Creating virtual server instances

You can create one or more virtual server instances in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the IBM Cloud console, CLI, API, or Terraform.

When you create a virtual server, you specify information such as the location and name for your virtual server. You specify an operating system image, a profile that defines the combination of vCPU and RAM, and SSH keys to securely connect to your virtual server. You have the option to add data volumes in addition to the boot volume. You can also specify the type of network interface that is created for your virtual server. Finally, you can select from advanced options for your virtual server configuration.

Creating a virtual server instance with the UI

Use the following steps to create a virtual server instance.

In the IBM Cloud console, click Navigation Menu icon > VPC Infrastructure > Compute > Virtual server instances.

Click Create and begin by entering the information in Table 1.

Table 1. Selections to begin instance provisioning
Field	Value
Location	Locations are composed of regions (specific geographic areas) and zones (fault-tolerant data centers within a region). Select the location where you want to create your virtual server instance.
Name	A name is required for your virtual server instance.
Resource group	Select a resource group for the instance.
Tags	You can assign a user tag to the instance so that you can easily filter instance resources in your resource list. For more information, see Working with tags.
Access management tags	Access management tags help you apply flexible access policies on specific resources. For more information, see the Controlling access to resources by using tags UI tutorial.

Select an image and profile for the instance. To select from all available images, click Change image. You can select an image, a snapshot of a boot volume, or an existing boot volume. If the geographic location where you are provisioning an instance supports it, you can select x86 or s390x architecture. Table 2 describes image, snapshot, and existing volume options. Then, select a profile. To select from all available vCPU and RAM combinations, click Change profile. Table 3 describes profile selection.

Table 2. Instance provisioning image, snapshot, or volume selections
Field	Value
Stock image	Select from available stock images and click Save. For more information about available stock images, see x86 virtual server images and s390x virtual server images. All operating system images use cloud-init that you can use to enter user metadata that is associated with the instance for post-provisioning scripts. Metadata isn't supported for IBM Cloud® Hyper Protect Virtual Server for IBM Cloud® Virtual Private Cloud instances and z/OS virtual server instances. If you plan to use Windows operating systems with SQL Server, see the About Microsoft SQL on VPC.
Custom image	Select from available custom images and click Save. If no custom images are available, click Create. A custom image can be an image that you customize and upload to IBM Cloud Object Storage, which you can then import into IBM Cloud VPC. For more information about custom images, see Getting started with custom images. You can also use a custom image that was created from a boot volume. For more information about creating an image from a volume, see About creating an image from a volume. You can also select either an RHEL or Windows custom image and bring your own license (BYOL). For more information about creating BYOL custom images, see Bring your own license.
Catalog image	Select from available catalog images and click Save. A catalog image is a custom image that is imported into a private catalog. For more information about catalog images, see VPC considerations for custom images in a private catalog. Note: If you select a catalog image that belongs to a different account, you have more considerations and limitations to review. See Using cross-account image references in a private catalog in the UI. To create a private catalog, see the tutorial Onboarding a virtual server image for VPC.
Snapshot	Select a snapshot of a boot volume that includes an operating system and click Save. If no snapshots are available, click Create. Filter the list of snapshots for fast restore. With this option, you can create the boot volume quickly by using a snapshot that is cached in a different zone of your region. For more information about restoring a volume from a snapshot, see Restoring a volume from a snapshot.
Existing volume	Select an existing boot volume that is not attached to an instance and click Save.

Table 3. Profile selections
Field	Value
Profile	The profile families are Balanced, Compute, Memory, Ultra High Memory, Very High Memory, and GPU. For more information, see x86-64 instance profiles. When you create an IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Virtual Servers for IBM Cloud® Virtual Private Cloud instance, make sure that you select secure execution-enabled profiles, otherwise provisioning fails. For more information, see s390x instance profiles. Some profiles might not be available because the number of network interfaces in the virtual server exceed profile limits. You can remove network interfaces to select from more profiles. For more information, see Resizing a virtual server.

Complete SSH keys, storage, and networking details by specifying the information in Table 3.

