Create a cloud server

Last update: July 08 2026

Control Panel

1. In the Control panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Cloud Servers.

2. Click Create server.

3. Fill in the blocks:

   • Name and placement;
   • Source;
   • Configuration;
   • Disks;
   • Internet;
   • Private network;
   • Security;
   • Access;
   • optional: Additional settings.

4. Check the cloud server pricing. Learn more in the Cloud Server Payment Model and Pricing manual.

5. Click Create.

Name and location

1. Enter the server name. It will be set as the hostname in the operating system.

2. Select a location where the server will be created. The available server configurations and resource costs depend on the location. You cannot change the location after the server is created.

Source

You can create a server:

• from a pre-built image with a pre-installed and configured operating system;
• an application;
• a custom image;
• a network volume;
• or a snapshot.

Pre-built image

1. Open the OS tab.

2. Select an image. Pre-built images are available in all pool segments.

3. If you are creating a server with a GPU, turn on the Auto-select GPU image switch to automatically choose an optimized OS image when selecting a configuration.

4. Optional: if you need a different current or archived OS version, select the required version in the Version field. OSs marked as GPU optimized contain the drivers required to work with graphics processors.

Application

1. Open the Applications tab.

2. Select an application. All applications except for ML applications are available in all pool segments.

3. Optional: if you need a different current or archived application version, select the required version in the Version field.

Network volume

1. Open the Volumes tab.

2. Select a volume. The volume must be in the same pool segment as the server.

Custom image

1. Open the Images tab.

2. Select an image. The image must be in the same pool as the server.

Snapshot

1. Open the Snapshots tab.

2. Select a snapshot. The snapshot must be in the same pool segment as the server.

Configuration

For all lines except Shared and Dedicated, two types of server configurations are available:

• fixed configurations — configurations of lines with different specifications, where the resource ratio is fixed;
• custom configurations — configurations that allow you to specify any resource ratio.

Configurations use different processors depending on the product line and pool segment. You can customize the selected configuration. After the server is created, you will be able to change the configuration.

Fixed configuration

1. Open the tab with the line.

2. Click Fixed.

3. Optional: you can adjust the configuration if you are creating a server in a multi-AZ pool segment ru-6 or pool segments ru-3b, ru-7a and ru-7b:

   3.1. Expand the block with the configuration settings description.

   3.2. Optional: select a processor manufacturer. Manufacturer selection is not available in all pools.

   3.3. Optional: if you do not want physical processor cores pinned to the cloud server vCPUs, clear the Dedicated cores checkbox. For more information, see the Dedicated Cores.

   3.4. Optional: if you want to disable Hyper-Threading, uncheck the Hyper-Threading (SMT) checkbox.

   3.5. Optional: if you are creating a server with dedicated cores and want to place a multiprocessor server on a single NUMA node, select the Mandatory placement on a single NUMA node checkbox. A server with 4 vCPUs or more can be placed on a single NUMA node. If the cloud server resources cannot be placed on one node, it will not be created. For more information, see the Placement on a single NUMA node subsection of the Dedicated Cores.

4. Select a configuration.

5. If both local and network volumes are available in the selected configuration, select the volume to be used as the boot volume:

   • local disk — check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox. A server with a local disk can only be created from images and applications;
   • network volume — do not check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox.

   The amount of RAM allocated to the server may be less than the amount specified in the configuration — the operating system kernel reserves a portion of RAM depending on the kernel version and distribution. You can check the allocated amount on the server using the command sudo dmesg | grep Memory.

Custom configuration

1. Open the tab with the line.

2. Click Custom.

3. Optional: you can adjust the configuration if you are creating a server in a multi-AZ pool segment ru-6 or pool segments ru-3b, ru-7a and ru-7b:

   3.1. Expand the block with the configuration settings description.

   3.2. Optional: select a processor manufacturer. Manufacturer selection is not available in all pools.

   3.3. Optional: if you do not want physical processor cores pinned to the cloud server vCPUs, clear the Dedicated cores checkbox. For more information, see the Dedicated Cores.

   3.4. Optional: if you want to disable Hyper-Threading, uncheck the Hyper-Threading (SMT) checkbox.

   3.5. Optional: if you are creating a cloud server with dedicated cores and want to place a multiprocessor server on a single NUMA node, select the Mandatory placement on a single NUMA node checkbox. A cloud server with 4 vCPUs or more can be placed on a single NUMA node. If the cloud server resources cannot be placed on one node, it will not be created. For more information, see the Placement on a single NUMA node subsection of the Dedicated Cores.

4. Specify the number of vCPUs.

5. Specify the RAM size.

6. If you need to add graphics processors to the server, click Add GPU, select the GPU type and specify the number of GPUs. The selected product line will change to the GPU product line. If in the Source block you selected an image without GPU optimization and the Auto-select GPU image toggle is on, the selected image will automatically change to a GPU-optimized image.

