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Overview

Xloud Compute follows a distributed, service-oriented architecture. API requests enter through a central API tier, are routed through the Scheduler and Placement services to select the optimal host, and are executed by Compute Agents running on every hypervisor node. Each agent communicates directly with the local hypervisor to manage instance lifecycle operations — creation, power state, migration, and console access.
Administrator Access Required — This operation requires the admin role. Contact your Xloud administrator if you do not have sufficient permissions.

Service Topology

The diagram below illustrates how requests flow from the end user through the Xloud Compute control plane to the hypervisor layer.

Service Components

ComponentPortRuns OnDescription
Compute API8774Controller nodesREST API endpoint for all instance lifecycle operations
Placement API8778Controller nodesTracks resource inventory and allocation across all compute hosts
SchedulerInternalController nodesSelects the optimal compute node for each new instance request
ConductorInternalController nodesOrchestrates multi-step operations; acts as a database proxy for compute agents
Compute AgentInternalEvery hypervisor nodeManages instance lifecycle on the local hypervisor
Console Proxy6080Controller nodesVNC console proxy for browser-based instance access
The Conductor service decouples compute agents from direct database access. All database writes from hypervisor nodes flow through the Conductor, which enforces access control and serializes state transitions.

Service Lifecycle

The following table describes the expected runtime state of each service on a healthy cluster.
ServiceExpected StateManaged By
nova-apiRunning, listening on :8774XDeploy / XAVS
placement-apiRunning, listening on :8778XDeploy / XAVS
nova-schedulerRunningXDeploy / XAVS
nova-conductorRunningXDeploy / XAVS
nova-computeRunning on every hypervisor nodeXDeploy / XAVS
nova-novncproxyRunning, listening on :6080XDeploy / XAVS
Verify that all Compute services are in an up state:
List all compute services
openstack compute service list
Expected output shows all services with State: up and Status: enabled.
Filter for degraded services
openstack compute service list | grep -v "up"
All services report State: up. Any service showing down requires investigation on the host where it runs.

Request Flow: Instance Creation

Understanding the creation flow helps diagnose failures at each stage.

API receives the request

The Compute API validates the request, checks quota, and creates an instance record in the database with status BUILD.

Placement selects resources

The Placement API queries resource inventories to find hosts with sufficient vCPU, RAM, and disk. It returns a list of allocation candidates.

Scheduler filters and ranks

The Scheduler applies the configured filter chain to eliminate ineligible hosts, then ranks remaining candidates using weighers. The top-ranked host is selected.

Conductor orchestrates the build

The Conductor sends a build_instance RPC call to the Compute Agent on the selected host. It monitors progress and updates the database with state transitions.

Compute Agent creates the instance

The Compute Agent on the target hypervisor node provisions the instance — downloading the image, allocating network interfaces, attaching volumes, and starting the virtual machine. The instance transitions from BUILD to ACTIVE.

Next Steps

Compute Hosts

Manage hypervisor nodes — list, inspect, enable, and disable hosts.

Scheduling

Configure filters, weighers, host aggregates, and availability zones.

Admin Guide

Return to the Compute Administration Guide index.