Table 4. Selections to complete instance provisioning
Field	Value
SSH keys	You must select an existing public SSH key or click Create an SSH key to create a new one. For more information about creating an SSH key, see Creating your SSH key by using the UI. SSH keys are used to securely connect to the instance after it's running.
	Note: Alpha-numeric combinations are limited to 100 characters. SSH keys can be either RSA or Ed25519. You can create only RSA SSH keys. For an Ed25519 SSH key, you must upload the key information. Ed25519 can be used only if the operating system supports this key type. Ed25519 can't be used with Windows or VMware images.
	For more information, see Getting started with SSH keys.
Boot volume	The default boot volume size for most profiles is 100 GB. The default boot volume size for a z/OS virtual server instance is 250 GB. If you're importing a custom image, the boot volume capacity can be 10 - 250 GB, depending on what the image requires. Images that are smaller than 10 GB are rounded up to 10 GB. You can toggle the auto-delete option for the boot volume.
	You can increase the size of the boot volume up to 250 GB by clicking the Size pencil icon. In the side panel, increase the boot volume size in the Create size field. The size must be more than the current size up to 250 GB.
	You can edit the boot volume an add user tags to identify it in the resource list.
Data volumes	You can create one or more secondary data volumes to be attached when you provision the instance. For z/OS Wazi aaS custom image only: If you want to use Hyper Protect encryption services for the boot volume, you can click Create and select Hyper Protect Crypto Services for the Encryption option.
	To create a data volume, click Create in the Data volumes section. Define the volume in the side panel. For more information about provisioning the volume, see Create and attach a Block Storage volume when you create a new instance.
	Specify any user tags that you want to associate with the data volume you're creating and attaching to the instance.
Virtual private cloud	Specify the IBM Cloud VPC where you want to create your instance. You can use the default VPC, another existing VPC, or you can create a new VPC. To create a new VPC, click New VPC.
Network interfaces	By default the virtual server instance is created with a single primary network interface. You can click the pencil icon to edit the details of the network interface, for example, the subnet or security group that's associated with the interface. To include extra secondary network interfaces, click Create. You can create and assign up to 15 network interfaces for your virtual server instance, depending on the vCPU count that is included in the instance profile. For more information, see About network interfaces. With the virtual network interface feature, you can select the type of network interface that you want to use. You can select the new option Network attachment with a virtual network interface or the legacy option Instance network interface. Whichever type of network interface option that you select when you provision the virtual server persists through the lifecycle of the virtual server. You can click Attach to create a network attachment with an existing virtual network interface. For more information, see About virtual network interfaces.

For Advanced options, you can choose to complete more instance configurations.

Table 5. Instance provisioning advanced options selections
Field	Value
User data	You can add user data that automatically performs common configuration tasks or runs scripts. For more information, see User data. For more information about using a contract to specify user data when you create an IBM Cloud® Hyper Protect Virtual Server for IBM Cloud® Virtual Private Cloud instance, see About the contract. User data is not supported for z/OS virtual server instances.
Metadata	Disabled by default. Click the toggle to enable. This setting informs the instance to collect the instance configuration information and user data. For more information, see About instance metadata for VPC. Metadata isn't supported for IBM Cloud® Hyper Protect Virtual Server for IBM Cloud® Virtual Private Cloud instances and z/OS virtual server instances.
Trusted profile (optional)	If you enable the metadata service, you can select a trusted profile and link it to this instance. Click Select a trusted profile. In the side panel, select a trusted profile and click Select trusted profile to link it to the instance. A message displays if none exist or if you don't have access to link it. For more information, see Create a trusted profile. For more information about acquiring access, see IAM authorizations for linking trusted profiles.
Add to dedicated host	This selection is disabled by default. To create the virtual server instance in a single-tenant space, click the toggle to enable the dedicated host. To provision a dedicated instance, you must have a dedicated host available or create one.
Add to placement group	Placement groups are disabled by default. Click the toggle to enable placement groups. Then, select or create a placement group for the instance. If you add a placement group, the instance is placed according to the placement group policy. For more information, see About placement groups.
Add to reservation	If you have an active reservation, click the toggle to add the virtual server instance to that reservation. For more information, see About Reservations for VPC.
Host failure auto restart	This setting is enabled by default. To disable host failure auto restart, click the toggle. For more information, see Host failure recovery policies.

Click Create virtual server instance when you are ready to provision.

Next steps after an instance is created in the UI

After the instance is created, you need to associate a floating IP address to the instance. Then, you can connect to your instance. For more information, see Connecting to your Linux instance, Connecting to your Windows instance, or Connecting to your z/OS instance.

If you have an existing instance with a floating IP address, it isn't necessary to assign a second floating IP to another instance. You can connect to the first instance with a floating IP, then SSH to the second instance by using the private subnet IP address that is automatically assigned to it.

Creating a virtual server instance by using the CLI

You can create instances by using the command-line interface (CLI). If you would like to use user tags or access management tags to manage your resources, see Working with tags.

IBM Cloud CLI is not supported on LinuxONE (s390x processor architecture). However, you can install the CLI on another supported platform and use it with LinuxONE (s390x processor architecture) virtual server instances.

Before you begin

Download, install, and initialize the following CLI plug-ins.
- IBM Cloud CLI
- The infrastructure-service plug-in
For more information, see Setting up your API and CLI environment.
Make sure that you created a VPC.

Gathering information to create an instance by using the CLI

Ready to create an instance? Before you can run the ibmcloud is instances command, you need to know the details about the instance, such as what profile or image that you want to use.

Gather the following information by using the associated commands.

Table 1. Required instance details
Instance details	Listing options	VPC CLI reference documentation
Image	`ibmcloud is image`	List all images
Boot volume	`ibmcloud is volumes`	List all volumes
Profile	`ibmcloud is instances`	List all virtual server instances
Keys	`ibmcloud is keys`	List all keys If you don't have any available SSH keys, use Create a key to create one. Note: RSA and Ed25519 are the two types of SSH keys that you can use. However, you can't use the Ed25519 SSH key type with Windows or VMware images. You can use only RSA SSH keys for these images. For more information, see Getting started with SSH keys.
VPC	`ibmcloud is vpcs`	List all VPCs
Subnet	`ibmcloud is subnets`	List all subnets
Zone	`ibmcloud is zones`	List all regions
Placement groups	`ibmcloud is placement-groups`	List all placement groups

Use the following commands to determine the required information for creating a new instance.

List the regions associated with your account.

ibmcloud is regions

See the following example.

