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Creating and Connecting a Public Cloud Instance

Stephanie R.
Updated

Learn about the first steps of creating and connecting to a Public Cloud instance.

Free trial: Create your first Public Cloud project and get $200 free credit[1]. Get started now!

Public Cloud instances are easy to deploy and manage. However, being part of the OVHcloud Public Cloud ecosystem, instances offer many configuration options and can be adjusted to different use cases. The following instructions include all the necessary (and optional) steps to create an instance in the OVHcloud Control Panel and access it remotely. You can then go ahead with your Public Cloud project according to your needs.

 

Requirements

If you have not created a Public Cloud project yet, start with our guide on creating a project.

Important technical details about the OVHcloud Public Cloud are available on this guide page.

 

Topics

1 Creating SSH keys
2 Importing SSH keys
3 Preparing the network configuration
4 Creating the instance
   - 4.1 Selecting an instance model
   - 4.2 Selecting a region
   - 4.3 Selecting an image
   - 4.4 Configuring your instance
   - 4.5 Configuring your network
   - 4.6 Selecting a billing period
5 Connecting to the instance
   - 5.1 Verifying the instance installation in the OVHcloud Control Panel
   - 5.2 First login on an instance with a GNU/Linux OS installed
   - 5.3 Windows instances
      -- 5.3.1 Finishing the installation of a Windows instance
      -- 5.3.2 Logging in remotely from Windows
      -- 5.3.3 Logging in remotely from another OS
   - 5.4 VNC console access
6 First steps on a new instance
   - 6.1 User management
      -- 6.1.1 Setting a password for the current user account
      -- 6.1.2 Enabling remote logins via password
   - 6.2 Additional SSH keys

 

Instructions

You need to provide a public SSH key when creating Public Cloud instances in the OVHcloud Control Panel. After the instance is created you can configure your remote access at your own discretion.

Exception: Login authentication on Windows instances requires a username and password because Windows uses RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol).

Step 1: Create an SSH key set

If you already have an SSH key pair ready to use, you can skip this step.

The SSH protocol enables encrypted client-server communication. An SSH key pair consists of a public key and a private key.

  • The public key is added to your Public Cloud instance (and can also be stored in the OVHcloud Control Panel).
  • The private key is stored on your local device and must be secured from unauthorized access. Only client devices with the matching private key can access your instance. A user account password is not required to connect.

You have two options to create and manage your SSH keys:

  • Command line interface of your OS (basic Open SSH client)
  • Additional software (compatible with the Open SSH protocol) with a command line or graphical interface

Most contemporary desktop operating systems natively include the Open SSH client which can be accessed through the system's command line application (cmd, Powershell, Terminal, etc.). If you are not familiar with using SSH keys as an authentication method, you can use the instructions in this guide to get started and create your key pair.

If you use an alternative software, refer to its user documentation. Instructions for the open-source solution PuTTY are available in this guide.

 

Step 2: Import SSH keys

You can store your public SSH keys in the Public Cloud section of the OVHcloud Control Panel. This is not mandatory but makes the instance creation process more convenient.

Stored SSH keys help you to create your instances faster in the OVHcloud Control Panel. To change key pairs and add users once an instance is created, please refer to the guide on additional SSH keys.

Public SSH keys added to your OVHcloud Control Panel will be available for Public Cloud services of all regions. You can store keys encrypted with RSA, ECDSA, and ED25519.

Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel,

  1. Choose the Public Cloud tab, and select the Public Cloud project concerned.
  2. Scroll down to the Project Management section and click SSH Keys.
  3. Click on the + Add an SSH key button.
  4. In the pop-up window, provide a Name and your public Key string, for example, the one created in Step 1. Confirm by clicking Add.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance01.png

You can now select this key in Step 4.3 to add it to a new instance.

 

Step 3: Prepare the network configuration

Before creating your instance, we recommend considering the way the instance will be used in terms of networking.

  • If you do not need to configure the instance with a private network at this time, you can proceed with Step 4. You can create an instance exposed to the public internet. (See Public Mode below.)
  • If the instance needs to be connected to a new private network (OVHcloud vRack), create your vRack first before continuing. You can find the details in the Public Cloud vRack guide.

Public Cloud Networking - Modes

Click each tab across the top to view all content.

Instances in Public Mode are exposed to the public internet directly via IPv4/IPv6. IP addresses cannot be modified but instances can have Additional IP addresses attached (including your own) and they can be connected to a vRack.

Instances in Private Mode can only be exposed to the public internet via a Gateway or a Load Balancer service and Floating IP addresses.

For more information, please consult our guides in the Public Cloud Networking section. The Concepts guide provides an introduction to Public Cloud Networking.

