NEW? Start Here: Your First 30 Minutes on InMotion Cloud

Welcome to InMotion Cloud. This guide walks you through everything you need to launch and connect to your first virtual machine (VM), also called an instance. You'll be up and running in about 30 minutes.

You can complete all tasks through either the web-based Horizon dashboard or the command-line interface (CLI). Both options accomplish the same thing—choose whichever fits your workflow. This guide shows both methods so you can pick the one that works best for you.

Getting Help

Our support team is here to help you succeed. If you get stuck at any point, don't hesitate to reach out.

Ways to contact support:

Pro tip: If you're brand new, try opening a quick "Hello, testing the support system!" ticket just to see how it works. Our team will respond and confirm everything is set up correctly.

• Support Tickets: Log into InMotion Central and click Support in the left menu to open a ticket.

Accessing Your Horizon Dashboard

Your Horizon dashboard is the control center for your InMotion Cloud environment. From here, you manage instances, networks, storage, and security.

To access Horizon:

1. Log into InMotion Central (your billing and project portal).
2. Click Projects in the left navigation menu.
3. Find your Cloud Project and click the project name.
4. Click the Login to Horizon button.

You're now in the Horizon dashboard. The left sidebar shows all available services organized by category (Compute, Network, Storage, etc.).

Creating Your First Network

Before launching your first virtual machine, you'll need to create a network for it to connect to. InMotion Cloud uses OpenStack Neutron to manage networking, allowing you to create private networks, assign IP addresses, and connect your instances to the internet.

For most new deployments, you'll want three basic components:

• Private Network: An isolated network where your virtual machines communicate securely.
• Subnet: Defines the IP address range available to instances on your network.
• Router: Connects your private network to the external network, allowing your instances to reach the internet.

Step 1: Create a Private Network

1. In your Horizon dashboard, navigate to Project → Network → Networks.
2. Click Create Network.
3. In the Network tab, enter:
4. • Network Name: private-network
   • Enable Admin State: Checked
   • Create Subnet: Checked
4. Click Next to configure your subnet.

Step 2: Configure Your Subnet

Your subnet determines which private IP addresses are assigned to your virtual machines.

In the Subnet tab, enter the following:

The 192.168.100.0/24 network provides 256 total IPv4 addresses, with a portion reserved for networking purposes.

Click Next to configure additional subnet options.

Step 3: Configure DHCP and DNS

In the Subnet Details tab:

1. Ensure Enable DHCP is checked. This allows OpenStack to automatically assign private IP addresses to your instances.
2. Leave Allocation Pools blank to use the default address allocation range.
3. Under DNS Name Servers, enter a DNS resolver, such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8, one per line.
4. Click Create.

Your new private network and subnet should now appear in the Networks list.

Step 4: Create a Router for Internet Connectivity

Your private network is now ready, but instances connected to it won't have internet access until you configure a router with an external gateway.

1. Navigate to Project → Network → Routers.
2. Click Create Router.
3. Enter a name, such as cloud-router.
4. Under External Network, select the external/provider network available in your InMotion Cloud region.
5. Click Create Router.

Next, connect your private subnet to the router:

1. Click your newly created router.
2. Open the Interfaces tab.
3. Click Add Interface.
4. Select private-subnet from the Subnet dropdown.
5. Click Submit.

Your router now connects your private network to the external network.

Step 5: Verify Your Network

Navigate to Project → Network → Network Topology.

You should see your private network connected to a router, which in turn connects to the external network.

Your network is now ready for your first instance!

A Note About Public IP Addresses

Instances launched on your private network receive private IP addresses by default. While the router can provide outbound internet connectivity through source NAT, accessing an instance directly from the internet typically requires assigning a Floating IP.

You can allocate and associate a Floating IP after launching your instance. You'll also need to configure the instance's security group to permit the traffic you want to allow, such as SSH (TCP port 22) for Linux servers.

Next Step: With your network configured, you're ready to launch your first virtual machine using the Launching Your First Instance section below.

Launching Your First Instance

An instance is a virtual machine running in your cloud environment. You'll configure the instance size (flavor), operating system (image), and network during creation.

Using Horizon Dashboard

To launch an instance in Horizon:

- Details: Enter an instance name (e.g., "web-server-01"). - Source: Select an image (Ubuntu 22.04, CentOS Stream 9, etc.). Choose "Boot from image" as the boot source. - Flavor: Choose your instance size based on CPU/RAM needs (e.g., "m1.small" for testing). - Networks: Select your project network (typically named "project-net" or similar).

1. Navigate to Project > Compute > Instances in the left sidebar.
2. Click Launch Instance in the upper right.
3. Complete the required tabs in the launch wizard:
4. Key Pair tab (recommended): Click "Create Key Pair" to generate SSH keys for secure access. Save the private key file to your local machine.
5. Click Launch Instance at the bottom right.

Your instance will appear in the instances list with a "Build" status. After 1-2 minutes, the status changes to "Active" and shows a power state of "Running".

Using CLI

To launch an instance via CLI:

First, install and configure the CLI tools on your local machine. You'll need your RC file from Horizon (navigate to Project > API Access > Download OpenStack RC File).

1# Source your credentials
2source ~/your-project-openrc.sh
3
4# Launch an instance
5openstack server create \
6  --image "Ubuntu 22.04" \
7  --flavor m1.small \
8  --network project-net \
9  --key-name my-keypair \
10  web-server-01
11
12# Check status
13openstack server show web-server-01 -f value -c status
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Wait for the instance status to change from "BUILD" to "ACTIVE".

