![openstack-logo](../_static/openstack/openstack_logo.png)

# Openstack

Our OpenStack environment **EODC Compute** is available at [compute.eodc.eu](https://compute.eodc.eu).

OpenStack is an open-source cloud operating system consisting of various components that manage virtualised compute, network and storage resources. EODC operates an OpenStack environment to provide cloud infrastructure to our users.

## Getting access

To work with your cloud infrastructure, we set up an OpenStack **project** (also known as a tenant) for your company or research project. A project is a logical group of users and resources that is isolated from other projects. Each project has its own users, who can launch virtual machines and manage networks and storage.

Accessing the project is possible via the [OpenStack Dashboard (Horizon)](https://docs.openstack.org/horizon/latest/user/index.html) or the [OpenStack API](https://docs.openstack.org/api-quick-start/).

![Openstack Dashboard](../_static/openstack/openstackDashboard.png)

## Creating an instance via the Dashboard

The walkthrough below covers launching a virtual machine through Horizon, from login to a running instance reachable via SSH.

### Prerequisites

- An EODC account
- A **Project** assigned to your account. Without a project you cannot launch instances.
- An SSH key pair. You can either bring an existing public key or let the wizard generate one for you.

### 1. Log in to Horizon

Open [compute.eodc.eu](https://compute.eodc.eu). Choose **Authenticate via EODC Account**, leave the *Domain* field blank, it will use the default `eodc-eu` then click **Sign In**.

![Horizon login screen](../_static/openstack/01-login-eodc.png)

You are forwarded to the EODC identity provider. Sign in with your email and password.

![EODC account sign-in](../_static/openstack/02-sign-in-account.png)

### 2. Open the Instances view

In the left sidebar navigate to **Project → Compute → Instances**. New projects start with an empty list. Click **Launch Instance** in the top right to open the wizard.

![Empty instances list](../_static/openstack/03-instances-overview.png)

### 3. Walk through the Launch Instance wizard

#### Details

Give the instance a name (e.g. `sample`), keep *Count* at `1` and the *Availability Zone* at `nova`.

![Launch wizard - Details](../_static/openstack/04-launch-details.png)

#### Source

Select **Image** as the boot source and pick the OS image you want (e.g. `Ubuntu-24.04`). Set **Create New Volume = Yes** and choose a volume size large enough for your workload (`50 GB` is a reasonable default). Leave *Delete Volume on Instance Delete* on **No** if you want the disk to survive instance deletion.

![Launch wizard - Source](../_static/openstack/05-launch-source.png)

#### Flavor

Pick a flavor that matches your CPU / RAM / disk needs. The example below uses `8vCPUs_24GB_RAM`. Filter by name if the list is long.

![Launch wizard - Flavor](../_static/openstack/06-launch-flavor.png)

#### Networks

Allocate your project network. The name follows the pattern `<project-name>-network` (the example shows `images-network` because the project is called `images`), so the suffix you see will reflect your own project name. This connects the instance to your project's internal network. A public IP is added later.

![Launch wizard - Networks](../_static/openstack/07-launch-networks.png)

#### Key Pair

Select an existing key pair, **Import Key Pair** to upload your public key, or **Create Key Pair** to have OpenStack generate one (download the private key, you cannot retrieve it later).

![Launch wizard - Key Pair](../_static/openstack/08-launch-keypair.png)

Once the key pair is allocated, click **Launch Instance**. The instance appears in the list with status **Build** while it is being provisioned.

![Instance in Build status](../_static/openstack/09-instance-build.png)

### 4. Attach a floating IP

The instance now only has an internal address. To reach it from the internet, open the **Actions** dropdown on the instance row and choose **Associate Floating IP**.

![Actions menu - Associate Floating IP](../_static/openstack/10-actions-floating-ip.png)

In the dialog, pick an IP from the project's pool (or click the **+** button to allocate a new one) and confirm the port. Click **Associate**.

![Manage Floating IP Associations](../_static/openstack/11-floating-ip-dialog.png)

The instance row now shows both the internal address and the floating IP, and the status flips to **Active**.

![Instance active with floating IP](../_static/openstack/12-instance-active.png)

### 5. Connect

SSH in using the private key that matches the key pair you selected:

If you let openstack create a key for you, the private key is in your `Downloads` folder.
Change the path for the `-i` flag to point to your private key.

```bash
ssh -i ~/.ssh/<your-key> eodc@<floating-ip>
```

The default login user on EODC images is `eodc`. It is created at first boot by cloud-init and can be changed by overriding the cloud-init `users` configuration when launching the instance (Wizard step **Configuration → Customization Script**) or by editing it on the running VM.

```{toctree}
:caption: Read more
:maxdepth: 1
:glob:

General <../openstack/general>
Distributions <../openstack/distributions>
Load Balancers <../openstack/loadbalancers>
```