| title | excerpt | updated |
|---|---|---|
Configuring vRack on the Public Cloud using the OVHcloud API |
Find out how to activate and configure a vRack on the Public Cloud using the OVHcloud API |
2022-11-02 |
The vRack is a private network that allows you to configure addressing between two or more compatible OVHcloud services. It also allows you to add Public Cloud instances to your private network to create an infrastructure of physical and virtual resources.
This guide provides some basic information on creating and configuring the vRack on Public Cloud using the OVHcloud API.
- A Public Cloud project in your OVHcloud account
- An OpenStack user account
- Basic networking knowledge
- Consulting the guide Configuring the vRack on Public Cloud (to understand the different methods to manage the vRack with the Public Cloud)
- Consulting the guide First steps to use the OVHcloud API (to familiarise yourself with the OVHcloud API)
Log in to the OVHcloud APIv6 interface according to the relevant guide (First steps with the OVHcloud API) and follow these steps:
[!api]
@api {v1} /order POST /order/cart
[!primary] This call will create an ID for your 'shopping cart'. You can add as many articles as you want before you validate it.
In this case, the order of a vRack alone is free. Remember your cart number (cartId), it will be required for the rest.
[!api]
@api {v1} /order GET /order/cart/{cartId}/vrack
[!primary] This call will allow you to retrieve all the information needed to order the vRack. Copy the following:
cartId, duration, planCode, and pricingMode.
[!api]
@api {v1} /order POST /order/cart/{cartId}/vrack
[!primary] This call allows you to add the vRack to the cart by adding all the necessary information to the order.
For a vRack, this would be, for example:
cartId: [your cart identifier]
duration: "P1M"
planCode: "vrack"
pricingMode: "default"
quantity: 1
Once you have validated the order, you will receive an item number ("itemId"). Keep this information, it will be useful if you wish to make changes before the validation of the cart.
Once you have put all the items in your cart, you will need to validate it:
[!api]
@api {v1} /order POST /order/cart/{cartId}/checkout
[!primary] This call will validate the cart and create a purchase order ("orderId"). Keep this information, it will be necessary to validate the order.
To validate the order, you have two possibilities:
- Pass through the visible URL when the cart is validated. Example:
URL: https://www.ovh.com/cgi-bin/order/displayOrder.cgi?orderId=12345678&orderPassword=xxxxxxxxxx
- Validate using this call:
[!api]
@api {v1} /me POST /me/order/{orderId}/payWithRegisteredPaymentMean
[!primary] Even if it is a €0 purchase order, it is necessary to simulate a purchase order payment (orderId). Your order form will then be validated and processing will begin.
Once the free order has been validated, it may take a few minutes for the vRack to be activated.
Once the vRack is active, you will need to integrate your Public Cloud project(s) into the vRack.
Log in to the OVHcloud APIv6 interface according to the relevant guide (First steps with the OVHcloud API).
In case the project ID is unknown, the calls below allow you to retrieve it.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project
[!primary] This call retrieves the list of projects.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}
[!primary] This call identifies the project via the "description" field.
Once the project ID and the vRack name are known, their association is made through the following call:
[!api]
@api {v1} /vrack POST /vrack/{serviceName}/cloudProject
Fill in the fields with the information previously retrieved:
serviceName: vRack name in the form "pn-xxxxxx"
project: The Public Cloud project ID in the form of a 32-character string
[!primary] This call initialises the association of the project and the vRack. The task ID must then be retrieved to check the progress.
You can view the progress of the task with this call:
[!api]
@api {v1} /vrack GET /vrack/{serviceName}/cloudProject/{project}
[!primary] This call is optional and only allows you to check the status of the task. Once it is complete, you can proceed to the next step.
It is necessary to create a VLAN so that instances connected to the vRack 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.
Using the OVHcloud APIv6, you can customise all settings: IP range (10.0.0.0/16 for example), deployment zone, DCHP, Gateway, etc.
[!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 logged in to the OVHcloud APIv6 interface, follow these steps:
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project
[!primary] This call retrieves the list of projects.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}
[!primary] This call identifies the project via the "description" field.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/vrack
[!primary] In the field "serviceName", specify the ID of your project. Save the vRack ID information in the form "pn-xxxxx".
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/network/private
[!primary] Fill in the fields with the information previously obtained:
serviceName : project ID
name : name of your VLAN
You can leave the "Region" field blank in order to enable it for all regions.
The VLAN identifier (vlanId) is required if you want to create a specific VLAN.
