In this quick start guide, you will create and access your first instance (sometimes referred to as a virtual machine or VM).

Setup before You Create an Instance

Before you create an instance, if you plan to use a Linux-based or BSD-based operating system, we strongly encourage you to set up a SSH keypair for added security and ease of access.

Follow the tutorial on SSH Keypair setup first before you start this guide.

You also need to have enough credit to start and run your instance.

Create Your Instance

In the Exoscale Portal, select COMPUTE from the main navigation on the left. Then select INSTANCES. From the instance list view, click on the ADD button to start the instance creation wizard.

Name Your Instance

Choose a display name for your instance. Only letters, digits and hyphens are allowed. If you leave this field blank, the instance’s display name will be the instance’s UUID.

A good naming convention for your instances will help you work on them later, because you can filter your instance list by display name. You can also change the display name of your instance later on the instance detail view.

Choose the right template

From the templates list, you can choose between different operating systems that are either based on Linux, BSD or Windows. For this guide, we recommend that you choose either the latest Ubuntu Linux or the latest Microsoft Windows Server distribution.

Choose how much RAM and CPU you need

You can choose between different service levels, which are combinations of CPU cores and RAM memory. Some operating systems may be restricted because of their specifications.

Please note you will be able to modify your service level choice later on by scaling your instance up or down. You can read more about scaling for additional details.

Choose your instance volume size

Like service levels, some disk sizes may be restricted by operating system limitations.

Consider initial disk size selection as a start point for the size of your volume. You can adjust disk size values later from the instance detail view, scaling up to as high as 400 GB in increments of 1 GB. You can learn more on volume scaling on its documentation page.

SSH key pairs for Linux-based instances

Like we mentioned at the top of this guide, we assume you will use an SSH keypair if you choose to start a Linux-based instance.

(If you are using a Windows-based instance, you can skip this section.)

Your instance will be automatically provisioned with the key you choose. You will be able to access it via SSH right away.

Firewall rules - Security Groups

Security Groups are firewall rules. An empty security group called default is already provided, but you can add more security groups or even combine them. A security group without defined rules behaves like this:

  • All incoming traffic is blocked
  • All outgoing traffic is allowed

At least one security group has to be associated with an instance. If you choose no security group, default is associated automatically. You can also add and remove security groups later on from the instance details view.

For this guide, choose the default security group to continue.

Anti-Affinity Groups and User Data

Anti-affinity groups ensure your machines are created on different hypervisors, and user data is a way to automatically provision your instance with additional software or settings. For example, installing Wordpress or importing more SSH keypairs.

However, anti-affinity groups and user data are more advanced features. You can skip them for your first instance creation. If you are interested, you can take a look at:

Launch the instance creation

Now click on the CREATE button. You will be redirected to the instance list, where you will see your new instance listed.

The instance will be marked as STOPPED at first. You should see the label change to STARTING and then change to RUNNING. Now you can log in to your new Compute instance!

Log into a Linux-Based Instance

If you followed along and you attributed the default empty security group to your instance, your new server cannot be accessed from outside. Your security group has no rules defined, so all incoming traffic will be denied.

You will access your instance via SSH. To access via SSH, we have to make sure that inbound traffic is allowed on port 22.

Click on COMPUTE in the main navigation and select the SECURITY GROUPS section. Then click on the default security group. The first view is the group detail, where all rules of the group are listed. You will also see the list of instances your group is attached to.

In the upper right header, you will find buttons to either choose a template (a shortcut to add the most common rules) or add your own configured rule. Choose the SSH template. We will create a new rule with the following settings:

  • Type: inbound
  • Source Type: CIDR
  • CIDR: 0.0.0.0/0
  • Protocol: TCP
  • Start Port: 22
  • End Port: 22

You should now be able to log into your instance from a Linux command line with:

ssh root@<instance IP>

You can find your server’s IP in the instance list view and in the instance detail.

Log into a Windows-Based Instance

Like we mentioned with security groups, your Windows instance will not be accessible from outside until you define some rules for the security group.

Click on COMPUTE in the main navigation and select the SECURITY GROUPS section. Then click on the default security group. The first view is the group detail, where all rules of the group are listed. You will also see the list of instances your group is attached to.

In the upper right header, you will find commands to either choose a template (a shortcut to add the most common rules) or add your own configured rule. Choose the Remote Desktop Protocol (or RDP) template, which will create a new rule with the following settings:

  • Type: inbound
  • Source Type: CIDR
  • CIDR: 0.0.0.0/0
  • Protocol: TCP
  • Start Port: 3389
  • End Port: 3389

After you allow traffic on port 3389, point your remote desktop client to the public IP address of your instance using the username “administrator”. You will find your instance password in the instance detail.

Please note:

  • If you do not immediately see the password in the instance detail, wait about 60 seconds for the password to appear on the Portal.
  • The password will be available through the Portal for a very short period of time - just a few hours, so please take note of it. You can reset it from the same instance detail if necessary.