| title | excerpt | updated |
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Configuring vRack for Public Cloud |
Find out how to set up vRack for your Public Cloud instances |
2024-12-23 |
The OVHcloud vRack is a private network solution that enables our customers to route traffic between OVHcloud dedicated servers as well as other OVHcloud services. At the same time, it allows you to add Public Cloud instances to your private network to create an infrastructure of physical and virtual resources.
This guide explains how to configure Public Cloud instances within your vRack.
- A Public Cloud project in your OVHcloud account
- Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel
- An OpenStack user (optional)
- Basic networking knowledge
Creating a vRack or adding an instance into the network can be done using the OVHcloud Control Panel, the OVHcloud APIv6, the OpenStack API, the Horizon interface or Terraform.
Depending on your technical profile and needs, it is mostly up to you which interface or method to use. For each option, the guide instructions below describe the necessary steps.
To begin with, the following provides a brief description of the possible actions according to the chosen method/interface.
The OVHcloud Control Panel is a fully visual interface, ideally suited for managing multiple VLANs. You will also have the possibility to customise the private IP range, which by default is in 10.x.x.x/16.
The VLAN will be deployed to the selected Region. You will also have the option of activating the gateways or not, enabling DHCP distributions, etc.
You can also manage billing for your services in the OVHcloud Control Panel.
The Horizon interface (independent from OVHcloud) is the original implementation of the OpenStack dashboard, which provides a web user interface to OpenStack services, including Nova, Swift, Keystone, etc.
This multifunctional, technical interface allows you to manage almost all OpenStack actions. It is one of the necessary interfaces if you need to manage more than two VLANS, add private network interfaces to your instances, manage custom images, etc.
Please refer to this guide to familiarise yourself with Horizon.
[!primary] Horizon functions zone-specific, therefore you need to remember to choose your logical (geographic) work zone at the top left of your interface (GRA5, SBG3, BHS1, etc.).
Every action you take in your OVHcloud Control Panel can be called with the OVHcloud APIv6. It even offers more possibilities than the graphical interface.
The API interface is less visual than the OVHcloud Control Panel but will allow you to perform a large number of actions. You can manage and customise your VLAN, add interfaces to your instances, or create highly customised servers.
You can simply access it from our web page but also use it to create your PHP or Python scripts. This way, you can freely automate basic tasks with scripts, optimise your own functions and much more.
You may need to retrieve various information before using some API calls because a specific input is required.
Please refer to this guide to get started with the OVHcloud APIv6.
Public Cloud services can be adminstrated using Linux or Windows command lines after downloading and installing OpenStack tools.
This method requires a good knowledge of Linux or Windows to take advantage of it, but it allows you to leverage all the power of OpenStack.
Depending on the layer you want to manage, you will need to use the Nova (compute), Neutron (network), Glance (image) or Swift (object storage) client. The latest addition to this assortment, the OpenStack client, makes it possible to manage almost all OpenStack layers directly.
With the OpenStack API, you can also easily automate this management through your scripts.
To know more about the usage of the OpenStack API, please consult these guides:
You will then be able to use the APIs dedicated to OpenStack as needed:
- Nova (compute)
- Glance (image)
- Cinder (image)
- Neutron (network)
[!primary] In some cases, it will be easier to use the OpenStack APIs and in others, Nova, Neutron, etc.
Moreover, some features may be missing from the OpenStack API depending on the version of your client and operating system. For the purpose of making this guide more accessible, it presents the simplest and most intuitive options. You may consult the official OpenStack documentation{.external} if you wish to go further in learning about its use.
For more information, consult this guide: Configuring vRack for Public Cloud using OpenStack CLI.
Terraform can also be used to manage OVHcloud infrastructures.
For that you need to cherry-pick the correct terraform provider & resource. Find more information in our guide on using Terraform with OVHcloud.
[!primary] This does not apply to newly created projects which are now automatically delivered with a vRack. To view the vRack once the project has been created, go the
Bare Metal Cloud{.action} menu and click onNetwork{.action} in the left tab. Click onvRack private network{.action} to view the vRack(s).
If you have an older project and don't have a vRack, you need to order one. Using the vRack itself is free of charge and it can be delivered within a few minutes.
Go to the Bare Metal Cloud{.action} menu and click on the Order{.action} button. Under this menu, click on vRack{.action}.
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You will be redirected to another page to validate the order, it will take a few minutes for the vRack to be setup in your account.
Once the service is active, you will find it in your Control Panel in the Bare Metal Cloud{.action} section > Network{.action} > vRack private network{.action}. Labelled "pn-xxxxxx".
From the list of eligible services, select the project you want to add to the vRack and click the Add{.action} button.
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To continue the configuration of your vRack in the OVHcloud Control Panel, skip to the section Creating a VLAN in the OVHcloud Control Panel of this guide.
To activate and manage a vRack using the OVHcloud APIv6, please refer to this section of the corresponding guide.
It is necessary to create a private network with a virtual local area network (VLAN) so that the connected instances can communicate with each other.
With the Public Cloud service, you can create up to 4,000 VLANs within one vRack. This means that you can use each private IP address up to 4,000 times. Thus, for example, 192.168.0.10 of VLAN 2 is different from IP 192.168.0.10 of VLAN 42. This can be useful in order to segment your vRack between multiple virtual networks.