$ ibmcloud is regions
Listing regions under account Test Account as user test.user@ibm.com...
Name       Endpoint                              Status
au-syd     https://au-syd.iaas.cloud.ibm.com     available
br-sao     https://br-sao.iaas.cloud.ibm.com     available
ca-tor     https://ca-tor.iaas.cloud.ibm.com     available
eu-de      https://eu-de.iaas.cloud.ibm.com      available
eu-es      https://eu-es.iaas.cloud.ibm.com      available
eu-gb      https://eu-gb.iaas.cloud.ibm.com      available
jp-osa     https://jp-osa.iaas.cloud.ibm.com     available
jp-tok     https://jp-tok.iaas.cloud.ibm.com     available
us-east    https://us-east.iaas.cloud.ibm.com    available
us-south   https://us-south.iaas.cloud.ibm.com   available

Switch to your target region.
```
ibmcloud target -r <region-name>
```

List the zones associated with the target region.

ibmcloud is zones

In the following example, the command is run in the us-south region and the output shows the available zones in the region.

$ ibmcloud is zones
Listing zones in target region us-south under account Test Account as user test.user@ibm.com...
Name         Region     Status
us-south-1   us-south   available
us-south-2   us-south   available
us-south-3   us-south   available

List the IBM Cloud VPCs that are associated with your account.

ibmcloud is vpcs

For this example, you see a response that is similar to the following output.

ID                                        Name       Status     Classic access   Default network ACL              Default security group        Resource group
r006-35b9cf35-616e-462e-a145-cf8db4062fcf my-vpc     available  false            immortality-casing-extoll-exit   enhance-corsage-managing-jinx Default

If you do not have an available VPC, you can create one by using the ibmcloud is vpc-create command. For more information about creating a VPC, see ibmcloud is vpc-create.

List the subnets that are associated with the IBM Cloud VPC.

ibmcloud is subnets

For this example, you see a response that is similar to the following output.

ID                                          Name            Status      Subnet CIDR      Addresses   ACL                              Public Gateway   VPC
Zone         Resource group
0717-198db988-3b9b-4cfa-9dec-0206420d37d0   my-subnet       available   10.240.64.0/28   7/16        immortality-casing-extoll-exit   -               my-vpc
us-south-2   Default

If you do not have a subnet available, you can create one by using the ibmcloud is subnet-create command. For more information about creating a subnet, see ibmcloud is subnet-create.

List the available profiles for creating your instance.

ibmcloud is instance-profiles

For this example, you see a response that is similar to the following output.

Name                         vCPU Manufacturer   Architecture   Family              vCPUs   Memory(GiB)   Bandwidth(Mbps)   Volume bandwidth(Mbps)   GPUs          Storage(GB)   Min NIC Count   Max NIC Count
bx2-2x8                      intel               amd64          balanced            2       8             4000              1000                     -      -                    1               5
bx2a-2x8                     amd                 amd64          balanced            2       8             2000              500                      -      -                    1               5
bx2d-2x8                     intel               amd64          balanced            2       8             4000              1000                     -            1x75          1               5
bx2-4x16                     intel               amd64          balanced            4       16            8000              2000                     -      -                    1               5
bx2a-4x16                    amd                 amd64          balanced            4       16            4000              1000                     -      -                    1               5
bx2d-4x16                    intel               amd64          balanced            4       16            8000              2000                     -            1x150         1               5

For more information about available profiles, see x86 instance profiles and s390x instance profiles.

Secure execution-enabled profiles are now available and are identified by the fourth character of the profile name that is an "e", such as bz2e. For more information, see Confidential computing with LinuxONE.

The secure execution-enabled profiles are available for Balanced, Compute, and Memory families. Make sure that you use secure-enabled profiles when you use the IBM Hyper Protect Container Runtime image. Profile validation for the IBM-provided stock images and the IBM Hyper Protect Container Runtime occurs in the RIAS layer. Any profile mismatch results in an error message that is similar to the following example.

FAILED
Response HTTP Status Code: 400
Error code: bad_field
Error message: Image OS IBM Hyper Protect is not supported by the instance profile <profile_name>
Error target name: profile, type: field

List the available stock images, custom images, or images that are shared with your account from a private catalog for creating your instance. If you are creating an instance from an existing boot volume, skip this step.
- To list all available stock or custom images, run the following command.
```
ibmcloud is images
```
  For this example, you see a response that is similar to the following output.
```
ID                                          Name                               Status       Arch    OS name                   OS version       File size(GB)
Visibility   Owner type   Encryption   Resource group   Catalog Offering
r006-24d856e2-6aec-41c2-8f36-5a8a3766f0d6   ibm-centos-7-9-minimal-amd64-9     available    amd64   centos-7-amd64            7.x - Minimal Install  1             public       provider     none         Default          -
r006-9768bb7f-c75d-4408-ba34-61015632f907   ibm-debian-10-13-minimal-amd64-2   available    amd64   debian-10-amd64           10.x Buster/Stable     1             public       provider     none         Default          -
r006-f83ce520-00b5-40c5-9938-a5c82a273f91   ibm-debian-11-3-minimal-amd64-4    available    amd64   debian-11-amd64           11.x Bullseye/Stable   1
```
  For a full list of command options, see ibmcloud is images.
  
