Create Virtual Machine
Users can take advantage of the virtual machine create wizard to create a new virtual machine.
To get there:
- Environments from the main, left-hand navigation.
- Select environment from first column.
- Next to the Deploy Container on the top right hand side of environment dashboard, click the V arrow to open the submenu and click on Deploy Virtual Machine.
Virtual Machine Create Wizard
Create new virtual machines using this wizard. Values that show up in the form with a red asterisk next to them are required.
Basics
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A human-readable name for the virtual machine. |
| SSH Keys | SSH keys that can be used to connect to the virtual machine via SSH. An add button is available if the environment-level SSH key is not already added. |
Adding SSH Key Inline
First click the Add button to open the form and paste in the public key after giving the key a name.
Select the newly added key from the dropdown.
Keys can be added ahead of time through the environment SSH Key form
Image
The image section of the virtual machine wizard is where the user defines the image to be used to create the virtual machine. The platform supports both a selection of official base images as well as importing from a URL. In the near future, the platform will support IPXE boot.
Cycle Base Image
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Base Image | The distribution of the virtual machine. |
| Version | The version of the distribution picked in the base image. |
Image from URL
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| URL | The URL to download the image from. |
Resources
RAM can be allocated. During the initial launch of the beta, CPU resources are set to a maximum but are not assigned to the VM. This includes CPUSet, which is not defined here as it is not yet implemented.
CPU
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Cores | The number of cores the virtual machine has access to (maximum). |
RAM
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Limit | The amount of RAM the virtual machine has access to. If allocate the RAM is reserved. |
Storage
Base Disk
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Base Disk | The amount maximum amount of disk space the VM can take on the host. |
Additional Storage
Pool options are implemented in the same way as container storage pool. Unlike the container implementation, the additional storage volumes provisioned on virtual machines are just raw block devices that must be formatted before being used.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Identifier | An identifier used internally by the platform. |
| Pool Options | See storage pools in the platform documentation. |
| Size | The size of the block device to add. |
Network
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Hostname | The hostname for the virtual machine, usable for local environemnt DNS resolution via discovery. |
| Public Network | The level of network access the virtual machine will have. |
For public networking for a virtual machine, there are several options available:
Assigning public IPs - This option assigns a static IP to the virtual machine, making it ideal for DMZ-setups that require a fixed external entrypoint. This is achieved through the gateway service. To enable, allocate IPs from the virtual machine dashboard, with traffic routed through the gateway service. This simpler approach is well-suited for services that need controlled external access while maintaining network isolation.
Use load balancer to route traffic - This option allows traffic to be run though the load balancer, similar to how traffic is routed to a container. Ports will be assigned in the virtual machine config to facilitate traffic. This is useful to facilitate high availability or more advanced load handling capabilities.
Dive deeper into these platform concepts:
Deployment
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Node Tags (Any and All) | Constrain which servers qualify to receive instances of this virtual machine. |
Review and Create
After completing the wizard there is an opportunity to review before submitting. If all fields are not correct, use the Back button to navigate back to the section to be changed and then back to review.