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Overview

Routers are Layer 3 devices that route traffic between tenant subnets and provide external gateway connectivity via NAT. Each router can be attached to one external network — which enables outbound internet access and floating IP allocation — and to multiple tenant subnets via internal interfaces.
Prerequisites
  • At least one tenant network with a subnet (Create a Network)
  • An external or provider network available in your cluster (provisioned by your administrator)
  • Dashboard access or CLI configured with valid credentials

Create a Router

Navigate to Routers

Log in to the Xloud Dashboard (https://connect.<your-domain>) and navigate to Project → Network → Routers. Click Create Router.

Configure the router

FieldValueDescription
Router Namee.g., main-routerDisplay name
Enable Admin StateCheckedAllow the router to forward traffic
External NetworkSelect your provider/public networkSets the default gateway and enables floating IP NAT
Selecting an external network sets the router’s default gateway and enables NAT for floating IP allocation. Leave blank for purely internal routing.

Add an interface

After creation, open the router and click the Interfaces tab, then Add Interface:
FieldValue
SubnetSelect the subnet to attach (e.g., app-subnet)
IP AddressOptional — leave blank to auto-assign the gateway IP
Repeat this step for each subnet that should be routable through this router.
Each interface appears with status Active.

Manage Router Interfaces

Add an Interface

Add interface to router
openstack router add subnet main-router db-subnet

Remove an Interface

Remove interface from router
openstack router remove subnet main-router db-subnet
Removing a subnet interface from a router immediately disrupts connectivity for all instances on that subnet. Confirm there is no active traffic before removing an interface.

Update the External Gateway

Open the router, click Edit Router, and update the External Network field.

Static Routes

Add static routes to a router to direct traffic for specific prefixes through a custom next-hop — useful for hybrid connectivity or VPN integration.
Add static route to router
openstack router set main-router \
  --route destination=172.16.0.0/12,gateway=192.168.10.254
Remove static route from router
openstack router unset main-router \
  --route destination=172.16.0.0/12,gateway=192.168.10.254

Validation

Navigate to Project → Network → Routers and confirm:
  • Status: Active
  • Admin State: Up
  • External Network: Populated with your provider network
  • Interfaces: Lists all attached subnets
The router is operational. Instances on attached subnets can reach the internet through NAT.

Next Steps

Floating IP Addresses

Allocate public IPs and associate them with instances behind your router

Network Topologies

Visualize and design multi-tier network topologies

L3 Router Configuration

Enable HA routers and distributed virtual routing for production deployments

Network Troubleshooting

Diagnose floating IP and routing connectivity issues