  Deprecated images do not include the most current support.
- To list all available images shared from a private catalog, run the following commands:
  
  If you select a catalog image that belongs to a different account, you have extra considerations and limitations to review. See Using cross-account image references in a private catalog in the CLI
  - To list all available private catalog image offerings, run the following command.
```
ibmcloud is catalog-image-offerings
```
    This command returns the identifier of each image offering and the identifier of the private catalog where the image is. Save the offering_id and catalog_id in variables, which are used later to provision an instance.
```
offering_id=6bf79f7b-de48-4ce8-8cae-866b376f2889
catalog_id=71306253-8444-4cae-a45d-64d35e5393ec
```
  - To get the offering_crn for the offering and the offering_version_crn for each version in the offering, run the following command.
```
ibmcloud is catalog-image-offering $catalog_id $offering_id
```
  When you provision an instance, you can either provision the instance from the private catalog-managed image in the latest version in a catalog product offering by using the offering_crn value or from the specific version in the catalog product offering by using the offering_version_crn value.
  
  Save the offering_crn and offering_version_crnin variables, which are used later to provision an instance.
```
offering_crn="crn:v1:bluemix:public:globalcatalog-collection:global:a/a1234567:0b322820-dafd-4b5e-b694-6465da6f008a:offering:136559f6-4588-4af2-8585-f3c625eee09d"
offering_version_crn="crn:v1:bluemix:public:globalcatalog-collection:global:a/a1234567:0b322820-dafd-4b5e-b694-6465da6f008a:version:136559f6-4588-4af2-8585-f3c625eee09d/8ae92879-e253-4a7c-b09f-8d30af12e518"
```
List the available boot volumes for creating your instance. If you are creating an instance from an image, skip this step. To create an instance from an existing volume, you must use a volume compatible with the instance options chosen previously. A compatible volume is in the same zone as the instance that is being provisioned, in an unattached state, and has an OS compatible with the profile that is selected in step 5. Use the volumes subcommand to see the compatible volumes. For example, to see unattached volumes with an x64 operating system architecture in us-south-1:
```
ibmcloud is volumes --attachment-state unattached  --operating-system-architecture amd64 --zone us-south-1
```
You can optionally create a boot volume from a bootable snapshot and use that for your image. To list all snapshots for a volume, see View all snapshots that were created from the Block Storage for VPC volume.
List the available SSH keys that you can associate with your instance.
```
ibmcloud is keys
```
For this example, you see a response that is similar to the following output.
```
ID                                          Name     Type   Length   FingerPrint          Resource group
r006-89ec781c-9630-4f76-b9c4-a7d204828d61   my-key   rsa    4096     gtnf+pdX2PYI9Ofq..   Default
```
If you do not have an SSH key available, you can create an SSH key by using the ibmcloud is key-create command. For more information, see SSH keys.

List all the available placement groups that you can associate with your instance.

ibmcloud is placement-groups

For this example, you see a response that is similar to the following output.

ID                                            Name                             State    Strategy       Resource Group
c5f1f366-b92a-4080-991a-aa5c2e33d96b          placement-group-region-us-south   stable   power_spread  Default

Creating an instance by using the CLI

Use the following information to create an instance with the CLI.

Provision from a stock or custom image

After you know the needed values, use them to run the ibmcloud is instance-create command. You also need to specify a unique name for the instance.

Use the following steps to create a basic virtual server instance from a stock image by using the CLI. By default, a boot volume is attached to the instance when the instance is created. For most virtual server instances, the default boot volume size is 100 GB. The default boot volume size for a z/OS virtual server instance is 250 GB.

Create an instance by using the following command.

ibmcloud is instance-create \
    INSTANCE_NAME \
    VPC \
    ZONE_NAME \
    PROFILE_NAME \
    SUBNET \
    --image IMAGE \
    --keys KEYS \

For example, the following instance-create command uses the sample values that are found in the Gathering information section.

ibmcloud is instance-create \
    my-instance \
    r006-35b9cf35-616e-462e-a145-cf8db4062fcf \
    us-south-2 \
    bx2-2x8 \
    0717-198db988-3b9b-4cfa-9dec-0206420d37d0 \
    --image r006-f83ce520-00b5-40c5-9938-a5c82a273f91 \
    --keys r006-89ec781c-9630-4f76-b9c4-a7d204828d61 \

Where the following argument and option values are used

INSTANCE_NAME: my-instance
VPC: r006-35b9cf35-616e-462e-a145-cf8db4062fcf
ZONE_NAME: us-south-2
PROFILE_NAME: bx2-2x8
SUBNET: 0717-198db988-3b9b-4cfa-9dec-0206420d37d0
IMAGE: Debian 11 image r006-f83ce520-00b5-40c5-9938-a5c82a273f91
KEYS: r006-89ec781c-9630-4f76-b9c4-a7d204828d61

The response varies depending on the option values that you use.

