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Overview

OpenCloud Templates are reusable configuration settings that can be used to generate new Instances. When a User creates a new Instance, they choose from a list of available Templates. Templates may have different settings and configured options for various kinds of Instances.

Each Template is associated with a specific type of Hypervisor. These templates for the US Signal OpenCloud environment are associated with KVM and cannot be used in other Hypervisors.

OpenCloud Administrators and Domain Admins can create new Templates for their Users to use when creating new Instances.

ISOs are in the same location as Templates and can be used in a comparable way to spin up new Instances through the OpenCloud Instance creation process.

Templates/ISOs

Templates and ISO's are separated in the GUI, however, they the same sets of instructions apply generally to both. Any exceptions will be noted.

List Available

  1. To see what Templates and ISOs are already available, first click on Images > Templates or ISOs.
  2. These menus will show what ISOs and Templates are available as well as additional information about each Template or ISO.
  3. Click on each different ISO or Template Name to enter its details page and see more information about it or interact with it.
  4. Templates and ISOs can be ordered and organized so that the Templates and ISOs at the top of the screen are presented to the User first when they create an Instance.

Uploading from Local

Templates or ISO's can be either uploaded locally from the User’s machine or from a Local File.

  1. From the OpenCloud main screen, click on Images and then Templates or ISOs to bring up their respective overview pages.
  2. At the top of the screen, there will be two options.
  3. Clicking on Upload Template from local or Upload ISO from local will bring up a new dialog box.

  4. Fill in Dialog box with the the required values:

    Templates:

    Field Name Input Required/Optional
    Local file Click or Drag to select the file location Required
    Name The name of the item Required
    Description the display text. defaults to the 'name' Optional
    Zone Set the Zone you would like upload to Required
    Domain Set the domain. If left blank, it will use the root domain for your account. Optional
    Account This option only appears if you pick a domain. Optional
    Hypervisor Select KVM Required
    Format Select QCOW2

    File extension must end in QCOW2. No other formats are supported and will fail to upload    		 Required
    Direct Download This setting is not used Optional
    Checksum the checksum value Optional
    Root Disk Controller VirtIO is recommended Optional
    OS Type The OS Type for Windows Templates should be Windows PV and the OS Type for Linux can be the specific flavor of Linux being registered Required
    Template Type This is left blank as this feature is not used Optional
    Userdata This is left blank as this feature is not used Optional
    Userdata Link Policy This is left blank as this feature is not used Optional
    Extractable Select this if you want the Template to be able to be downloaded from OpenCloud Optional
    Dynamically scalable This is left unchecked as this feature is not used Optional
    Password Enabled This is left unchecked as this feature is not used Optional
    HVM This is left unchecked as this feature is not used Optional

    Recommended Template Settings

    Once the Template is uploaded, the following Recommended Settings should be applied to the Template.

    Setting Value
    video.hardware virtio
    rootDiskController virtio
    1. Click on Images > Templates and click on the name of the Template.
    2. In the Template Details Screen, click on the Settings heading and then click Add Setting
    3. Fill out the settings as referenced above and click the check mark to add each one to the Template. This will make sure that all Instances created with this Template inherit these Settings.

    ISOs:

    Field Name Input Required/Optional
    Local file Click or Drag to select the file location Required
    Name The name of the item Required
    Description the display text. defaults to the 'name' Optional
    Checksum the checksum value Optional
    Zone Set the Zone you would like upload to Required
    Domain Set the domain. If left blank, it will use the root domain for your account. Optional
    Account This option only appears if you pick a domain. Optional
    Bootable Select this if ISO is bootable Optional
    OS Type This option only appears if the Template is made bootable Required
    UserData This is left blank as this feature is not used Optional
    Userdata link policy This is left blank as this feature is not used Optional
    Dynamically scalable This is left blank as this feature is not used Optional
    Extractable Select this if you want the ISO to be able to be downloaded from OpenCloud Optional

  5. Once all these options have been filled out, click OK and the Template or ISO will be uploaded.

Limits

  • Each Template/ISO has a max size of 50 GB
  • Uploaded Templates may not have more than one Volume attached to them. Additional Volumes can be added after Instance creation.

Replicate an ISO/Template

  1. From the OpenCloud main screen, click on Images and then Templates or ISOs to bring up their respective overview pages.
  2. Click on the name of the Template or ISO that should be replicated.
  3. Select Zones from the left side menu to see the Zones that the ISO or Template are currently stored in.
  4. To copy a ISO or Template to another Zone, select the Copy ISO or Copy Template option on the right hand side of the page. It will look like two pages.
  5. A new window will appear. Select the Zone that the ISO or Template should be replicated to.
  6. Select Ok. The copy process will start and the new Zone will be represented on the list of Zones that ISO or Template is available in.

