OpenStack Features Available on InMotion Cloud

InMotion Cloud provides a comprehensive OpenStack deployment with enterprise-grade features for building and managing cloud infrastructure. This guide outlines the platform capabilities available to you, organized by service category.

Compute Services

Virtual Machines (Nova)

Create and manage instances (virtual machines) with flexible resource configurations:

Key capabilities:

• Launch instances from images, snapshots, or volumes
• Choose from predefined flavors or request custom configurations
• Manage instance lifecycle (start, stop, reboot, resize, rebuild)
• Create snapshots for backups and cloning
• Organize instances into server groups for high availability or affinity rules
• Access instances through console, SSH, or RDP

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Compute > Instances to manage your virtual machines.

Via CLI:

1openstack server list
2openstack server create --flavor m1.medium --image ubuntu-22.04 --network private my-server
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Storage Services

Block Storage (Cinder)

Persistent block storage volumes that attach to instances like virtual hard drives:

Key capabilities:

• Create volumes of any size within your quota
• Attach and detach volumes from instances dynamically
• Create volume snapshots for point-in-time backups
• Clone volumes for rapid provisioning
• Transfer volumes between projects
• Extend volume size without data loss

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Volumes > Volumes to manage block storage.

Via CLI:

1openstack volume list
2openstack volume create --size 100 my-data-volume
3openstack server add volume my-server my-data-volume
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Object Storage (Swift-compatible)

Scalable object storage for unstructured data, accessible via S3-compatible APIs:

Key capabilities:

• Store and retrieve objects of any size
• Access through Swift API or S3-compatible interface
• Organize data in containers (buckets)
• Set access control policies per container
• Enable versioning for object history
• Configure object expiration policies

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Object Store > Containers to manage object storage.

Via CLI:

1openstack container list
2openstack object create my-container my-file.zip
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Image Service (Glance)

Manage operating system images and instance snapshots:

Key capabilities:

• Upload custom images (QCOW2, RAW, VMDK, VHD formats)
• Access pre-built images for popular operating systems
• Automatic image format conversion on upload
• Share images between projects
• Set image properties and metadata
• Create images from running instances

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Compute > Images to manage images.

Via CLI:

1openstack image list
2openstack image create --disk-format qcow2 --file my-image.qcow2 my-custom-image
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Networking Services

Core Networking (Neutron)

Build isolated network environments with full control over topology:

Key capabilities:

• Create private networks with custom subnets
• Configure DHCP and DNS settings per network
• Connect networks through virtual routers
• Assign floating IPs for external access
• Design multi-tier network architectures

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Network > Networks for network management, or Project > Network > Network Topology for visual network design.

Via CLI:

1openstack network list
2openstack network create my-private-network
3openstack subnet create --network my-private-network --subnet-range 10.0.0.0/24 my-subnet
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Security Groups

Control inbound and outbound traffic to your instances:

Key capabilities:

• Define firewall rules by port, protocol, and source
• Apply multiple security groups per instance
• Share security groups across instances
• Support for IPv4 and IPv6 rules
• Create rules based on CIDR ranges or other security groups

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Network > Security Groups to configure firewall rules.

Via CLI:

1openstack security group list
2openstack security group rule create --protocol tcp --dst-port 443 my-security-group
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Floating IPs

Assign public IP addresses to instances in private networks:

Key capabilities:

• Allocate IPs from external address pools
• Associate and disassociate IPs dynamically
• Move floating IPs between instances for failover
• Port-specific IP assignments for multi-service hosts

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Network > Floating IPs to manage public IP assignments.

Via CLI:

1openstack floating ip list
2openstack floating ip create external-network
3openstack server add floating ip my-server 203.0.113.10
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Quality of Service (QoS)

Control network bandwidth and traffic prioritization:

Key capabilities:

• Set bandwidth limits per port or network
• Define minimum bandwidth guarantees
• Apply policies to specific ports or networks

Via CLI:

1openstack network qos policy list
2openstack network qos rule create --type bandwidth-limit --max-kbps 10000 my-policy
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Port Forwarding

Direct external traffic to specific ports on instances without using floating IPs:

Key capabilities:

• Map external ports to internal instance ports
• Reduce floating IP usage for multi-service deployments
• Support TCP and UDP protocols

Via CLI:

1openstack floating ip port forwarding create --internal-ip-address 10.0.0.5 \
2  --internal-protocol-port 80 --external-protocol-port 8080 --protocol tcp <floating-ip-id>
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VPN-as-a-Service

Create site-to-site VPN connections to on-premises networks:

Key capabilities:

• IPsec VPN tunnel configuration
• IKEv1 and IKEv2 support
• Multiple encryption algorithms (AES, 3DES)
• Connect cloud networks to corporate data centers

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Network > VPN to configure VPN connections.