Local Private Mode only applies if you create an instance in a Local Zone. They can be exposed to the public internet directly via IPv4/IPv6. Only instances in the same Local Zone can be connected via private networks. Local Zones are not compatible with vRack. In this mode, DHCP automatically provides IP addresses to your instances.

Find out more on the Local Zones web page.

 

Step 4: Creating an instance

A public SSH key is mandatory when an instance is created in the OVHcloud Control Panel (Windows instances excluded).

Refer to Step 1 and Step 2 of this guide if you do not have SSH keys ready.

Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel, go to the Public Cloud section, and select the Public Cloud project concerned. On the Home page, click on Create an instance. (You can find the same functionality on the "Instances" page by clicking Instances in the left-hand navigation bar under Compute.)

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance02**.png

 

4.1 Select a model

In the first step, you select an instance model (also called a "flavor") which defines the resources of the instance. Click on the tab with the key resource for your requirements to find our optimized instance models.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance03.png

In the Discovery section, we offer favorably priced shared-resource instance models. These are ideal to try out the Public Cloud in general or to test a web application, for example.

Your Public Cloud resources total will initially be limited for cost control and security reasons. You can verify these quotas by clicking Quota and Regions in the left-hand navigation bar under Project Management. Please consult the dedicated documentation for more information.

Note that you can upgrade your instance after creation to have more resources available. Switching to a smaller model, however, is not possible with a regular instance. You can find more information on this topic in Step 4.4 below.

Instance model categories

Server Type Guaranteed Resources Usage Notes
General Purpose ✓ Development servers, web, or business applications
Compute Optimized ✓ Video encoding or other high-performance computing
Memory Optimized ✓ Databases, analysis, and in-memory calculations
GPU - Massive parallel processing power for specialized applications (rendering, big data, deep learning, etc.)
Discovery - Hosted on shared resources for testing and development environments

Regions and Local Zones

Regions

A region is defined as a location in the world comprised of one or several data centers where OVHcloud services are hosted. You can find more information on regions, geographical divisions, and availability of services on our region web page.

 

Local Zones

Local Zones are an extension of regions that bring OVHcloud services closer to specific locations, offering reduced latency and improved performances for applications. You can find more information on the Local Zones web page and in the Local Zones documentation.

 

4.2 Select a region

In the next step, choose a data center for your Public Cloud instance.

Select a region closest to your users or customers. These options might be limited, depending on the choice of model in Step 4.1. Note that if you select a Local Zone in this step, networking limitations will apply to the instance (see Step 3).

Please also refer to the information on the Local Zones web page and in the Local Zones documentation.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance04.png

 

4.3 Select an image

The images available in this step depend on the choices made in the previous steps, i.e. compatibility with the instance model and regional availability. For example, if you want to select a Windows OS and there are no options in the Windows tab, you need to modify the choices of the previous step or steps.

If you select an operating system that requires paid licensing, these costs will automatically be included in the billing of the project.

Click on the appropriate tab and select an operating system for your instance from the drop-down menus.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance05.png

This step also requires a public SSH key to be added (Windows instances excluded). You have two options:

  • Use a public key already stored in the OVHcloud Control Panel
  • Enter a public key directly

Click on the tabs below to view their explanations:

To add a key that is already stored in the OVHcloud Control Panel (see Step 2), select it from the list. Then click Next.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance06*.png

To add a public key by pasting the key string, click the Add a key button.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance07*.png

Enter a name for the key and the key string in the respective fields. Then click Next.

Before clicking Next, you can optionally use the button Add a key to store this key in the OVHcloud Control Panel (see Step 2 for details).

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance08*.png

 

4.4 Configure your instance

This step offers several configuration options. Click on the tabs below to view the details:

You can create multiple instances based on the selections in the creation steps but resource quota limitations will apply.

If the selected model is compatible, you can choose to create a Flex instance. This option allows you to downgrade to a smaller model (and even switch to a different model category) but it will limit the instance to fixed 50 GB of included storage, regardless of any other upgrades or downgrades.

Enter a display name for your instance. The instance model's commercial reference is the default.

You can add your script in this field.

 
NOTE: Available resources may vary. Please contact Customer Support with any questions.

When you have made your selections, click Next.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance09*.png

 

4.5 Configure your network

In this step, you need to apply the Public Cloud network mode you have decided on, based on the information in Step 3 above. Your options depend on the previous choice of location for the instance (Region or Local Zone).

Regions

The instance can remain fully private. You can connect the instance to a private network and a Floating IP. No dedicated public IP address will be attached.
Note that if you click on Create a new private network, the instance creation process will be interrupted and has to be restarted from the beginning.

Click Next to proceed to the final step.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance10*.png

The instance will be exposed to the public internet directly via IPv4/IPv6.

Public mode is the standard network model and allows your instances to have a public network port attached. Select a private network (vRack) in this mode to create an instance with both a public and a private IP.

