU threads (two cores, or one core with hyperthreading) and requires no additional configuration.
{% endhint %}

## Documentation updates

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Monitor Claude Code Usage and Cost with the Monitoring Service**</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/tutorials/observability/monitoring-service/monitor-claude-code-with-monitoring-service)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 18**

A new tutorial shows how to send Claude Code OpenTelemetry metrics to the <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> **Monitoring Service** and build a dashboard for token usage and cost. It covers configuring the exporter for the metrics path used by monitoring pipelines, keeping the API key out of the configuration file, and importing a ready-made dashboard. The dashboard reports total cost, session count, active time, the share of input tokens reused from earlier requests, and a per-model breakdown. Optional steps send the same activity to the <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> **Tracing Service**, where each interaction appears as a trace covering every model request and tool call within it. Those steps rely on a Claude Code beta feature, so availability depends on your Claude plan.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Nextcloud Workspace Documentation**</mark>](/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/overview.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 11**

The Nextcloud Workspace documentation now covers four new topics. [<mark style="color:blue;">Applications</mark>](/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/overview/applications.md) lists the applications that are active from the start and those a workspace administrator can enable. [<mark style="color:blue;">Nextcloud Assistant</mark>](/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/overview/ai-assistant.md) describes the AI capabilities, how they are billed, and how data is handled. [<mark style="color:blue;">Backup and Recovery</mark>](/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/overview/backup-and-recovery.md) sets out the difference between workspace restore, file versioning, and backup. [<mark style="color:blue;">Security and Compliance</mark>](/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/overview/security.md) covers hosting, data location, encryption, access management, updates, and certifications.

The [<mark style="color:blue;">FAQ</mark>](/cloud/sovereign-workplace/nextcloud-workspace/nextcloud-workspace-faq.md) has also been expanded from 7 to 32 answers, adding sections on domains, migration, storage, billing, and access management.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Image Input Guide for AI Model Hub**</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/how-tos/image-input.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 10**

A new how-to guide brings image input for AI Model Hub together in one place. It lists every endpoint that accepts an image, shows how to attach one as a remote URL or as an inline `base64` data URI, and sets out the accepted formats, the request size limits, and how images affect token cost.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**MariaDB cluster metrics**</mark>](/cloud/databases/mariadb/overview/metrics.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 8**

New documentation covers infrastructure and database health metrics for MariaDB v2 clusters. You can view them in the DCD by following [<mark style="color:blue;">View MariaDB Cluster Metrics</mark>](/cloud/databases/mariadb/how-tos/v2/view-mariadb-cluster-metrics.md), or through the API, as described in [<mark style="color:blue;">Monitor MariaDB v2 Clusters Using Grafana</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/tutorials/databases/mariadb/monitor-mariadb-databases).
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Compliance Documentation for AI Model Hub**</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/governance-and-compliance.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 4**

The two compliance pages for AI Model Hub have been revised. The [<mark style="color:blue;">EU AI Act</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/governance-and-compliance/eu-ai-act.md) page now sets out how the roles under the Act are allocated between the model developers as providers of the AI models, <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> as provider of the AI system, and you as deployer. It also adds a notice on the Article 50(2) marking obligation for AI-generated content, and a subsection allocating each of the Article 50 obligations.

The [<mark style="color:blue;">Data Handling</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/governance-and-compliance/data-handling.md) page has been rewritten and now describes in more detail what happens to your data when you use the service.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Cost and Usage FAQs for AI Model Hub**</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/faqs.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 4**

The AI Model Hub FAQ now explains how usage is measured for each type of model and how to retrieve your usage through the <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> Billing API.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Query Monitoring Service Metrics from Your External Grafana Instance**</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/tutorials/observability/monitoring-service/use-ionos-grafana-as-external-prometheus-datasource)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 1**

A new tutorial demonstrates how to connect your external Grafana instance to the <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> **Monitoring Service** using the internal Grafana data source proxy. The tutorial covers creating a service account token in <code class="expression">space.vars.ionos\_cloud</code> Grafana, locating the Grafana Mimir datasource Unique Identifier (UID), and configuring the external Grafana instance with the correct authentication and datasource URL.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Responses API for AI Model Hub**</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/how-tos/responses.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 1**

A new how-to guide covers the AI Model Hub Responses API at `/v1/responses`, an alternative to chat completions that takes a flat list of input items and returns typed output items. It shows how to send a request, read the typed output (including the model's reasoning trace), call a tool and return its result, and lists which parts of the OpenAI Responses API are not available.
{% endhint %}

## Deprecations

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Mistral Nemo (12B) and BGE Large 1.5 scheduled for retirement**</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/models.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 16**

**Mistral Nemo (12B)** and **BGE Large 1.5** are scheduled to be retired from the AI Model Hub on **October 22, 2026**. Migrate Mistral Nemo workloads to [<mark style="color:blue;">Qwen3.5-9B</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/models/llms/qwen3-5-9b.md), and BGE Large 1.5 workloads to [<mark style="color:blue;">BGE M3</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/models/embedding-models/bge-m3.md). Embeddings from BGE Large 1.5 and BGE M3 are not interchangeable, so re-embed your existing content with BGE M3 before you switch.
{% endhint %}

### [<mark style="color:blue;">**Llama 3.1 405B End of Life**</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/models.md)

{% hint style="success" %}
**September 16**

Llama 3.1 405B has reached end of life and is no longer available in the AI Model Hub. Requests using the `meta-llama/Meta-Llama-3.1-405B-Instruct-FP8` model ID now receive an `HTTP 400 Bad Request` response with an "Invalid model name" error. Its designated successor is [<mark style="color:blue;">Qwen3.5 397B A17B</mark>](/cloud/ai/ai-model-hub/models/llms/qwen3-5-397b.md).
{% endhint %}


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