Via CLI:

1openstack vpn ike policy list
2openstack vpn ipsec site connection create --vpnservice-id <service-id> \
3  --ikepolicy-id <ike-id> --ipsecpolicy-id <ipsec-id> --peer-address 198.51.100.1 my-vpn
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Load Balancing (Octavia)

Distribute traffic across multiple instances for high availability and scalability:

Key capabilities:

• HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP load balancing
• Health monitoring with customizable checks
• Session persistence (sticky sessions)
• SSL/TLS termination at the load balancer
• Weighted and round-robin algorithms
• Connection and bandwidth limits

In Horizon: Navigate to Project > Network > Load Balancers to configure load balancing.

Via CLI:

1openstack loadbalancer list
2openstack loadbalancer create --name my-lb --vip-subnet-id my-subnet
3openstack loadbalancer pool create --lb-algorithm ROUND_ROBIN --loadbalancer my-lb \
4  --protocol HTTP --name my-pool
5openstack loadbalancer member create --address 10.0.0.5 --protocol-port 80 my-pool
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DNS Service (Designate)

Manage DNS zones and records for your infrastructure:

Key capabilities:

• Create and manage DNS zones
• Add A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, and other record types
• Automatic PTR record management for floating IPs
• Authoritative DNS hosting through dedicated nameservers

Via CLI:

1openstack zone list
2openstack zone create --email admin@example.com example.com.
3openstack recordset create --type A --record 203.0.113.10 example.com. www
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Kubernetes Clusters (Magnum)

Deploy and manage production-ready Kubernetes clusters:

Key capabilities:

• Create Kubernetes clusters with a single command
• Auto-scaling based on workload demands
• Auto-healing for failed nodes
• Multiple cluster templates (development, production)
• Integration with OpenStack networking and storage
• Support for persistent volumes backed by Cinder

Via CLI:

1openstack coe cluster list
2openstack coe cluster create --cluster-template kubernetes-prod \
3  --master-count 3 --node-count 5 my-kubernetes
4openstack coe cluster config my-kubernetes
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Orchestration (Heat)

Define infrastructure as code using templates:

Key capabilities:

• Declarative infrastructure definition in YAML
• Create entire application stacks from templates
• Automatic dependency resolution
• Stack updates with rollback capability
• Template nesting for modular designs
• Integration with all OpenStack services

Via CLI:

1openstack stack list
2openstack stack create --template my-template.yaml --parameter image=ubuntu-22.04 my-stack
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Example Heat template:

1heat_template_version: 2021-04-16
2
3resources:
4  my_instance:
5    type: OS::Nova::Server
6    properties:
7      flavor: m1.medium
8      image: ubuntu-22.04
9      networks:
10        - network: private
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Security and Secrets Management (Barbican)

Securely store and manage sensitive data:

Key capabilities:

• Store secrets (passwords, API keys, certificates)
• Generate symmetric encryption keys
• Store and retrieve SSL/TLS certificates
• Access control per secret
• Automatic secret expiration

Via CLI:

1openstack secret list
2openstack secret store --name my-api-key --payload "supersecret123"
3openstack secret get <secret-id> --payload
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Web Dashboard (Horizon)

Manage all services through a browser-based interface:

Key capabilities:

• Visual network topology design
• Instance console access
• Resource usage monitoring
• Quota visualization
• Project and user management
• No CLI knowledge required

Access: Log in to the Horizon dashboard URL provided during account setup.

Feature Summary

Getting Started

1. Log in to Horizon using credentials provided during account setup
2. Review your quotas under Project > Compute > Overview
3. Create a network under Project > Network > Networks
4. Launch your first instance under Project > Compute > Instances
5. Assign a floating IP for external access

For detailed instructions on any feature, see the related support articles or contact InMotion Cloud support.

Related Resources

• OpenStack Nova Documentation - Compute service reference
• OpenStack Neutron Documentation - Networking service reference
• OpenStack Octavia Documentation - Load balancer service reference
• OpenStack Magnum Documentation - Kubernetes service reference
• OpenStack Heat Documentation - Orchestration service reference