7. If both local and network volumes are available in the selected configuration, select the volume to be used as the boot volume:

   • local disk — check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox. A server with a local disk can only be created from images and applications;
   • network volume — do not check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox.

   The amount of RAM allocated to the server may be less than the amount specified in the configuration — the operating system kernel reserves a portion of RAM depending on the kernel version and distribution. You can check the allocated amount on the server using the command sudo dmesg | grep Memory.

Volumes

1. If you did not check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox when configuring, the first specified network volume will be used as the server boot volume. To configure it:

   1.1. Select the type of network boot volume.

   1.2. Specify the size of the network boot volume in GB or TB. Observe the network volume maximum size limits.

   1.3. If you selected the Universal v2 or Fast SSD v2 volume type, specify the total IOPS for read and write operations. After the volume is created, you can change the IOPS count —increase or decrease it. There is no limit on the number of IOPS changes.

2. Optional: to add additional network volumes to the server:

   2.1. Click Add.

   2.2. Select the type of network volume.

   2.3. Specify the size of the network volume in GB or TB. Observe the network volume maximum size limits.

   2.4. If you selected the Universal v2 or Fast SSD v2 volume type, specify the total IOPS for read and write operations. After the volume is created, you can change the IOPS count —increase or decrease it. There is no limit on the number of IOPS changes.

   After the server is created, you can detach additional volumes or attach new ones.

Internet

Configure public access to the server.

Public floating IP address

The cloud server will be added to a private subnet that is connected to a cloud router with 1:1 NAT and internet access. Internet access will be provided via the cloud router. The server will be accessible from the internet via a public floating IP address.

1. In the Internet connection field, select the Public floating IP address access type.

2. Select an available IP address or create a new one.

Direct public IP address

A direct public IP address will be assigned to the cloud server. Internet access will be provided directly via the public IP address without a cloud router.

1. In the Internet connection field, select the Direct public IP address access type.

2. Select an available IP address or create a new one.

Public subnet

The cloud server will be added to a public subnet. A port with one IP address from the subnet will be added to the server; you can use the remaining IP addresses in the subnet for other devices in the same pool. Internet access will be provided directly via the public IP address without a cloud router.

1. In the Internet connection field, select the Public subnet access type.

2. In the Subnet field, select an existing subnet or create a new one of the required size.

No internet access

The cloud server will be added to a private subnet.

You will be able to access the server via a private network or through the console.

In the Internet connection field, select the No internet access access type.

Private network

Private network settings are available if you selected Public floating IP address or No internet access in the Internet block.

A cloud server can be added to an already existing or a new private subnet.

Existing private subnet

1. In the Subnet field, select a private subnet.

2. Optional: in the IP address field, change the default IP address.

3. Configure the connection to the cloud router. A router is mandatory for a server with a public floating IP address. For a server without internet access, a router is optional — it allows the server to communicate with other private networks and access the internet, for example, for updates. In this case, the server is not accessible from the internet.

   • If you selected no internet access and do not need a router, select No router in the Router field;

   • If you selected no internet access and need a router, select an existing router or create a new one in the Router field. To allow the server to access the internet via the router, check the Connect router to the internet checkbox;

   • If you selected internet access via a public floating IP address, select an existing router or create a new one in the Router field. If the selected router is not connected to the internet, it will be automatically connected after the server is created.

New private subnet

1. In the Subnet field, select New private subnet.

2. In the Network field, select an existing network or create a new one.

3. Optional: change the subnet CIDR.

4. Optional: in the IP address field, change the default IP address.

5. Configure the connection to the cloud router. A router is mandatory for a server with a public floating IP address. For a server without internet access, a router is optional — it allows the server to communicate with other private networks and access the internet, for example, for updates. In this case, the server is not accessible from the internet.

   • If you selected no internet access and do not need a router, select No router in the Router field;

   • If you selected no internet access and need a router, select an existing router or create a new one in the Router field. To allow the server to access the internet via the router, check the Connect router to the internet checkbox;

   • If you selected internet access via a public floating IP address, select an existing router or create a new one in the Router field. If the selected router is not connected to the internet, it will be automatically connected after the server is created.

Security

Select security groups to filter traffic on server ports. Without security groups, traffic will be denied. If the block is missing, traffic filtering (port security) is disabled on the server network. With traffic filtering disabled, all traffic will be allowed.

Access

1. Place an SSH key for the project on the server for secure connection:

   1.1. If an SSH key for the project has not been added to the cloud platform, click Add SSH key, enter the key name, paste the public key in OpenSSH format, and click Add.

