Launch an instance on the provider network

Determine instance options

To launch an instance, you must at least specify the flavor, image name, network, security group, key, and instance name.

  1. On the controller node, source the demo credentials to gain access to user-only CLI commands:

    $ . demo-openrc
    
  2. A flavor specifies a virtual resource allocation profile which includes processor, memory, and storage.

    List available flavors:

    $ openstack flavor list
    
    +----+---------+-----+------+-----------+-------+-----------+
    | ID | Name    | RAM | Disk | Ephemeral | VCPUs | Is Public |
    +----+---------+-----+------+-----------+-------+-----------+
    | 0  | m1.nano |  64 |    1 |         0 |     1 | True      |
    +----+---------+-----+------+-----------+-------+-----------+
    

    Note

    You can also reference a flavor by ID.

  3. List available images:

    $ openstack image list
    
    +--------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | ID                                   | Name   | Status |
    +--------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    | 390eb5f7-8d49-41ec-95b7-68c0d5d54b34 | cirros | active |
    +--------------------------------------+--------+--------+
    

    This instance uses the cirros image.

  4. List available networks:

    $ openstack network list
    
    +--------------------------------------+--------------+--------------------------------------+
    | ID                                   | Name         | Subnets                              |
    +--------------------------------------+--------------+--------------------------------------+
    | 4716ddfe-6e60-40e7-b2a8-42e57bf3c31c | selfservice  | 2112d5eb-f9d6-45fd-906e-7cabd38b7c7c |
    | b5b6993c-ddf9-40e7-91d0-86806a42edb8 | provider     | 310911f6-acf0-4a47-824e-3032916582ff |
    +--------------------------------------+--------------+--------------------------------------+
    

    This instance uses the provider provider network. However, you must reference this network using the ID instead of the name.

    Note

    If you chose option 2, the output should also contain the selfservice self-service network.

  5. List available security groups:

    $ openstack security group list
    
    +--------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+----------------------------------+
    | ID                                   | Name    | Description            | Project                          |
    +--------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+----------------------------------+
    | dd2b614c-3dad-48ed-958b-b155a3b38515 | default | Default security group | a516b957032844328896baa01e0f906c |
    +--------------------------------------+---------+------------------------+----------------------------------+
    

    This instance uses the default security group.

Launch the instance

  1. Launch the instance:

    Replace PROVIDER_NET_ID with the ID of the provider provider network.

    Note

    If you chose option 1 and your environment contains only one network, you can omit the --nic option because OpenStack automatically chooses the only network available.

    $ openstack server create --flavor m1.nano --image cirros \
      --nic net-id=PROVIDER_NET_ID --security-group default \
      --key-name mykey provider-instance
    
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
    | Field                       | Value                                         |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
    | OS-DCF:diskConfig           | MANUAL                                        |
    | OS-EXT-AZ:availability_zone |                                               |
    | OS-EXT-STS:power_state      | NOSTATE                                       |
    | OS-EXT-STS:task_state       | scheduling                                    |
    | OS-EXT-STS:vm_state         | building                                      |
    | OS-SRV-USG:launched_at      | None                                          |
    | OS-SRV-USG:terminated_at    | None                                          |
    | accessIPv4                  |                                               |
    | accessIPv6                  |                                               |
    | addresses                   |                                               |
    | adminPass                   | PwkfyQ42K72h                                  |
    | config_drive                |                                               |
    | created                     | 2017-03-30T00:59:44Z                          |
    | flavor                      | m1.nano (0)                                   |
    | hostId                      |                                               |
    | id                          | 36f3130e-cf1b-42f8-a80b-ebd63968940e          |
    | image                       | cirros (97e06b44-e9ed-4db4-ba67-6e9fc5d0a203) |
    | key_name                    | mykey                                         |
    | name                        | provider-instance                             |
    | progress                    | 0                                             |
    | project_id                  | 3f714c72aed7442681cbfa895f4a68d3              |
    | properties                  |                                               |
    | security_groups             | name='default'                                |
    | status                      | BUILD                                         |
    | updated                     | 2017-03-30T00:59:44Z                          |
    | user_id                     | 1a421c69342348248c7696e3fd6d4366              |
    | volumes_attached            |                                               |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------+
    