In the OVHcloud Control Panel, you can assign the VLAN of your choice and customise the private IP range.
[!primary] On dedicated servers, you are using VLAN 0 by default. The OpenStack infrastructure requires to specify your VLAN ID directly at the infrastructure level.
Unlike dedicated servers, there is no need to tag a VLAN directly on a Public Cloud instance.
To learn more about this topic, please refer to the guide Creating multiple vLANs in a vRack
Warning
vRack is managed at the OVHcloud infrastructure level, meaning you can only administrate it in the OVHcloud Control Panel and the OVHcloud APIv6.
Because OpenStack is not located at the same level, you will not be able to customise VLANs through the Horizon interface or OpenStack APIs.
Once you have your vRack set, the next step is to create a private network.
In the Public cloud tab, click on Private Network{.action} in the left-hand menu under Network.
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Click on the button Add Private Network{.action}. The following page allows you to customise multiple settings.
In step 1, select the region in which you want the private network to be located.
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In the next step, a number of options are presented to you:
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In the Private Network Name field, set a name for your private network.
Create a Gateway and connect to the private network
Select this option if you intend to create instances with a private network only. For more information, please consult the following guides: Creating a private network with Gateway and Creating and connecting to your first Public Cloud instance.
Warning
If the option is greyed out, it means the region selected does not support it. For more information, please refer to our regions availability page.
Layer 2 network options
If you tick the Set a VLAN ID box, you will be able to manually choose a VLAN ID number between 0 and 4,000.
If you do not tick the box, the system will assign a random VLAN ID number to your private network.
If you want to be able to communicate with dedicated servers in this VLAN, please consult the guide: Creating multiple vLANs in a vRack.
DHCP address distribution options
The default DHCP range is 10.0.0.0/16. You can use a different private range of your choice.
Once done, click on Create{.action} to start the process.
[!primary] Creating the private network may take several minutes.
To create a private network using the OVHcloud APIv6, please refer to this section of the corresponding guide.
In Terraform, you will need to use the openstack provider. You can download an example of a complete terraform script in this repository.
The OVHcloud specific part for vRack integration is the value_specs parameter.
resource "openstack_networking_network_v2" "tf_network" {
name = "tf_network"
admin_state_up = "true"
value_specs = {
"provider:network_type" = "vrack"
"provider:segmentation_id" = var.vlan_id
}
}
resource "openstack_networking_subnet_v2" "tf_subnet"{
name = "tf_subnet"
network_id = openstack_networking_network_v2.tf_network.id
cidr = "10.0.0.0/16"
enable_dhcp = true
}There are two possible scenarios:
- The instance to be integrated does not exist yet.
- An existing instance needs to be added to the vRack.
In case of a new instance
If you need assistance, follow this guide first: Creating an instance in the OVHcloud Control Panel. When creating an instance, you can choose, in Step 5, a network mode, followed by a private network to integrate your instance into.
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Warning
You will be able to connect your instance to only one vRack from the OVHcloud Control Panel. To add multiple interfaces, you will need to go through the OpenStack or Horizon APIs.
Please refer to this section of the corresponding guide.
In case of an existing instance
The OVHcloud Control Panel allows you to attach an instance to one or more private networks but does not offer advanced network interface configuration. If you want to customise further, you will need to manage them either through the OVHcloud APIv6, through the OpenStack APIs or via Horizon.
The required action is simply to add a new network interface to your server, in addition to the existing one.
For example, if you have a public interface eth0, you will add the interface eth1.
Warning
The configuration of this new interface is rarely automatic. You will therefore need to set a static IP or configure DHCP, depending on your infrastructure.
Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel, go to the Public Cloud{.action} section and select the Public Cloud project concerned.
Click on Instances{.action} in the left-hand navigation bar and then on ...{.action} to the right of the instance. Select Instance details{.action}.
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This will open the instance dashboard. Click on the ...{.action} button in the box "Networks", next to "Private networks", and select Attach a network{.action}.
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In the popup window that appears, select the private network(s) to attach to your instance and click Attach{.action}.
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Please refer to this section of the corresponding guide.
Log in to the Horizon interface{.external} as mentioned above.
Choose the proper work zone.
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Select Compute and then Instances from the menu.
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Adding a private interface
To add an interface, click on the arrow in the "Actions" column to access the possible actions on the instance. Select Attach Interface{.action}.
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Select your interface and confirm.
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[!primary] Your OVHcloud instance will have a new network interface in addition to the public interface (Ext-Net).
In the instance summary, you can see the private IP address that is automatically assigned to your interface.
It is your responsibility to correctly configure the interface through DHCP or by using the proper IP addresses through a static IP configuration.
Detaching a network private interface
Warning
Detaching a network interface is permanent.
However, it is important to note that if you detach the "Ext-Net" interface (public IP), this address will be released and put back into circulation. It is not possible to just reassign it.
This action is only required if you wish to isolate your server in the vRack (private network), or if you wish to remove it from one or more VLANs.
To detach a private interface, click on the arrow in the "Actions" column to access the possible actions on the instance. Select Detach Interface{.action}.
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Select your interface and confirm.
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Configuring vRack for Public Cloud using OVHcloud APIv6
Creating multiple vLANs in a vRack
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