Registering an ISO/Template

  1. To upload ISOs that can be used for Instances, first log in to the OpenCloud portal and then click on Images > ISOs.

    Uploading via URL does not support locations that redirect or require authentication.

  2. On the ISOs main page, click on Register ISO at the top of the page.

  3. This will allow an ISO from a URL to be uploaded to OpenCloud.
  4. A dialog window will appear.
  5. Select a name for the ISO, give it a description, and select the Zone. The Zone should be filled in with the User’s default Zone. The Users Domain should also be filled in automatically.
  6. If the ISO being uploaded can be used to boot an Instance, keep the Bootable option enabled.
  7. Select the OS Type of the ISO. For Windows ISOs or for Boot Media that will be used to create Windows Instances, select Windows PV. For Linux ISOs, select the specific flavor of Linux.
  8. To upload an ISO from a local file, click on the button that says Upload ISO from File at the top of the ISO details screen next to the Register ISO button.
  9. A dialog box will appear.
  10. Enter the name of the ISO and a description of the ISO.
  11. Select the zone if needed.
  12. The Domain of the ISO can be selected from a list of Domains. Choosing a specific Domain will also require that an Account be chosen to link the ISO to.
  13. Choose an Account that the ISO should belong to after uploading.
  14. Keep the ISO as bootable if it is an ISO that can be used to boot a new Instance.
  15. Select the OS type for the ISO. If it is a Windows ISO, make sure that it is marked as Windows PV. If it is a Linux ISO, make sure that it is the specific flavor of Linux.

Limits

Each Template/ISO has a max size of 50 GB

Editing an ISO/Template

  1. To edit Templates or ISOs, first click on Images and then Templates or ISOs to bring up their respective overview pages.
  2. Click on the name of the Template or ISO that should be edited.
  3. In the upper right corner, click on the Edit Template/ISO button.
  4. A dialog box will come up.
  5. The name, description, OS type, and User data of an ISO can be changed.
  6. The name, description, password settings, NIC adapter type, keyboard type, User data, and Template Type can be changed on a Template.

Downloading an ISO/Template

  1. To download ISOs or Templates for storage or use in other Domains or Platforms, first click on Images and then either Templates or ISO depending on which should be downloaded.
  2. Click on the name of the Template or ISO to be downloaded.
  3. Inside the details page, click on the Download Template/ISO button in the upper right corner.
  4. After clicking, a dialog box will appear asking for confirmation of download. Click OK to start the download.

You cannot download images provided by US Signal. This also requires the ISO or Template to have had the extractable option set when uploading or registering

Deleting an ISO/Template

  1. To remove a Template or ISO from OpenCloud, first click on Images and then on Templates or ISOs depending on which should be deleted.
  2. Click on the name of the ISO or Template that should be deleted.
  3. On the details page of the Template or ISO, click on the Zones tab.
  4. The Zones tab shows what Zones the ISO or Template is installed in.
  5. To remove the Template or ISO, click on the Delete ISO button on the right side of the Zone details.
  6. A small confirmation box will appear over the delete button. Press OK to confirm the deletion.

US Signal cannot recover any ISO or Template that is deleted.

Creating a Template from an Existing Instance

  1. When Domain Admins and Users first log in to their OpenCloud Domain, there will be default Templates available for them to use
  2. However, OpenCloud Instance Volumes can be configured the way that the Users wish and then turned into Templates for later use.
  3. First, an Instance must be created. Refer to the KB on Managing Instances for more information.
  4. After the Instance is created and the OS configured properly, the Instance must be stopped.
  5. Click into an Instance details page and select the Stop Instance option in the upper right corner of the screen.
  6. Once the Instance is stopped, click on the Volumes details tab inside the Instance details screen to see the Root and Data Volumes of the Instance.
  7. Click on the name of the ROOT volume to enter it.
  8. Once in the details screen of the ROOT volume, select the Create Template from Volume option in the upper right corner of the screen.
  9. A new window will open.
  10. Name the new Template and add a Description if necessary.
  11. Select the OS Type of the Template. For all Windows Server Instances, this will be Windows PV. Otherwise, for Linux Instances, specify the type of Linux flavor.
  12. Select if the Instance requires HVM. HVM Stands for "Hardware Virtualization Mode"
    • HVM Un-Selected (Default): HVM is disabled. Para Virtualization mode is used.
    • HVM Selected: HVM is Enabled. Hardware Virtualization Mode is used. This option should only be used if your Instance requires it.
  13. Select if the Template will support Password Resets. Please refer to the KB on working with Instances for more information on Password Resets, but usually this option is checked.
  14. Once these options are filled, select OK.
  15. The new Template will be created and then it can be seen in the Templates View under Images.

Limits

  • Each Template/ISO has a max size of 50 GB
  • Templates may not have more than one Volume attached to them. Additional Volumes can be added after Instance creation.