  2. Check the status of your instance:

    $ openstack server list
    
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------+------------------------+------------+
    | ID                                   | Name              | Status | Networks               | Image Name |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------+------------------------+------------+
    | 181c52ba-aebc-4c32-a97d-2e8e82e4eaaf | provider-instance | ACTIVE | provider=203.0.113.103 | cirros     |
    +--------------------------------------+-------------------+--------+------------------------+------------+
    

    The status changes from BUILD to ACTIVE when the build process successfully completes.

Access the instance using the virtual console

  1. Obtain a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) session URL for your instance and access it from a web browser:

    $ openstack console url show provider-instance
    
    +-------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Field | Value                                                                           |
    +-------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    | type  | novnc                                                                           |
    | url   | http://controller:6080/vnc_auto.html?token=5eeccb47-525c-4918-ac2a-3ad1e9f1f493 |
    +-------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
    

    Note

    If your web browser runs on a host that cannot resolve the controller host name, you can replace controller with the IP address of the management interface on your controller node.

    The CirrOS image includes conventional user name/password authentication and provides these credentials at the login prompt. After logging into CirrOS, we recommend that you verify network connectivity using ping.

  2. Verify access to the provider physical network gateway:

    $ ping -c 4 203.0.113.1
    
    PING 203.0.113.1 (203.0.113.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.1: icmp_req=1 ttl=64 time=0.357 ms
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.1: icmp_req=2 ttl=64 time=0.473 ms
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.1: icmp_req=3 ttl=64 time=0.504 ms
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.1: icmp_req=4 ttl=64 time=0.470 ms
    
    --- 203.0.113.1 ping statistics ---
    4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2998ms
    rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.357/0.451/0.504/0.055 ms
    
  3. Verify access to the internet:

    $ ping -c 4 openstack.org
    
    PING openstack.org (174.143.194.225) 56(84) bytes of data.
    64 bytes from 174.143.194.225: icmp_req=1 ttl=53 time=17.4 ms
    64 bytes from 174.143.194.225: icmp_req=2 ttl=53 time=17.5 ms
    64 bytes from 174.143.194.225: icmp_req=3 ttl=53 time=17.7 ms
    64 bytes from 174.143.194.225: icmp_req=4 ttl=53 time=17.5 ms
    
    --- openstack.org ping statistics ---
    4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3003ms
    rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 17.431/17.575/17.734/0.143 ms
    

Access the instance remotely

  1. Verify connectivity to the instance from the controller node or any host on the provider physical network:

    $ ping -c 4 203.0.113.103
    
    PING 203.0.113.103 (203.0.113.103) 56(84) bytes of data.
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.103: icmp_req=1 ttl=63 time=3.18 ms
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.103: icmp_req=2 ttl=63 time=0.981 ms
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.103: icmp_req=3 ttl=63 time=1.06 ms
    64 bytes from 203.0.113.103: icmp_req=4 ttl=63 time=0.929 ms
    
    --- 203.0.113.103 ping statistics ---
    4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3002ms
    rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.929/1.539/3.183/0.951 ms
    
  2. Access your instance using SSH from the controller node or any host on the provider physical network:

    $ ssh cirros@203.0.113.103
    
    The authenticity of host '203.0.113.102 (203.0.113.102)' can't be established.
    RSA key fingerprint is ed:05:e9:e7:52:a0:ff:83:68:94:c7:d1:f2:f8:e2:e9.
    Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
    Warning: Permanently added '203.0.113.102' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
    

If your instance does not launch or seem to work as you expect, see the Troubleshoot Compute documentation for Pike, the Troubleshoot Compute documentation for Queens, or the Troubleshoot Compute documentation for Rocky for more information or use one of the many other options to seek assistance. We want your first installation to work!

Return to Launch an instance.