NOTE: If you click on Create a new private network, the instance creation process will be interrupted and has to be restarted from the beginning.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance11*.png

Click Next to proceed to the final step.

 

Local Zones

You can choose to attach the instance to a private network, make it publicly reachable or both.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance12.png

If you select the option Public network, the instance will be exposed to the public internet directly via IPv4/IPv6.
You can additionally connect the instance to a private network (not compatible with vRack) if you select Local Private Network compatible with Local Zones (see tab Local Private Network).

Tick the check box Local Private Network compatible with Local Zones. If you select this option without also selecting Public network, the instance will remain fully private, attached to a private network (not compatible with vRack). Choose an existing network from the list via the option Attach an existing private network or create a new one for the Local Zone by choosing Create a local private network (without interrupting the instance creation process).

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance12.5.png

Click Next to proceed to the final step.

 

4.6 Select a billing period

We recommend choosing hourly billing if there is any doubt regarding the usage period because it is not possible to choose it after the service delivery. You will have the option to switch to a monthly subscription as soon as the instance is available on the "Instances" page.

NOTE: If you choose to be billed hourly, you will continue to be billed as long as the instance is not deleted. It does not matter if the instance is not actually used during this time.
Disregard any mentions of a Savings Plan, which is not yet available in the US.

Please note that hourly billing might be the only selection displayed, depending on the choice of instance model. This is a temporary limitation; new Public Cloud billing options will soon be available.

Hourly billing is the better choice if it is unclear how long the usage period will be. If you decide to keep the instance for long-term use, you can still switch to a monthly subscription.
The instance will be billed as long as it is not deleted, regardless of the actual usage of the instance.

Monthly billing will result in lower costs over time but cannot be changed to hourly billing after the instance is created.

Find more details in our Public Cloud billing guide.

Once you have made sure that your configuration choices are correct, click on the Create an instance button to finish creating your new instance. It may take a few minutes until your service is delivered.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance13**.png

 

Step 5: Connecting to your instance

The instructions in this section concern remote connections through the Open SSH and RDP protocols through a public network (internet).

Note that we provide alternative ways of access (mainly used for troubleshooting) which are only available via your OVHcloud Control Panel:

If you have installed an OS with an application, refer to our guide on the first steps with applications as well as the official documentation by the respective publisher.

 

5.1: Verify the instance status in the OVHcloud Control Panel

The screen will refresh and show your instance's status. If not already listed as Enabled, you can refresh the page until it is.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance14*.png

Click on the instance's name in this table to open the Dashboard on which you can find all information about the instance. To learn more about the functions available on this page, consult our guide on managing instances in the Control Panel.

A user with elevated permissions (sudo) is automatically created on the instance. The username reflects the image installed, e.g. "ubuntu", "debian", "fedora", etc. You can verify this in the Networks section.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance15*.png

If your SSH key pair is set up correctly, you can now connect to the instance with the preconfigured user and your SSH key. You can find more detailed instructions in the subsequent paragraphs.

Access via VNC console on a new GNU/Linux OS instance created in the Control Panel must be enabled first as described in the guide section below.

This guide does not cover private networking for instances. Please consult our documentation on Public Cloud Networking regarding this topic.

 

5.2: First login on an instance with a GNU/Linux OS installed

If you receive error messages regarding your SSH keys, verify that your local device has a properly configured private SSH key using the information in this guide.
If you still encounter issues, you can replace the key pair with the help of this guide.

If you have created an instance without an SSH key, via the OVHcloud API or the OpenStack Horizon interface, you can only add an SSH key to your instance via rescue mode by following the instructions set out in this guide.

You can access your instance immediately after creation through the command line interface of your local device (Terminal, Command prompt, Powershell, etc.) via SSH.

ssh username@IPv4_instance

Example:

ssh ubuntu@203.0.113.101

Depending on your setup, you will have to enter a passphrase that protects your private key or specify the path to your key file. Consult our SSH keys guide for detailed information on this topic.

If you use an alternative SSH client software, refer to its user documentation. A usage example for the open-source solution PuTTY is available in this guide.

Continue with Step 6 below.

 

5.3: Windows instances

5.3.1: Finish the installation of the Windows instance

After verifying that the Windows instance is installed, open the VNC console tab in your OVHcloud Control Panel.

You will then need to complete the initial setup of your Windows OS. Follow the steps below by navigating through the tabs:

Configure your country/region, the preferred Windows language, and your keyboard layout. Then click on the button Next at the bottom right.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance16*.png

Set a password for your Windows Administrator account and confirm it, then click on Finish.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance17.png

Windows will apply your settings and then display the login screen. Click on the Send CtrlAltDel button in the top right corner to sign in.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance18.png

Enter the Administrator password you have created in the previous step and click on the Arrow button.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance19.png

 

5.3.2: Log in remotely from Windows

On your local Windows device, you can use the Remote Desktop Connection client application to connect to your instance.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance20.png

Enter the IPv4 address of your instance, then your username and passphrase. Usually a warning message will appear, asking to confirm the connection because of an unknown certificate. Click on Yes to log in.

