> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xloud.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a Network

> Provision an isolated tenant network and subnet in Xloud. Configure IP space, DHCP, DNS, and port security using the Dashboard or CLI.

## 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.

<Note>
  **Prerequisites**

  * An active Xloud account with appropriate permissions
  * Access to the **Xloud Dashboard** or CLI configured with credentials
  * API credentials sourced (`source openrc.sh`)
</Note>

***

## Create a Network and Subnet

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard" icon="gauge">
    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Navigate to Networks">
        Navigate to **Network > Networks** in the sidebar. Click **Create Network**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Configure the network">
        The create dialog shows the following fields:

        | Field                     | Type      | Required | Description                                        |
        | ------------------------- | --------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
        | **Network Name**          | Text      | Yes      | Network display name                               |
        | **Description**           | Text area | No       | Optional notes                                     |
        | **Available Zone**        | Dropdown  | No       | Pin to a specific zone                             |
        | **MTU**                   | Number    | No       | Maximum transmission unit (68-9000, default: 1500) |
        | **Create Subnet**         | Checkbox  | No       | Toggle to create a subnet with the network         |
        | **Port Security Enabled** | Switch    | No       | Enable/disable port security (default: enabled)    |

        <Note>
          Administrators see additional fields: **Shared** (make visible to all projects),
          **External Network** (mark as router external gateway), **Project** selector,
          and **Provider Network Type** (vxlan, flat, vlan, gre) with segmentation ID.
        </Note>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Configure the subnet (if enabled)">
        When **Create Subnet** is checked, additional fields appear:

        | Field           | Type     | Required | Description                                     |
        | --------------- | -------- | -------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
        | **Subnet Name** | Text     | Yes      | Subnet display name                             |
        | **IP Version**  | Dropdown | Yes      | IPv4 or IPv6                                    |
        | **CIDR**        | Text     | Yes      | Network address block (e.g., `192.168.10.0/24`) |

        For IPv6, additional fields appear: **RA Mode** and **Address Mode** with options
        `dhcpv6-stateful`, `dhcpv6-stateless`, `slaac`.

        **Advanced options** (click to expand):

        | Field                | Type      | Description                                          |
        | -------------------- | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
        | **Disable Gateway**  | Checkbox  | Remove the default gateway from the subnet           |
        | **Gateway IP**       | IP input  | Custom gateway address (auto-assigned if blank)      |
        | **Enable DHCP**      | Radio     | Enable or disable DHCP for this subnet               |
        | **Allocation Pools** | Text area | IP range pairs (e.g., `192.168.10.2,192.168.10.200`) |
        | **DNS**              | Text area | One DNS server per line                              |
        | **Host Routes**      | Text area | Static routes (e.g., `192.168.200.0/24,10.56.1.254`) |

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

      <Step title="Create the network">
        Click **Confirm**. The network appears in the list with status **Active**.

        <Check>Network shows status **Active** with the configured subnet.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CLI" icon="terminal">
    ```bash title="Source credentials" theme={null}
    source openrc.sh
    ```

    <Steps titleSize="h3">
      <Step title="Create the network">
        ```bash title="Create network" theme={null}
        openstack network create app-network
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create a subnet">
        ```bash title="Create subnet with DHCP and DNS" theme={null}
        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
        ```
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify">
        <CodeGroup>
          ```bash title="List networks" theme={null}
          openstack network list
          ```

          ```bash title="Show subnet details" theme={null}
          openstack subnet show app-subnet
          ```
        </CodeGroup>

        <Check>Network shows status `ACTIVE` and the subnet lists the correct CIDR.</Check>
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## View Networks

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard" icon="gauge">
    Navigate to **Network > Networks**. The list shows networks in tabs:

    | Tab                          | Shows                                      |
    | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
    | **Current Project Networks** | Networks owned by your current project     |
    | **Shared Networks**          | Networks shared across projects            |
    | **External Networks**        | Networks with external gateway capability  |
    | **All Networks**             | All visible networks (admin role required) |

    List columns:

    | Column                 | Description                                            |
    | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
    | **ID/Name**            | Network identifier (clickable to view details)         |
    | **Is Current Project** | Whether the network belongs to your project            |
    | **External**           | Whether this is an external gateway network (Yes/No)   |
    | **Shared**             | Whether the network is shared across projects (Yes/No) |
    | **Status**             | Active, Build, Down, or Error                          |
    | **Subnet Count**       | Number of subnets (with popover showing details)       |
    | **Created At**         | Creation timestamp                                     |

    Filter by **Name**, **Shared**, **External**, or **Project Range**.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CLI" icon="terminal">
    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash title="List all networks" theme={null}
      openstack network list
      ```

      ```bash title="List external networks" theme={null}
      openstack network list --external
      ```

      ```bash title="Show network details" theme={null}
      openstack network show app-network
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Network Detail

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard" icon="gauge">
    Click a network name to open the detail page. Three tabs are available:

    * **Detail** — Network configuration summary
    * **Subnets** — All subnets in this network with CIDR, DHCP status, gateway
    * **Ports** — All ports attached to this network (instances, routers, DHCP)
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CLI" icon="terminal">
    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash title="List subnets in a network" theme={null}
      openstack subnet list --network app-network
      ```

      ```bash title="List ports in a network" theme={null}
      openstack port list --network app-network
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Subnets" href="/services/networking/subnets" color="#197560">
    Add additional subnets to your network for multi-tier isolation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Routers" href="/services/networking/routers" color="#197560">
    Connect your network to the external internet with an L3 router
  </Card>

  <Card title="Security Groups" href="/services/networking/security-groups" color="#197560">
    Define firewall rules to control traffic to your instances
  </Card>

  <Card title="Floating IPs" href="/services/networking/floating-ips" color="#197560">
    Allocate public IPs and associate them with your instances
  </Card>
</CardGroup>