ID                                    0726_67b1179a-8b25-4ac9-8bc0-7f3027466ed0
Name                                  my-instance
CRN                                   crn:v1:public:is:us-south-2:a/a1234567::instance:0726_67b1179a-8b25-4ac9-8bc0-7f3027466ed0
Status                                pending
Availability policy on host failure   restart
Startable                             true
Profile                               bx2-2x8
Architecture                          amd64
vCPU Manufacturer                     intel
vCPUs                                 2
Memory(GiB)                           8
Bandwidth(Mbps)                       4000
Volume bandwidth(Mbps)                1000
Network bandwidth(Mbps)               3000
Lifecycle Reasons                     Code   Message
                                       -      -

Lifecycle State                       pending

Metadata service                      Enabled   Protocol   Response hop limit
                                      false     http       1

Image                                 ID                                          Name
                                      r006-f83ce520-00b5-40c5-9938-a5c82a273f91   ibm-debian-11-3-minimal-amd64-4

VPC                                   ID                                          Name
                                      r006-35b9cf35-616e-462e-a145-cf8db4062fcf   my-vpc

Zone                                  us-south-2
Resource group                        ID                                 Name
                                      cdc21b72d4e647b195de988b175e3d82   Default

Created                               2023-03-23T21:50:24+00:00
Boot volume                           ID   Name   Attachment ID                               Attachment name
                                      -    -      0717-7ccd4284-e59d-45d8-932a-9e52f62f187a   landing-faucet-prankish-sprout

Information about the network interfaces that are created for the new instance aren't returned after the instance is created. You can view the information by using the ibmcloud is instance INSTANCE command as described in the following step. The status displays pending until the instance is created.

For more information about some additional features that you can include as command options on the instance-create command, see the following topics: Create a volume attachment JSON, Enable or disable the metadata service, and Creating a placement group.

For a full list of command options, see ibmcloud is instance-create.

Next, run the following instance details command to verify that you can see your new instance and view the network interfaces that were created for the new instance. 0726_67b1179a-8b25-4ac9-8bc0-7f3027466ed0 is the virtual server instance ID that was assigned when the instance was created in the previous step.

ibmcloud is instance 0726_67b1179a-8b25-4ac9-8bc0-7f3027466ed0

For this example, you see the following response. The status now shows running. Check the Network Interfaces section to locate the ID of the network interface.

ID                                    0726_67b1179a-8b25-4ac9-8bc0-7f3027466ed0
Name                                  my-instance
CRN                                   crn:v1:public:is:us-south-2:a/a1234567::instance:0726_67b1179a-8b25-4ac9-8bc0-7f3027466ed0
Status                                running
Availability policy on host failure   restart
Startable                             true
Profile                               bx2-2x8
Architecture                          amd64
vCPU Manufacturer                     intel
vCPUs                                 2
Memory(GiB)                           8
Bandwidth(Mbps)                       4000
Volume bandwidth(Mbps)                1000
Network bandwidth(Mbps)               3000
Lifecycle Reasons                     Code   Message
                                       -      -

Lifecycle State                       stable

Metadata service                      Enabled   Protocol   Response hop limit
                                      false     http       1

Image                                 ID                                          Name
                                      r006-f83ce520-00b5-40c5-9938-a5c82a273f91   ibm-debian-11-3-minimal-amd64-4

VPC                                   ID                                          Name
                                      r006-35b9cf35-616e-462e-a145-cf8db4062fcf   my-vpc

Zone                                  us-south-2
Resource group                        ID                                 Name
                                      cdc21b72d4e647b195de988b175e3d82   Default

Created                               2023-03-23T21:50:24+00:00
Network Interfaces                    Interface   Name      ID                                          Subnet            Subnet ID                                   Floating IP   Security Groups                 Allow source IP spoofing   Reserved IP
                                      Primary     primary   0717-4db768bb-65c3-4045-8712-523e62eeabd2   my-subnet   0717-198db988-3b9b-4cfa-9dec-0206420d37d0         -             enhance-corsage-managing-jinx   false                      10.240.64.10

Boot volume                           ID                                          Name                           Attachment ID                                    Attachment name
                                      r006-7a1d72d1-56ac-438e-bf85-6c0173e3f9a6   expend-anger-whiff-jackknife   0717-7ccd4284-e59d-45d8-932a-9e52f62f187a        landing-faucet-prankish-sprout

Request a floating IP address to associate to your instance by using the following command. The name that is specified for the floating IP is my-floatingip. 0717-4db768bb-65c3-4045-8712-523e62eeabd2 is the ID of the network interface for the virtual server instance that displayed in the previous step.

ibmcloud is floating-ip-reserve \
    my-floatingip \
    --nic 0717-4db768bb-65c3-4045-8712-523e62eeabd2

For this example, you see a response that is similar to the following output.

ID               r006-9b79b9bc-a2dc-4337-865a-57d9b9198b76
Address          169.59.214.164
Name             my-floatingip
CRN              crn:v1:public:is:us-south-2:a/a1234567::floating-ip:r006-9b79b9bc-a2dc-4337-865a-57d9b9198b76
Status           available
Zone             us-south-2
Created          2023-03-23T22:13:07+00:00
Target           ID                                          Target type         Instance ID                                 Target interface name   Target interface private IP
                 0717-4db768bb-65c3-4045-8712-523e62eeabd2   network_interface   0726_67b1179a-8b25-4ac9-8bc0-7f3027466ed0   primary                 -


Resource group   ID                                 Name
                 cdc21b72d4e647b195de988b175e3d82   Default

Record the floating IP Address to use later.

For a full list of command options, see ibmcloud is floating-ip-reserve.

