Launch an Instance

Overview

Launching an instance creates a virtual machine on an Xloud Compute host. The instance boots from an image or volume, receives a network address, and is protected by security group rules. Once active, it can be accessed via SSH, RDP, or the console depending on the guest OS and configuration.

Prerequisites

An active image in the Xloud Image Service (or an existing volume)
A flavor appropriate for your workload
At least one network available in your project
An SSH key pair for Linux instances, or a configured password for Windows
A security group with the required inbound rules
member or admin role in your project

Launch Options Reference

Option	Required	Description
Instance Name	Yes	Display name — must be unique within the project
Image / Volume	Yes	Boot source: OS image, instance snapshot, volume, or volume snapshot
Flavor	Yes	vCPU, RAM, and disk allocation profile
Network	Yes	Virtual network providing the instance’s primary IP
Key Pair	Recommended	SSH public key injected via cloud-init for Linux access
Security Group	Recommended	Firewall rules controlling inbound and outbound traffic
Availability Zone	Optional	Fault domain for host placement (defaults to scheduler choice)
Server Group	Optional	Affinity or anti-affinity policy for multi-instance placement
User Data	Optional	cloud-init script or configuration executed at first boot
Count	Optional	Number of identical instances to launch in one operation

Launch an Instance

Dashboard
CLI

Open the Launch Instance dialog

Log in to the Xloud Dashboard (https://connect.<your-domain>) and navigate to Project → Compute → Instances.Click Launch Instance in the top-right corner of the Instances list.

Fill in instance details

On the Details tab, configure the basic properties:

Field	Description
Instance Name	Unique display name for this instance
Description	Optional — visible in the instance list and detail view
Availability Zone	Select a fault domain, or leave as `Any Availability Zone`
Count	Number of instances to launch (default: `1`)

Use a consistent naming convention (e.g., web-prod-01, db-primary) to simplify filtering and automation later.

Select a boot source

On the Source tab, select the boot source type and select the specific resource:

Boot Source	Use Case
Image	Boot from an OS image in the Xloud Image Service
Instance Snapshot	Restore from a previously captured instance snapshot
Volume	Boot from an existing persistent block storage volume
Volume Snapshot	Restore from a point-in-time volume snapshot

Set Create New Volume to Yes to create a persistent boot volume from the image. Set Delete Volume on Instance Delete based on your retention policy.

Disabling Delete Volume on Instance Delete retains the boot volume after the instance is terminated. Confirm this is intentional to avoid orphaned volumes.

Select a flavor

On the Flavor tab, select the resource profile that matches your workload:

Column	Description
VCPUs	Virtual CPU count allocated to the instance
RAM	Memory in MB
Total Disk	Root disk size in GB (must be ≥ image minimum disk size)
Ephemeral Disk	Temporary scratch disk (reset on rebuild)
Swap	Swap partition size in MB

Filter flavors by name or vCPU count using the search box. Hover over a row to see full specifications.

Attach networks

On the Networks tab, add one or more networks. The first network becomes the primary interface (eth0). Drag rows to reorder if attaching multiple networks.

At least one network is required. If no project networks are available, contact your administrator to provision a network before launching instances.

Configure security groups

On the Security Groups tab, add the groups that control traffic to and from this instance. The default group permits all egress but blocks all ingress.To allow SSH, HTTP, or other inbound traffic, add a group with the appropriate rules — or create a new security group first.

Add a key pair

On the Key Pair tab, select an existing key pair or click Create Key Pair to generate a new RSA key pair. The public key is injected into the instance at first boot via the metadata service.

Download and securely store the private key file immediately after creation. The Dashboard does not retain the private key and it cannot be retrieved later.

Configure user data (optional)

On the Configuration tab, paste a cloud-init script or configuration in the User Data field. This executes once at first boot.

Example: user data to install a package

#!/bin/bash
apt-get update -y
apt-get install -y nginx
systemctl enable nginx
systemctl start nginx

cloud-init supports MIME multi-part, cloud-config YAML, and raw shell scripts. Use cloud-config YAML for repeatable, declarative initialization.

