Document Tart on AWS (#625)

Fixes #581

docs/blog/posts/2023-10-06-tart-on-aws.md

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+---
+draft: false
+date: 2023-10-06
+search:
+  exclude: true
+authors:
+  - fkorotkov
+categories:
+  - announcement
+---
+
+# Tart is now available on AWS Marketplace
+
+Announcing [official AMIs for EC2 Mac Instances](https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-qczco34wlkdws)
+with preconfigured Tart installation that is optimized to work within AWS infrastructure.
+
+EC2 Mac Instances is a gem of engineering powered by AWS Nitro devices. Just imagine there is a physical Mac Mini with
+a plugged in Nitro device that can push the physical power button!
+
+![EC2 M2 Pro](/blog/images/ec2-mac2-m2pro.png)
+
+This clever synergy between Apple Hardware and Nitro System allows seamless integration with VPC networking and booting macOS from an EBS volume.
+
+In this blog post we’ll see how a virtualization solution like Tart can compliment and elevate experience with EC2 Mac Instances.
+
+<!-- more -->
+
+Let’s start from the basics, what EC2 Mac Instances allow to do compared to physical Mac Minis seating in offices of
+many companies around the world?
+
+First and foremost, EC2 Mac Instances sit inside AWS data centers and can leverage all the goodies of VPC networking
+within your company's existing infrastructure. No need to connect your Macs in the office through a VPN and deal
+with networking and security.
+
+Additionally, EC2 Mac Instances are booting from EBS volumes which means it is possible to always have reproducible instances
+and apply all the best practices of Infrastructure-as-Code. Managing a fleet of physical Macs is a pain and it's very hard
+to make them configured in a reproducible and stable way. With booting from identical EBS volumes your team is always sure
+about the identical initial state of the fleet.
+
+## Compromises of EC2 Mac Instances
+
+The flexibility of EBS volumes for macOS comes with some compromises that virtualization solutions like Tart can help with.
+The initial boot from an EBS volume takes some time and not instant. macOS itself is pretty heavy and a Nitro device needs
+to download tens of gigabytes that macOS requires in order to boot. This means that **resetting a EC2 Mac Instance to a clean state
+is not instant and usually takes a couple of minutes** when you can’t utilize the precious resources for your workloads.
+
+It is much easier to tailor such EBS volumes with tools like Packer but there is still a **friction to test newly created EBS volumes**
+since one needs to start and run a EC2 Mac Instance and it’s not possible to test things locally. Similarly it is even harder
+to test beta versions of macOS that require manual interaction with a running instance.
+
+## Solution
+
+Tart can help with all the compromises! Tart virtual machines (VMs) have nearly native performance thanks to utilizing
+native `Virtualization.Framework` that was developed along the first Apple Silicon chip. **Tart VMs can be copied/disposed
+instantly and booting a fresh Tart VM takes only several seconds**. It is also possible to run two different Tart VMs in parallel
+that can have completely different versions of macOS and packages. For example, it is possible to have the latest stable macOS
+with the release version of Xcode along with the next version of macOS with the latest beta of Xcode.
+
+Creation of Tart VMs can be automated with [a Packer plugin](https://github.com/cirruslabs/packer-plugin-tart) the same way as
+creation of EC2 AMIs with one caveat that **Tart Packer Plugin works locally so you can test the same virtual machine locally
+as you would run it in the cloud**.
+
+Lightweight nature of Tart VMs with a focus on an easy-to-integrate Tart CLI compliments any macOS automation and helps to reduce
+the feedback cycle and improves reproducibility of macOS environments even further.
+
+## Conclusion
+
+We are excited to bring [official AMIs that include Tart installation optimized to work within AWS](https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-qczco34wlkdws).
+In the coming weeks when macOS Sonoma will become available on AWS we’ll release another update specifically targeting EC2 Mac Instances. 
+This update will simplify access to local SSDs of Mac Instances that are slightly faster than EBS volumes. Stay tuned and don’t hesitate
+to ask any [questions](https://tart.run/licensing/).

docs/licensing.md

@@ -56,6 +56,11 @@ If your organization is interested in purchasing one of the license tiers, pleas
 
 You can see a template of a license subscription agreement [here](assets/TartLicenseSubscription.pdf).
 
+!!! info "Running on AWS?"
+
+    There are [official AMIs for EC2 Mac Instances](https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-qczco34wlkdws)
+    with preconfigured Tart installation that is optimized to work within AWS infrastructure.
+
 # General Support
 
 The best way to ask general questions about particular use cases is to email our support team at [support@cirruslabs.org](mailto:support@cirruslabs.org).

docs/theme/overrides/home.html

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {% extends "base.html" %}
 
 {% block announce %}
-<a href="/blog/2023/09/20/tart-200-and-community-updates/">
-  🚀🚀🚀&nbsp&nbspAnnouncing <strong>Tart 2.0.0</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;🚀🚀🚀
+<a href="/blog/2023/10/06/tart-is-now-available-on-aws-marketplace/">
+  ☁️☁️☁️&nbsp&nbspTart is now available on <strong>AWS Marketplace</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;☁️☁️☁️
 </a>
 {% endblock %}