Create a Network

Overview

Every project in Xloud Networking starts with a network — an isolated Layer 2 broadcast domain that instances attach to via virtual ports. Paired with a subnet, it defines the IP address space, DHCP assignment, and routing gateway for your workload tier.

Prerequisites

An active Xloud account with appropriate permissions
Access to the Xloud Dashboard (https://connect.<your-domain>) or CLI configured with credentials
API credentials sourced (source admin-openrc.sh)

Create a Network and Subnet

Dashboard
CLI

Navigate to Networks

Open the Create dialog

Click Create Network in the top-right corner.

Configure the network

Fill in the Network tab:

Field	Value	Description
Network Name	e.g., `app-network`	Display name for this network
Enable Admin State	Checked	Allow traffic through the network
Create Subnet	Checked	Configure an IP range in the next step
Availability Zone Hints	Optional	Pin to a specific availability zone if required

Keep network names short and descriptive — they appear throughout the Dashboard and CLI output.

Configure the subnet

Fill in the Subnet tab:

Field	Value	Description
Subnet Name	e.g., `app-subnet`	Display name for this subnet
Network Address	e.g., `192.168.10.0/24`	CIDR block for the subnet
IP Version	IPv4	Address family
Gateway IP	e.g., `192.168.10.1`	First-hop router IP (leave blank to auto-assign)

Choose a CIDR that does not overlap with existing subnets in your project. Overlapping subnets cause routing failures that are difficult to diagnose.

Configure subnet details

Fill in the Subnet Details tab:

Option	Recommendation
Enable DHCP	Enabled — lets instances receive IPs automatically
Allocation Pools	Leave blank to use the full CIDR range
DNS Name Servers	e.g., `8.8.8.8`, `8.8.4.4`
Host Routes	Optional — inject static routes into DHCP clients

Create the network

Click Create to provision the network and subnet.

The network appears in the list with status Active.

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.

Create the network

Create network

openstack network create app-network

Creates an isolated tenant network named app-network.

Create a subnet

Create subnet with DHCP and DNS

openstack subnet create app-subnet \
  --network app-network \
  --subnet-range 192.168.10.0/24 \
  --gateway 192.168.10.1 \
  --dns-nameserver 8.8.8.8 \
  --dns-nameserver 8.8.4.4

Option	Description
`--subnet-range`	CIDR block for IP allocation
`--gateway`	Default gateway for DHCP clients
`--dns-nameserver`	DNS resolvers pushed via DHCP (repeat for multiple)

Verify

List networks

openstack network list

Show subnet details

openstack subnet show app-subnet

Network shows status ACTIVE and the subnet lists the correct CIDR.

Network Configuration Reference

Parameter	Description	Default
Admin State	Controls whether the network is active and passes traffic	Enabled
MTU	Maximum transmission unit — set to `1450` for VXLAN networks	1500
Shared	Makes the network visible to all projects (admin only)	Disabled
External	Marks the network as a router external gateway target (admin only)	Disabled
DNS Domain	Enables DNS integration for hostname resolution	None

Tenant networks created by regular users are automatically isolated to the project. Only users with the admin role can create shared or external provider networks.

Validation

Confirm the network is operational before attaching instances.

Dashboard
CLI

Navigate to Project → Network → Networks. The new network displays with:

Status: Active
Admin State: Up
Subnets: Shows the configured CIDR

The network is ready to accept instance port attachments.

Verify network status

openstack network show app-network -f json

Confirm the output shows "status": "ACTIVE" and "admin_state_up": true.

Verify subnet allocation

openstack subnet show app-subnet -f json | grep -E "cidr|enable_dhcp|gateway"

CIDR, DHCP enabled, and gateway IP match your configuration.

Next Steps

Create and Manage Subnets

Add additional subnets to your network for multi-tier isolation

Routers and Gateways

Connect your network to the external internet with an L3 router

Network Security Groups

Define firewall rules to control traffic to your instances

Floating IP Addresses

Allocate public IPs and associate them with your instances

Core Services

Other Services

Create a Network

Overview

Create a Network and Subnet

Navigate to Networks

Open the Create dialog

Configure the network

Configure the subnet

Configure subnet details

Create the network

Authenticate

Create the network

Create a subnet

Verify

Network Configuration Reference

Validation

Next Steps

Create and Manage Subnets

Routers and Gateways

Network Security Groups

Floating IP Addresses

Core Services

Other Services

​Overview

​Create a Network and Subnet

Navigate to Networks

Open the Create dialog

Configure the network

Configure the subnet

Configure subnet details

Create the network

Authenticate

Create the network

Create a subnet

Verify

​Network Configuration Reference

​Validation

​Next Steps

Create and Manage Subnets

Routers and Gateways

Network Security Groups

Floating IP Addresses

Overview

Create a Network and Subnet

Network Configuration Reference

Validation

Next Steps