Understanding Default Usernames

Cloud images come pre-configured with a default system user for SSH access. The username depends on your chosen operating system.

Default usernames by OS:

• Ubuntu: ubuntu
• CentOS Stream: centos
• Debian: debian
• AlmaLinux: almalinux
• Rocky Linux: rocky
• Fedora: fedora

You cannot log in as the root user directly via SSH. Instead, log in with the default username and use sudo for administrative tasks.

Allocating a Floating IP

Your instance has a private IP address on your project network. To access it from the internet or your local network, you need a floating IP (a public IP address).

Using Horizon Dashboard

To allocate and assign a floating IP:

1. Navigate to Project > Compute > Instances.
2. Find your instance in the list.
3. Click the dropdown arrow next to "Create Snapshot" and select Associate Floating IP.
4. If you don't have a floating IP allocated, click the + button next to "IP Address".
5. Select the external network pool (typically "public" or "ext-net").
6. Click Allocate IP.
7. Select the newly allocated IP from the dropdown.
8. Click Associate.

Your instance now shows both its private IP and the newly assigned floating IP. Use the floating IP for SSH connections.

Using CLI

To allocate and assign a floating IP via CLI:

1# Allocate a floating IP from the public pool
2openstack floating ip create public
3
4# Associate it with your instance
5openstack server add floating ip web-server-01 203.0.113.45
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Replace 203.0.113.45 with your actual allocated floating IP address.

Opening Your Security Group

InMotion Cloud blocks all inbound traffic to instances by default. You must create security group rules to allow SSH access and any other services you plan to run.

Using Horizon Dashboard

To allow SSH access:

- Rule: Select "SSH" from the dropdown. - Remote: Select "CIDR" to allow access from specific IPs, or "Any" for worldwide access. - CIDR: Enter your IP address in CIDR notation (e.g., "203.0.113.50/32") or leave as "0.0.0.0/0" for any IP.

1. Navigate to Project > Network > Security Groups.
2. Find the "default" security group and click Manage Rules.
3. Click Add Rule in the upper right.
4. In the Add Rule dialog:
5. Click Add.

The rule appears in your security group. Repeat this process to add rules for HTTP (port 80), HTTPS (port 443), or custom application ports.

To allow ping/ICMP (recommended for troubleshooting):

1. Click Add Rule again.
2. Rule: Select "All ICMP".
3. Direction: Ingress.
4. Remote: CIDR (0.0.0.0/0 or your specific IP).
5. Click Add.

Using CLI

To create security group rules via CLI:

1# Allow SSH (port 22)
2openstack security group rule create default \
3  --protocol tcp --dst-port 22 --remote-ip 0.0.0.0/0
4
5# Allow HTTP (port 80)
6openstack security group rule create default \
7  --protocol tcp --dst-port 80 --remote-ip 0.0.0.0/0
8
9# Allow ICMP (ping)
10openstack security group rule create default \
11  --protocol icmp --remote-ip 0.0.0.0/0
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For production environments, restrict access to specific IP ranges instead of 0.0.0.0/0.

Connecting to Your Instance

Now that your instance has a floating IP and SSH access is allowed, you're ready to connect.

Option A: Web Console (No SSH Required)

If you prefer not to use command-line tools, you can access your instance directly through the Horizon dashboard:

1. Navigate to Project > Compute > Instances.
2. Click on your instance name.
3. Go to the Console tab.
4. Click in the console window and log in with your default username.

This browser-based console works without any local software. It's great for quick checks or if you're not comfortable with SSH.

Option B: SSH (For Technical Users)

If you're comfortable with the command line, SSH provides a faster, more powerful connection.

To connect via SSH:

1ssh -i ~/path/to/my-keypair.pem ubuntu@203.0.113.45
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Replace ubuntu with the correct default username for your OS, my-keypair.pem with your key file path, and 203.0.113.45 with your floating IP address.

If connection fails, troubleshoot:

• Verify the security group allows SSH (port 22) from your IP.
• Confirm you're using the correct default username for your OS.
• Check that your instance status is "Active" and power state is "Running".
• Test connectivity with ping 203.0.113.45 to verify network access.

Updating Your Server

After connecting, update your instance to the latest security patches and software versions. This is critical for security and stability.

For Ubuntu/Debian:

1sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
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For CentOS/AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux:

1sudo dnf update -y
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If prompted to reboot, wait 1-2 minutes and reconnect. Your instance is now fully updated and ready for application deployment.

Next Steps

You've successfully launched and configured your first InMotion Cloud instance. Here's what to explore next:

Recommended articles:

Questions? Our support team is always here to help. Open a ticket anytime from InMotion Central.

• Install software: Deploy web servers (Apache, Nginx), databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL), or application frameworks.
• Create snapshots: Back up your instance before making major changes.
• Set up block storage: Add volumes for persistent data storage.
• Configure load balancing: Distribute traffic across multiple instances.
• Explore networking: Create private networks, routers, and VPNs.
• How to Access the OpenStack Horizon Dashboard
• Managing Instance Network Interfaces
• Creating Instance Snapshots
• Booting Instances from Volumes

Welcome to InMotion Cloud. You're ready to build.