If you experience any issues with this procedure, verify that remote (RDP) connections are allowed on your device by checking your system settings, firewall rules and possible network restrictions.

 

5.3.3: Log in remotely from another OS

Connections from a desktop OS other than Windows usually require a client software compatible with the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Some desktop environments and operating systems might have a native client built in.

Whichever client you are using, you only need the IP address of your instance and your password for the Administrator account to connect.

Example of use

The free and open-source software Remmina Remote Desktop Client is available for many GNU/Linux desktop distributions. If you do not find Remmina in your desktop environment's software manager, you can obtain it from the official website.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance21.png

Open Remmina and make sure the connection protocol is set to "RDP". Enter the IPv4 address of your Public Cloud instance and press Enter.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance22.png

If a certificate warning message appears, click on Yes. Enter the username and your password for Windows and click on OK to establish the connection.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance23*.png

You can find some useful items in the left-hand toolbar. For example, click on on the icon Toggle dynamic resolution update to improve the window resolution.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance24.png

 

5.4: VNC console access

The VNC console allows you to connect to your instances even when other means of access are not available.

From the OVHcloud Control Panel:

  1. Choose the Public Cloud tab.
  2. Select the Public Cloud project concerned and then Instances in the left-hand navigation bar under Compute.
  3. Click on the instance name.
  4. Select the VNC console tab.

PCI_gettingStarted_ firstInstance25.png

You will need to have a user account with a password configured on the instance in order to use the VNC console. To set a password for the preconfigured account, follow Step 6.1.1 below.

Log in with your Windows credentials. If there is an active login session, you will have immediate access. There will be a noticeable latency compared to an RDP connection.

 

Step 6: First steps on a new instance

Windows instances

There are no additional steps required for instances with a Windows OS installed.

You can find more information in the Go further section below.

6.1: User management

6.1.1: Set a password for the current user account

When logged on to your instance, set a password for the current user by entering this command:

sudo passwd

Enter a passphrase, confirm with Enter and repeat.

New password: 
Retype new password:
passwd: password updated successfully

This is sufficient to enable logins via the VNC console in your OVHcloud Control Panel. Remote SSH logins with this password however are still disabled by default.

 

6.1.2: How to enable remote logins via password (optional)

This step is not necessary and should only be executed if you have a viable reason to enable this access type; for example if you need to temporarily log in to the instance from a device that does not have your private SSH key stored on it.

The following example illustrates a temporary solution on an instance with Ubuntu installed. Note that you might need to adjust the commands according to your OS. It is not recommended to keep this configuration permanently because it adds a potential security risk by opening the system to SSH-based attacks.

When logged on to your instance, open the pertinent configuration file with a text editor. Example:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Edit the line #PasswordAuthentication yes as follows:

PasswordAuthentication yes

Edit the line Include /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf as follows:

#Include /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf

Save the file and close the editor.

Restart the SSH service with one of the following commands:

sudo systemctl restart ssh
sudo systemctl restart sshd

You can now log in via SSH with username and password as well.

Reverse these changes to return to the key-based login for the instance.

 

6.2: Additional SSH keys

If you want to allow more user accounts to access the instance, the standard procedure is as follows:

  • Create the account on the instance.
  • Create a new SSH key pair on the device concerned.
  • Add the public key to the instance.

Use our dedicated guide for a detailed explanation of these steps.

 

Go further

For more information and tutorials, please see our other Public Cloud support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.

[1]: Receive $200.00 (USD) in Public Cloud credits ("Public Cloud Credits") when you create your first Public Cloud infrastructure project. Offer applies only to Public Cloud services purchased from OVHcloud datacenters in the United States. Offer available only to customers who, at the time when the Public Cloud Credits are applied, are not purchasing Public Cloud services from OVHcloud and who purchase at least $0.99 (USD) Public Cloud services from OVHcloud. No code is required. The Public Cloud Credits will be added to eligible accounts within 30 days of OVHcloud’s receipt of the $0.99 for your purchase of Public Cloud credits. The Public Cloud Credits are valid for 90 days fro the day the credit has been applied. The time of order placement shall be determined by OVHcloud’s time of registering the corresponding order. Offer is subject to availability. The Public Cloud Credits will automatically be applied to your next bill(s) up to a maximum amount of $200.00. Any unused portion of the Public Cloud Credits will expire. The Public Cloud Credits have no monetary value, and cannot be exchanged, transferred, or refunded. Once the Public Cloud Credits are exhausted or expired, your account will be debited in accordance with OVHcloud’s billing guide. Void where prohibited.

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