Review and launch

Review the configuration summary in the final panel. Click Launch Instance to submit the request.

The instance appears in the list with status Build, transitioning to Active within seconds to minutes depending on image size and host availability.

Authenticate

Source your credentials file to authenticate with the Xloud platform:

Load credentials

source admin-openrc.sh

Download the OpenRC file from Xloud Dashboard → Project → API Access → Download OpenStack RC File.

Gather required identifiers

Collect the IDs or names of the resources you will reference at launch:

List active images

openstack image list --status active

List available flavors

openstack flavor list

List project networks

openstack network list

List key pairs

openstack keypair list

List security groups

openstack security group list

Launch the instance

Create an instance

openstack server create \
  --image <IMAGE_ID_OR_NAME> \
  --flavor <FLAVOR_NAME> \
  --network <NETWORK_ID_OR_NAME> \
  --key-name <KEYPAIR_NAME> \
  --security-group <SECURITY_GROUP_NAME> \
  --availability-zone <ZONE_NAME> \
  my-instance

Flag	Required	Description
`--image`	Yes (or `--volume`)	Image ID or name to boot from
`--flavor`	Yes	Flavor name or ID
`--network`	Yes	Network ID or name
`--key-name`	Recommended	SSH key pair name
`--security-group`	Recommended	Security group name or ID
`--availability-zone`	Optional	Zone name; omit for scheduler-selected placement
`--user-data`	Optional	Path to cloud-init script file
`--hint`	Optional	Scheduler hints (e.g., `group=<SERVER_GROUP_ID>`)

Pass --user-data /path/to/init.sh to provide a cloud-init script. The file must be readable by the current user.

Verify the instance is active

Poll instance status

openstack server show my-instance -c status -c addresses

status shows ACTIVE and addresses lists the assigned fixed IP. The instance is ready to accept connections.

Post-Launch Verification

After the instance reaches ACTIVE status, confirm it is fully operational:

Dashboard
CLI

Check console output

Open the instance detail page and click Log to view the serial console output. A successful boot shows login prompts or cloud-init completion messages.

Test SSH connectivity

If a floating IP is assigned, connect using the injected key pair:

SSH to the instance

ssh -i /path/to/private-key.pem ubuntu@<FLOATING_IP>

Check instance details

openstack server show my-instance \
  -c status -c addresses -c "OS-EXT-AZ:availability_zone"

View console log for boot verification

openstack console log show my-instance | tail -30

Console log shows OS boot completion. status is ACTIVE. IP address is present under addresses.

Next Steps

Security Groups

Create and manage firewall rules to control traffic to your instances

Manage IP Addresses

Allocate and associate floating IPs for external instance access

Resize an Instance

Change the flavor of a running instance to adjust vCPU and RAM

Availability Zones

Understand fault domains and zone-aware instance placement

Core Services

Other Services

Launch an Instance

Overview

Launch Options Reference

Launch an Instance

Open the Launch Instance dialog

Fill in instance details

Select a boot source

Select a flavor

Attach networks

Configure security groups

Add a key pair

Configure user data (optional)

Review and launch

Authenticate

Gather required identifiers

Launch the instance

Verify the instance is active

Post-Launch Verification

Check console output

Test SSH connectivity

Next Steps

Security Groups

Manage IP Addresses

Resize an Instance

Availability Zones

Core Services

Other Services

​Overview

​Launch Options Reference

​Launch an Instance

Open the Launch Instance dialog

Fill in instance details

Select a boot source

Select a flavor

Attach networks

Configure security groups

Add a key pair

Configure user data (optional)

Review and launch

Authenticate

Gather required identifiers

Launch the instance

Verify the instance is active

​Post-Launch Verification

Check console output

Test SSH connectivity

​Next Steps

Security Groups

Manage IP Addresses

Resize an Instance

Availability Zones

Overview

Launch Options Reference

Launch an Instance

Post-Launch Verification

Next Steps