Need more help? You can always run ibmcloud is instance-create --help to display help for creating an instance.

Provision from a private catalog image

After you know the needed values, use them to run the ibmcloud is instance-create command. You also need to specify a unique name for the instance.

Use the following steps to create a virtual server instance from a private catalog offering or a catalog offering version by using the CLI.

Need more help? You can always run ibmcloud is instance-create --help to display help for creating an instance.

Provision from an existing volume

After you know the needed values, use them to run the instance-create command. You also need to specify a unique name for the instance.

Use the following steps to create a virtual server instance from a bootable volume, and that includes a volume attachment.

Create an instance by using the following command.
```
ibmcloud is instance-create \
    INSTANCE_NAME \
    VPC \
    ZONE_NAME \
    PROFILE_NAME \
    SUBNET \
    --boot-volume VOLUME_ID \
    --keys KEYS \
    --volume-attach VOLUME_ATTACH_JSON \
```
For example, if you create an instance that is called my-instance in us-south-1 and use the bx2-2x8 profile and an existing boot volume, your instance-create command looks similar to the following example.
```
ibmcloud is instance-create\
    my-instance\
    r006-35b9cf35-616e-462e-a145-cf8db4062fcf\
    us-south-1\
    bx2-2x8\
    0717-198db988-3b9b-4cfa-9dec-0206420d37d0\
    --boot-volume r006-feec3e99-995e-4e8f-896b-48b42c7d05a7\
    --keys r006-89ec781c-9630-4f76-b9c4-a7d204828d61\
    --volume-attach @/Users/myname/myvolume-attachment_create.json\
```
For an example volume attachment JSON file, see Create a volume attachment JSON. You can also include user tags for the volumes in the volume attachment.

Information about the network interfaces that are created for the new instance aren't returned after the instance is created. You can view the information by using the ibmcloud is instance INSTANCE command as described in the next step.

The status displays pending until the instance is created.

For a full list of command options, see ibmcloud is instance-create.
Next, run the following instance details command to verify that you can see your new instance and view the network interfaces that were created for the new instance. For INSTANCE, specify the ID that was assigned to your new virtual server instance in the previous step.
```
ibmcloud is instance INSTANCE
```
The status now shows running. Check the Network Interfaces section to locate the ID of the network interface.
Request a floating IP address to associate to your instance by using the following command. For FLOATING_IP_NAME specify a name for your floating IP, and for TARGET_INTERFACE specify the ID of the network interface that you identified in the previous step.
```
ibmcloud is floating-ip-reserve \
    FLOATING_IP_NAME \
    --nic TARGET_INTERFACE
```
Record the floating IP Address to use later.

For a full list of command options, see ibmcloud is floating-ip-reserve.

Need more help? You can always run ibmcloud is instance-create --help to display help for creating an instance.

Create a boot volume from a snapshot and use it to provision a new instance with the CLI

You can create a boot volume from a bootable snapshot and use that for your image. When you run the ibmcloud is instance-create command, specify the source_snapshot subproperty in the boot volume JSON and the ID or name of a bootable snapshot. For an example, see Create a boot volume from a snapshot for a new instance from the CLI.

Next steps after an instance is created from the CLI

A series of emails is sent to your administrator: Acknowledgment of the virtual server instance order, order approval and processing, and a message that the instance is created.

If you choose a GPU profile, see Managing GPUs.

After the instance is created, associate a floating IP address to the instance. Then, you can connect to your instance. For more information, see Connecting to your Linux instance or Connecting to your Windows instance.

Creating a virtual server instance by using the API

You can create instances by using the API.

Before you begin

Make sure that you have the required access. To call these methods, you must be assigned one or more IAM access roles that include the following actions, depending on any listed conditions. You can check your access by going to the Users page of Cloud Identity and Access Management dashboard.

Gathering information to create an instance by using the API

Before you can create an instance, you need to know the details about the instance, such as the instance profile or the image that you want to use. Gather information by making the following API calls:

Table 2. Required instance details api
Instance details	Listing options	API spec documentation
Image	`GET /images`	List all images
Profile	`GET /instance/profiles`	List all instance profiles
Key	`GET /keys`	List all keys
VPC	`GET /vpcs`	List all VPCs
Subnet	`GET /subnets`	List all subnets
Zone	`GET /regions/<region>/zones`	List all zones in a region
Placement groups	`GET /placement_groups`	List all placement groups

Creating an instance by using the API

After you retrieved the information that you need, you can run the POST /instances method to create an instance.

Provision an instance from a stock or custom image by using the API

You can provision an instance with a stock or custom image by specifying the image's id subproperty as the value of the image property.

   curl -X POST "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/instances?version=$api_version&generation=2" \
     -H "Authorization:$iam_token" \
     -d '{
           "name": "my-instance",
           "zone": {
             "name": "us-south-3"
           },
           "vpc": {
             "id": "'$vpc'"
           },
           "primary_network_interface": {
             "subnet": {
               "id": "'$subnet'"
             }
           },
           "keys":[{"id": "'$key'"}],
           "profile": {
             "name": "'$profile_name'"
            },
           "image": {
             "id": "'$image_id'"
            }
           }'

Provision an instance from a private catalog image by using the API

You can provision an instance with a private catalog image by specifying the image's offering_crn or the version_crn subproperty as the value of the catalog_offering property.

