Managing the instances

List the running instances

% openstack server list
+------+-------------+--------+----------------------+
|  ID  |     Name    | Status |       Networks       |
+------+-------------+--------+----------------------+
| 2064 | Server 2064 | ACTIVE | vlan5=134.158.246.8  |
| 2065 | Server 2065 | ACTIVE | vlan5=134.158.246.12 |
| 2078 | Server 2067 | ACTIVE | vlan5=134.158.246.13 |
| 2079 | Server 2068 | ACTIVE | vlan5=134.158.246.10 |
+------+-------------+--------+----------------------+

Note

Remember to normalize the names of your instances, it will be easier to find them using a regular expression and the parameter --name.

Instantiate and delete

To boot a basic instance:

% openstack server create --flavor cc.basic --image cc-sl6.x86_64 --network ccdev-public --key_name mykey myserver
+--------------+--------------------------------------+
|   Property   |                Value                 |
+--------------+--------------------------------------+
| accessIPv4   |                                      |
| accessIPv6   |                                      |
| adminPass    | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX                     |
| config_drive |                                      |
| created      | 2012-07-06T09:30:22Z                 |
| flavor       | cc.basic                             |
| hostId       |                                      |
| id           | 2079                                 |
| image        | cc-sl6.x86_64                        |
| key_name     | mykey                                |
| metadata     | {}                                   |
| name         | myserver                             |
| progress     | 0                                    |
| status       | BUILD                                |
| tenant_id    | demotenant                           |
| updated      | 2012-07-06T09:30:23Z                 |
| user_id      | demouser                             |
| uuid         | e455d901-510c-4a37-86a3-e7458cadd3ab |
+--------------+--------------------------------------+

cc-sl6.x86_64: name of the image to be instantiated (list the available images with euca- describe-images)
mykey: name of the SSH key created previously
cc.basic: chosen instance type
ccdev-public: chosen network (list the available networks with openstack network list)

For more information, check the Available flavors page.

Deleting an instance is like turning off the virtual machine. Changes made to the image will be lost (unless you make a snapshot beforehand).
```
% openstack server delete myserver
```

Pause and restart

Pause a VM is like freezing it, like a STOP signal for a Unix process. Memory resources are still used:

% openstack server pause myserver

% openstack server list
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+
|      ID      |    Name    | Status |              Networks              |
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+
| ad4c5a21c5e5 | myserver   | PAUSED | ccin2p3=172.17.0.14, 134.158.246.4 |
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+

To restart a paused instance:

% openstack server unpause myserver

% openstack server list
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+
|      ID      |    Name    | Status |              Networks              |
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+
| ad4c5a21c5e5 | myserver   | ACTIVE | ccin2p3=172.17.0.14, 134.158.246.4 |
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+

Suspend and restart

Once a VM is suspended, a snapshot of its memory and disk is taken and the machine is deleted. With the exception of the stored snapshots, the instance is not consuming any resource:

% openstack server suspend myserver

% openstack server list
+--------------+------------+-----------+------------------------------------+
|      ID      |    Name    | Status    |              Networks              |
+--------------+------------+-----------+------------------------------------+
| ad4c5a21c5e5 | myserver   | SUSPENDED | ccin2p3=172.17.0.14, 134.158.246.4 |
+--------------+------------+-----------+------------------------------------+

To restart a suspended instance

% openstack server resume myserver

% openstack server list
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+
|      ID      |    Name    | Status |              Networks              |
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+
| ad4c5a21c5e5 | myserver   | ACTIVE | ccin2p3=172.17.0.14, 134.158.246.4 |
+--------------+------------+--------+------------------------------------+

Instances metadata

When booting, an information file (key/values, yamls, scripts…) may be transferred to the instances:

% nova boot --user-data $FILE [...]

This file may then be accessed from thhe instance by using the Nova metadata service:

% curl http://169.254.169.254/2009-04-04/user-data

Attention

Metadata are not encrypted during transfer or when stored and their access is not secured. It is thus not recommended to use it to store sensible information.