The creation will take a few moments.
You can check your VLAN information with the following call
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/network/private
[!primary] This call retrieves the "networkId" in this form: name-vrack_vlanId.
For example, VLAN 42: pn-xxxxxx_42
By default, if you do not add a subnet, the IP range used is:
10.0.0.0/16
If you want to manage IP assignments yourself, you will need to create a subnet.
To do this, once the VLAN is created, you will need to create the subnet for each affected area by the following call:
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/network/private/{networkId}/subnet
Fill in the fields according the following table.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| serviceName | ID of the project |
| networkId | Your network ID, retrieved with previous steps. Example: pn-xxxxxx_42 for VLAN 42 |
| dhcp | Check box for enabling / uncheck for disabling DHCP in the VLAN |
| end | Last address of the subnet in this region. Example: 192.168.1.50 |
| network | Subnet IP block. Example: 192.168.1.0/24 |
| region | Example: SBG3 |
| start | First address of the subnet in this region. Example: 192.168.1.15 |
[!primary] This is the stage of creating the subnet by region. You can enable or disable private IP address assignment dynamically through DHCP.
You will need to do the same for each region where your instances are present.
Warning
Be careful to separate your IP address pools for different regions. For example:
From 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254 for SBG1
From 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254 for GRA1
There are two possible scenarios:
- The instance to be integrated does not exist yet.
- An existing instance needs to be added to the vRack.
Once logged in to the OVHcloud APIv6 interface, follow these steps:
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/network/public
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/network/private
[!primary] The identifier will have the form: "pn-xxxxx_yy" in which yy is the VLAN number.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/flavor
[!primary] You can limit the list by specifying the creation region of your instance.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/image
[!primary] You can limit the list by specifying the creation region of your instance.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/sshkey
If you have not added an SSH key to your OVHcloud Control Panel yet, you can do so using the following call:
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/sshkey
Once all the elements necessary for the deployment are gathered, you can use the following call:
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance
You will need to fill in at least the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| serviceName | ID of the Public Cloud project |
| flavorId | ID of the instance type (example: D2-2, B2-7, WIN-R2-15...) |
| imageId | ID of the image for the deployment (example: Debian 9, Centos 7...) |
| name | name for your instance. |
| networks | In the "networkId" section, indicate the public network identifier (Ext-Net) or your VLAN (pn-xxxxxx_yy). You can click the "+" button to add more networks. |
| region | Region for your instance deployment (example: GRA5) |
| sshKeyId | ID of your OpenStack SSH key |
Once the call is complete, if all information is correctly filled in, the instance will be created with one or more network interfaces.
Warning
Depending on operating systems, you will need to manually configure your private network interfaces to be considered.
Because OpenStack is unable to prioritise the public interface of the vRack interface, the vRack interface may sometimes pass as the default route.
The direct consequence is that the instance is unreachable from a public IP.
One or more reboots of the instance from the Control Panel can resolve this situation.
The other solution is to connect to the instance via another server in the same private network. You can also correct the network configuration of the instance through Rescue mode.
If you need to integrate an existing instance into the vRack, it is not possible to do so from your OVHcloud Control Panel. You will need to use Horizon, the OpenStack API or the OVHcloud APIv6.
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.
The steps below describe how to manage your instances' network interfaces.
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/network/public
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud GET /cloud/project/{serviceName}/network/private
[!primary] The identifier will have the form: "pn-xxxxx_yy" in which yy is the VLAN number.
Once all the elements necessary are gathered, you can use the following call:
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud POST /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance/{instanceId}/interface
You will need to fill in at least the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| serviceName | ID of the Public Cloud project |
| instanceId | ID of the instance |
| networkId | Enter the public network identifier (Ext-Net) or your VLAN (pn-xxxxxx_yy) |
| ip | Define a specific IP (only works for private interfaces) |
Once the call is complete, if all information is correctly filled in, a new interface will be added to your instance.
[!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.
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.
Once all the necessary information is retrieved, you can use the following call to remove an interface:
[!api]
@api {v1} /cloud DELETE /cloud/project/{serviceName}/instance/{instanceId}/interface/{interfaceId}
You will need to fill in at least the following fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| serviceName | ID of the Public Cloud project |
| instanceId | ID of the instance |
| networkId | Enter the public network identifier (Ext-Net) or your VLAN (pn-xxxxxx_yy) |
Configuring vRack for Public Cloud
First steps with the OVHcloud API
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