Create an instance by using a private catalog image from the latest version of a catalog product offering.

curl -X POST "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/instances?version=$api_version&generation=2" \
  -H "Authorization:$iam_token" \
  -d '{
        "name": "my-instance",
        "zone": {
          "name": "us-south-3"
        },
        "vpc": {
          "id": "'$vpc'"
        },
        "primary_network_interface": {
          "subnet": {
            "id": "'$subnet'"
          }
        },
        "keys":[{"id": "'$key'"}],
        "profile": {
          "name": "'$profile_name'"
         },
        "catalog_offering": {
          "offering": {
            "crn": "'$offering_crn'"
         }
        }'

Create an instance by using a private catalog image from a specific version of a catalog product offering.

curl -X POST "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/instances?version=$api_version&generation=2" \
  -H "Authorization:$iam_token" \
  -d '{
        "name": "my-instance",
        "zone": {
          "name": "us-south-3"
        },
        "vpc": {
          "id": "'$vpc'"
        },
        "primary_network_interface": {
          "subnet": {
            "id": "'$subnet'"
          }
        },
        "keys":[{"id": "'$key'"}],
        "profile": {
          "name": "'$profile_name'"
         },
        "catalog_offering": {
          "version": {
            "crn": "'$version_crn'"
         }
        }'

Provision from an existing volume

Reusing an existing, bootable volume is faster than creating a new volume from a snapshot or an image.

You can provision an instance with an existing volume by specifying the existing volume's id or crn subproperty as the value of the boot_volume_attachment property.

The existing, bootable volume must be an unattached bootable volume that has the same operating system and architecture as the instance profile. Use the list volumes filter and reference the attachment_state property and operating_system property to view a volume's eligibility.

For example, to see unattached volumes in us-south-1 with an x86 operating system.

curl -X GET "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/volumes?version=2023-02-08&generation=2?attachment_state=unattached&zone.name=us-south-1&operating_system.architecture=amd64"
-H "Authorization: Bearer $iam_token"

By default, a boot volume that is created as part of provisioning a virtual server instance is deleted when the instance is deleted. You can control this behavior by setting the delete_volume_on_instance_delete property to true when you create the instance or update the boot volume attachment.

Use the POST /instances method to create an instance with the information you gathered. The following call is an example of provisioning an instance by using an existing boot volume.

curl -X POST "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/instances?version=2023-02-08&generation=2"
-H "Authorization: Bearer $iam_token"
-d '{
  "boot_volume_attachment": {
    "volume": {
      "id": "r006-feec3e99-995e-4e8f-896b-48b42c7d05a7"
    }
  },
  "keys": [
    {
      "id": "363f6d70-0000-0001-0000-00000013b96c"
    }
  ],
  "name": "my-instance",
  "placement_target": {
    "id": "0787-8c2a09be-ee18-4af2-8ef4-6a6060732221"
  },
  "primary_network_interface": {
    "name": "my-network-interface",
    "subnet": {
      "id": "bea6a632-5e13-42a4-b4b8-31dc877abfe4"
    }
  },
  "profile": {
    "name": "bx2-2x8"
  },
  "volume_attachments": [
    {
      "volume": {
        "capacity": 1000,
        "encryption_key": {
          "crn": "crn:[...]"
        },
        "name": "my-data-volume",
        "profile": {
          "name": "5iops-tier"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "vpc": {
    "id": "f0aae929-7047-46d1-92e1-9102b07a7f6f"
  },
  "zone": {
    "name": "us-south-1"
  }
}'

For more information, see Create an instance.

Restore a boot volume from a snapshot and use it to provision a new instance

You can restore a boot volume from a bootable snapshot and then use that boot volume when you provision an instance. The bootable snapshot must have the same operating system and architecture as the instance profile.

In the POST /instances request, specify the boot_volume_attachment property and the bootable snapshot ID in the source_snapshot subproperty. For example,

curl -X POST \
"$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/instances?version=2023-03-07&generation=2" \
-H "Authorization: $iam_token" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
      "boot_volume_attachment": {
        "delete_volume_on_instance_delete": true,
        "volume": {
            "profile": {
                "name": "general-purpose"
            },
            "source_snapshot": {
                "id": "eb373975-4171-4d91-81d2-c49efb033753"
            }
        }
     },
     .
     .
     .
  }'

For more information about restoring a volume with the API, see Restore a volume from a snapshot with the API.

Creating virtual server instances by using Terraform

You can create instances by using Terraform. If you would like to use user tags or access management tags to manage your resources, see Working with tags.

Before you begin

Make sure that you set up Terraform for VPC.

Creating a private catalog

This step is optional. If you plan to share images from a private catalog, the private catalog must be created first. If you select a catalog image that belongs to a different account, review Using cross-account image references in a private catalog in Terraform for more considerations and limitations. To create a private catalog, see the tutorial Onboarding a virtual server image with Terraform.

Gathering information to create an instance by using Terraform

Ready to create an instance? Before you can run the ibm_is_instance command, you need to know the details about the instance, such as what profile or image that you want to use.

Gather the following information by using DataSource command.