   1.2. If an SSH key for the project has been added to the cloud platform, select an existing key in the SSH key field. An SSH key is available only in the pool where it is stored.

2. Optional: in the Password for root field:

   2.1. Copy the password for the root user—a user with unrestricted privileges for all system actions.

   2.2. Save the password in a safe place and do not share it in plain text.

Optional: additional settings

1. To create a preemptible server, check the Preemptible server checkbox.

2. If you are planning to create several servers and want to increase infrastructure fault tolerance, add the server to a placement group:

   2.1. To create a new group, select New group in the Placement group field, enter the group name and select a placement policy on different hosts:

   • soft — soft-anti-affinity. The system will try to place the servers on different hosts. If there is no suitable host when creating the server, it will be created on the same host;
   • mandatory — anti-affinity. Servers in the group must be placed on different hosts. If there is no suitable host when creating the server, the server will not be created.

   2.4. If the group has been created, select the placement group in the Placement group field.

3. To add additional information or filter servers in the list, add server tags. Operating system and configuration tags are added automatically. To add a new tag, enter it in the Tags field.

4. To add a script that will be executed by the cloud-init agent during the first OS startup, in the Automation block in the User data field:

   • open the Text tab and paste the script as text;
   • or open the File tab and upload the script file.

   You can view script examples and supported formats in the User data guide.

OpenStack CLI

You can view an example of creating multiple cloud servers in the Create several cloud servers via OpenStack CLI guide.

1. Open the OpenStack CLI.

2. Create a cloud server:

   openstack server create \
       [--image <image> | --volume <volume> | --snapshot <snapshot>] \
       --flavor <flavor> \
       --availability-zone <pool_segment> \
       --nic net-id=<net_uuid> \
       --security-group <security_group> \
       --key-name <key_name> \
       <server_name>

   Specify:

   • source type:
     • --image <image> — to create a server from a pre-built or a custom image. The <image> parameter is the image ID or name. The image must be in the same pool as the server. You can view the list of images using openstack image list;
     • --volume <volume> — to create a server from a network volume. The <volume> parameter is the volume ID or name. The volume must be in the same pool segment as the server. You can view the list of network volumes using openstack volume list;
     • --snapshot <snapshot> — to create a server from a snapshot. The <snapshot> parameter is the snapshot ID or name. The snapshot must be in the same pool segment as the server. You can view the list of snapshots using openstack snapshot list;
   • <flavor> — flavor ID or name. Flavors correspond to cloud server configurations and determine the number of vCPUs, RAM and the local disk size (optional). You can use flavors of fixed configurations or create a flavor. For example, 1015 — the ID for creating a server with a fixed Standard line configuration with 4 vCPUs and 16 GB of RAM in the ru-9 pool. You can view the list of flavors using openstack flavor list or in the List of fixed configuration flavors in all pools table;
   • <pool_segment> — pool segment where the cloud server will be created, for example, ru-9a. The list of available pool segments can be viewed in the Availability Matrix guide;
   • <net_uuid> — ID of the private or public network to which the server will be connected. You can view the list of networks using openstack network list;
   • <security_group> — ID or name of the security group to be assigned to all server ports. To create a server with a security group, traffic filtering (port security) must be enabled in the network. You can view the list of groups using the openstack security group list command;
   • <key_name> — name of the SSH key pair for the service user. If SSH keys are not created, generate them. You can view the list of key pairs using openstack keypair list;
   • optional: --block-device-mapping vdb=<extra_volume> — extra volume ID or name. You can view the list of volumes using openstack volume list;
   • optional: --property x_cloud_smt_enabled=false — disabling Hyper-Threading (SMT). If the parameter is not specified, Hyper-Threading (SMT) will be enabled by default. Can only be used with flavors that support dedicated cores. You can view the list of flavors in the List of fixed configuration flavors in all pools table;
   • optional: --property x_cloud_numa_nodes=1 — placing resources on a single NUMA node. Can only be used with flavors that support dedicated cores. You can view the list of flavors in the List of fixed configuration flavors in all pools table;
   • optional: --tag <tag_name> --os-compute-api-version 2.52 — a tag for adding additional server information;
   • optional: --tag preemptible --os-compute-api-version 2.72 — a tag for creating a preemptible server;
   • optional: --user-data <user_data.file> — path to a script with Base64-encoded data. Scenarios and tasks from the script will be executed during the first OS startup. You can view script examples in the User data guide;
   • <server_name> — server name.

Terraform

Examples of cloud server creation can be found in the Terraform documentation:

• Create a custom configuration server with a bootable network volume and an additional network volume;
• Create a fixed-configuration GPU line cloud server with a bootable network volume;
• Create a fixed-configuration Standard line cloud server and add it to a placement group.