Creating virtual machines

Limitations

  • Virtual machines are created with the host CPU model, by default. Having compute nodes with different CPUs may lead to live migration issues. To avoid them, you can manually set the CPU model for all new VMs, as described in "Setting virtual machine CPU model" in the Administrator Command Line Guide. Alternatively, you can create a placement for each group of compute nodes with the same CPU model by using the instructions in Managing placements for compute nodes.

Prerequisites

To create a virtual machine

  1. On the Compute > Virtual machines > Virtual machines tab, click Create virtual machine. A window will open where you will need to specify the VM parameters.

  2. Specify a name for the new VM.
  3. Select the VM boot media:

    After selecting the boot media, volumes required for this media to boot will be automatically added to the Volumes section.

  4. Configure the VM disks:

    1. In the Volumes window, make sure the default boot volume is large enough to accommodate the guest OS. Otherwise, click the ellipsis icon next to it, and then Edit. Change the volume size and click Save.
    2. [Optional] Add more disks to the VM by creating or attaching volumes. To do this, click the pencil icon in the Volumes section, and then Add or Attach in the Volumes window.
    3. Select volumes that will be removed during the VM deletion. To do this, click the pencil icon in the Volumes section, click the ellipsis icon next to the needed volume, and then Edit. Enable Delete on termination and click Save.
    4. When you finish configuring the VM disks, click Done.
  5. [Optional] If you have any placements, the Placement drop-down list is displayed. Placements are created by the administrator to group nodes or VMs sharing a distinctive feature, like a special license. Select the placement corresponding to the VM characteristics. For more information, refer to Managing placements for compute nodes.

  6. Choose the amount of RAM and CPU resources that will be allocated to the VM in the Flavor section. In the Flavor window, select a flavor, and then click Done.

    When choosing a flavor for a VM, ensure it satisfies the hardware requirements of the guest OS.

  7. Add network interfaces to the VM in the Networks section:

    1. In the Networks interfaces window, click Add, select a compute network, and then click Next.

    2. Select a network security group to assign the VM to:

      A network interface connected to the selected network will appear in the Network interfaces list.

    3. [Optional] Edit additional parameters of newly added network interfaces, such as IP and MAC addresses and security groups. To do this, click the ellipsis icon, click Edit, and then set the parameters. You will not be able to edit the IP address later. To change the IP address assignment, you will be able to delete the old network interface and replace it with a new one.
    4. When you finish configuring the VM network interfaces, click Done.
  8. [Optional] If you have chosen to boot from a template or volume, which has cloud-init and OpenSSH installed:

    As cloud images have no default password, you can access VMs deployed from them only by using the key authentication method with SSH.

  9. After configuring all of the VM parameters, click Deploy to create and boot the VM.

If you are deploying the VM from an ISO image, you need to install the guest OS inside the VM by using the built-in VNC console. Virtual machines created from a template or a boot volume already have a preinstalled guest OS.