How to create a Public Cloud instance and connect to it

Objective

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 further with your Public Cloud project according to your needs.

This guide explains how to get started with a Public Cloud instance.

Requirements

• A Public Cloud project in your OVHcloud account

OVHcloud Control Panel Access

• Direct link: Public Cloud Projects
• Navigation path: Public Cloud > Select your project

Instructions

Content overview

• Objective
• Requirements
• Instructions
  • Content overview
  • Step 1: Create an SSH key set
  • Step 2: Import SSH keys
  • Step 3: Prepare the network configuration
  • Step 4: Create the instance
  • Step 5: Connect to the instance
    • 5.1: Verify the instance status 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: Finish the installation of the Windows instance
      • 5.3.2: Log in remotely from Windows
      • 5.3.3: Log in remotely from another OS
    • 5.4: VNC console access
  • Step 6: First steps on a new instance
    • 6.1: User management
      • 6.1.1: Set a password for the current user account
      • 6.1.2: How to enable remote logins via password (optional)
    • 6.2: Additional SSH keys
• Go further

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 2 options to create and manage your SSH keys:

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

Most contemporary desktop operating systems natively include the OpenSSH 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. A usage example for the open-source solution PuTTY is available in our guide: How to use PuTTY.

Step 2: Import SSH keys

You can store your public SSH keys in your Public Cloud project. This is not mandatory but makes the instance creation process more convenient.

ovhcloud cloud ssh-key create \
  --cloud-project <project_id> \
  --name my-key \
  --public-key "$(cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub)"

ovhcloud cloud ssh-key list --cloud-project <project_id>

openstack keypair create --public-key ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub my-key

openstack keypair list

resource "openstack_compute_keypair_v2" "my_keypair" {
  name       = "my-key"
  public_key = file("~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub")
}

Step 3: Prepare the network configuration

Before creating your instance, we recommend to consider 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), please note that the vRack is created automatically when you create your Public Cloud project. No prior action is therefore required. For more information, see the Public Cloud vRack guide.

Step 4: Create the instance

GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/flavor     → flavorId
GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/image      → imageId
GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/region     → region
GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/sshkey     → sshKeyId

ovhcloud cloud reference list-flavors --cloud-project <project_id>
ovhcloud cloud reference list-images --cloud-project <project_id>
ovhcloud cloud ssh-key list --cloud-project <project_id>

ovhcloud cloud instance create GRA9 \
  --cloud-project <project_id> \
  --name my-instance \
  --boot-from.image <image_id> \
  --flavor <flavor_id> \
  --ssh-key.name my-key \
  --network.public \
  --wait

ovhcloud cloud instance create GRA9 \
  --cloud-project <project_id> \
  --editor \
  --image-selector \
  --flavor-selector

ovhcloud cloud instance list --cloud-project <project_id>

openstack flavor list
openstack image list --property visibility=public
openstack keypair list

openstack server create \
  --flavor b2-7 \
  --image "Ubuntu 24.04" \
  --key-name my-key \
  --network Ext-Net \
  my-instance

openstack server list
openstack server show my-instance

data "openstack_images_image_v2" "ubuntu" {
  name        = "Ubuntu 24.04"
  most_recent = true
}

resource "openstack_compute_instance_v2" "my_instance" {
  name            = "my-instance"
  flavor_name     = "b2-7"
  key_pair        = openstack_compute_keypair_v2.my_keypair.name
  security_groups = ["default"]

  block_device {
    uuid                  = data.openstack_images_image_v2.ubuntu.id
    source_type           = "image"
    destination_type      = "local"
    boot_index            = 0
    delete_on_termination = true
  }

  network {
    name = "Ext-Net"
  }
}

Step 5: Connect to the instance

The instructions in this part concern remote connections by means of the OpenSSH 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:

• VNC console
• Rescue mode

5.1: Verify the instance status in the OVHcloud Control Panel

Select Instances in the left-hand navigation bar under Compute. Your instance is ready when the status is set to Enabled in the table. If the instance was recently created and has a different status, click on the "Refresh" button located next to the search filter.

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 on the right-hand side of the Dashboard in the section Networks.

ovhcloud cloud instance list --cloud-project <project_id>

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.

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

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 tab VNC console 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:

1. Locale settings

2. Administrator password

3. Login screen

4. Administrator login

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

1. Connection

2. Authentication

3. Settings

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

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.

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

5.4: VNC console access

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

Select Instances in the left-hand navigation bar under Compute. Click on the instance name and open the tab VNC console.

Step 6: First steps on a new instance

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)

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

How to activate a Windows licence for an instance in private mode

How to reset a Windows Administrator password

Instance management in the Control Panel

How to get started with OpenStack

How to get started with Horizon

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