Gather instance profile details. Run the following command for the profile that you select. See x86 instance profiles for a list of available profiles. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_instance_profiles. Use an instance profile by referring to the instance profile data source. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_instance_profile.
```
data "ibm_is_instance_profile" "example_profile" {
   name = "bx2-2x8"
}
```
List the available images for creating your instance. The command depends on what image that you want to use. You can use a stock image, a custom image from your account, or an image that was shared with your account from a private catalog. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_image. If you plan to use an image that was shared from a private catalog, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_cm_version or ibm_cm_offering_instance.
- Select a stock image or custom image from your account for your instance.
```
data "ibm_is_image" "example_image" {
   name = "ibm-centos-7-6-minimal-amd64-2"
}
```
- Select an image that is shared from a private catalog for the instance. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_images. You can select an image from the list to create the instance as shown in the section Go to Creating an instance by using Terraform section.
If you select a catalog image that belongs to a different account, you have more considerations and limitations to review. See Using cross-account image references in a private catalog in Terraform.
- To list all available private catalog image offerings, run the following command.
```
data "ibm_is_images" "example_images" {
   catalog_managed = true
 }
```
Create a VPC resource or use an existing VPC by referring to the VPC data source. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_vpc.
```
resource "ibm_is_vpc" "example_vpc" {
   name = "example-vpc"
}
```

Create a subnet resource or use an existing subnet by referring to the subnet data source. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_subnet.

resource "ibm_is_subnet" "example_subnet" {
   name            = "example-subnet"
   vpc             = ibm_is_vpc.example_vpc.id
   zone            = "us-south-1"
   ipv4_cidr_block = "10.240.0.0/24"
}

Create a ssh-key resource or use an existing ssh-key by referring to the ssh-key data source. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_ssh_keys.

resource "ibm_is_ssh_key" "example_sshkey" {
   name       = "example-sshkey"
   type       = "rsa"
   public_key = "ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCKVmnMOlHKcZK8tpt3MP1lqOLAcqcJzhsvJcjscgVERRN7/9484SOBJ3HSKxxNG5JN8owAjy5f9yYwcUg+JaUVuytn5Pv3aeYROHGGg+5G346xaq3DAwX6Y5ykr2fvjObgncQBnuU5KHWCECO/4h8uWuwh/kfniXPVjFToc+gnkqA+3RKpAecZhFXwfalQ9mMuYGFxn+fwn8cYEApsJbsEmb0iJwPiZ5hjFC8wREuiTlhPHDgkBLOiycd20op2nXzDbHfCHInquEe/gYxEitALONxm0swBOwJZwlTDOB7C6y2dzlrtxr1L59m7pCkWI4EtTRLvleehBoj3u7jB4usR"
}

SSH keys can be either RSA or Ed25519. You can generate new RSA key pairs by using the UI. Pre-existing RSA and Ed25519 SSH keys can be uploaded. Ed25519 can be used only if the operating system supports this key type. Ed25519 can't be used with Windows or VMware images.

Create a subnet_reserved_ip resource or use an existing subnet_reserved_ip by referring to the subnet_reserved_ip data source. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_subnet_reserved_ip

resource "ibm_is_subnet_reserved_ip" "example_reserved_ip" {
   subnet    = ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.id
   name      = "example-reserved-ip1"
   address   = "${replace(ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.ipv4_cidr_block, "0/24", "13")}"
}

Creating an instance by using Terraform

Create the instance by using one of the following examples. For more information, see the Terraform documentation on ibm_is_instance.

Run one of the following Terraform commands based on the image that you plan to use.

Create an instance by using a stock image or custom image from your account for your instance.

resource "ibm_is_instance" "example_instance" {
  name    = "example-instance-reserved-ip"
  image   = data.ibm_is_image.example_image.id
  profile = data.ibm_is_instance_profile.example_profile.name

  primary_network_interface {
    name   = "eth0"
    subnet = ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.id
    primary_ip {
      reserved_ip = ibm_is_subnet_reserved_ip.example_reserved_ip.reserved_ip
    }
  }
  network_interfaces {
    name   = "eth1"
    subnet = ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.id
    primary_ip {
      name = "example-reserved-ip1"
      auto_delete = true
      address = "${replace(ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.ipv4_cidr_block, "0/24", "14")}"
    }
  }

  vpc  = ibm_is_vpc.example_vpc.id
  zone = "us-south-1"
  keys = [ibm_is_ssh_key.example_sshkey.id]
}

Create an instance that uses a private catalog-managed image.

resource "ibm_is_instance" "example_instance" {
  name    = "example-instance-reserved-ip"
  image   = data.ibm_is_image.example_image.id
  profile = data.ibm_is_instance_profile.example_profile.name

  primary_network_interface {
    name   = "eth0"
    subnet = ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.id
    primary_ip {
      reserved_ip = ibm_is_subnet_reserved_ip.example_reserved_ip.reserved_ip
    }
  }
  network_interfaces {
    name   = "eth1"
    subnet = ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.id
    primary_ip {
      name = "example-reserved-ip1"
      auto_delete = true
      address = "${replace(ibm_is_subnet.example_subnet.ipv4_cidr_block, "0/24", "14")}"
    }
  }

  vpc  = ibm_is_vpc.example_vpc.id
  zone = "us-south-1"
  keys = [ibm_is_ssh_key.example_sshkey.id]
}