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Renting an instance

This guide walks you through launching a virtual machine in the Fluence Console, on the Public cloud → Compute page. For resources, statuses and billing, see the CPU Cloud concepts. To do the same through the API, see CPU Cloud API → Deploy a VM.

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If the page shows Request access, your account can't create VMs yet. Click it, and the Fluence team will review your request.

Nothing is prepaid when you launch a VM, but your balance must cover all your resources for at least 6 hours. See the billing model.

Steps to launch a VM​

1. Start a new VM​

On the Compute page, click Create Virtual Machine. The console creates a draft and opens the Create new VM page. The draft is saved as you edit and is not billed. Drafts are listed on the Compute page with the Draft status, where you can open or discard them.

2. Basic settings​

  • VM name: lowercase letters, digits and hyphens, up to 25 characters.
  • Available locations: the data center to run the VM in. Hover over the tier badge to see the data center's certifications.

3. Choose a plan​

Under Available plans, pick the Dedicated CPU or Shared CPU tab and select a plan. Each plan shows its vCPU and RAM, and its monthly and hourly price.

4. Set up disks​

Under Disk setup, configure the Boot disk: the operating system, the disk size in GB and the storage type. For a custom image, provide a publicly downloadable URL and select the boot mode (BIOS or EFI); see supported formats.

You can also add an Additional disk. Disks are billed separately from VMs, and you keep paying for a disk until you delete it, even if it isn't attached to a VM.

5. Configure the network​

Under Network settings, each network interface has a Connection:

  • Public IPv4 address: the VM gets an address reachable from the internet. A VM can have one public IPv4 address. You need it to connect over SSH from outside Fluence.
  • Private subnet: the interface joins a subnet of one of your private networks.

Choose a Security group for the interface. Use Add network interface to add more interfaces; one of them carries the default route.

6. Add SSH keys​

Under Access, select one or more SSH-keys, or click Add key to add a new one. Supported formats: RSA, DSA, ECDSA and ED25519.

7. Add cloud-init (optional)​

Turn on Enable custom cloud-init config to provide cloud-init user data that runs on the VM's first boot.

8. Review and launch​

The Review panel shows the configuration and its price, and marks sections that need attention. Click Launch and confirm. The VM appears on the Compute page; provisioning usually takes a few minutes, until the status is Launched.