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Create a Nimbus Instance

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Login to your Nimbus dashboard

After you have received an allocation to Nimbus:

  1. Log in to your Nimbus dashboard here. 
  2. From your Nimbus dashboard, look at the overview of your compute, volume and network allowances. 

Generate a keypair

Before you create an instance, you need to generate a keypair. A keypair is akin to a lock (public key) and key (private key) set, enabling a measure of security for access to your instance. Generate a keypair: 

  1. Navigate to Compute > Key Pairs.
  2. Name the Key Pair so that is easy for you to remember, such as the name of your instance, which you will give below. 

  3. Confirm file download. When you have generated the key pair, the .pem file will be downloaded to your local computer. This is the private key that will be read by the Nimbus server, to enable access to your instance.
  4. Move this .pem file to the ~/.ssh/ directory:

>mv ~/Downloads/name-of-keypair.pem ~/.ssh/name-of-keypair.pem


Create/launch an instance

Now that you have created your key pair and moved its location, you are ready to start creating an instance.

  1. From the Nimbus dashboard menu, select Compute > Instances.
  2. On the Instances page, click the Launch Instance button. This initial launch enables you to set instance options and preferences.

Name the instance

  1. On the Launch Instances page, click the Details menu.
  2. In the Instance Name field, type a name descriptive of the task to be done by the instance.

Select the source image

Choose a source image. A source image is the operating system for your instance. If you are starting out, we generally recommend you choose the latest Pawsey version of a well supported operating system, e.g. Ubuntu 18.04 - 2020-02 - Pawsey.

  1. On the Launch Instance page, click the Source menu.
  2. Review the Available listing of source images. There are existing images (Pawsey and non-Pawsey) or you can create an image yourself.
  3.  Click the up arrow to the right of the image you want to use as a source. If you need more help with choosing a source image, click here.
  4. Confirm your source selection appears in the Allocated section.
  5. Make sure the Select Boot Source field is set to Image. 
  6. Make sure the Delete Volume on Instance Delete is set to Yes.
  7. Set the Volume Size to account for the size of the source image’s OS, which is listed per source image. 

Select the instance flavor

The instance flavour is the compute resource that you require for this instance. For more help with choosing a flavour, click here. 

  1. On the Launch Instance page, click the Flavor menu.
  2. Click the up arrow to the right of your selection.
  3. Confirm that the selected instance appears in the Allocated section.

Select the network

The network is your Nimbus project network that has been set up for you.

  1. On the Launch Instance page, click the Networks menu.
  2. Review the Available listing of networks. A pre-populated list displays.
  3. Click the up arrow to the right of the Public External and your Pawsey project networks. Make sure you select both as you will require them for accessing your instance later.
  4. Confirm the network appears in the Allocated section. 

Select security groups

Select your security group, which is what will allow you to SSH-login from your local computer to your instance. It is an SSH access security group, with a similar name to your network.

  1. On the Launch Instance page, click the Security Groups menu. Confirm 2 items appear in the Allocated section:
    • Default: allows outgoing connections (and communication between instances, if relevant.
    • <xxxxx>-SSH: permits incoming SSH access, required by most users to be able to access their instances.

Select the keypair

Select the keypair that you generated in the first step.

  1. On the Launch Instance page, click the Key Pair menu.
  2. Review the listed key pairs.
  3. Click the up arrow to the right of the key pair you want to use to authenticate access to the instance. 
  4. Confirm the key pair appears in the Allocated section. 

Launch your instance

  1.  On the Launch Instance page, click the Launch Instance button. (You do not have to change anything to the other options after Key Pair.) The instance now displays in your list. 
  2. Upon launching your instance, view the status. It displays its status on the Instances page, as it builds. 
  3. When finished building, view the change. Your instance displays as Active on the Instances page.
  4. Proceed to Access and Use your Nimbus Instance.
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