Using OpenStack Dashboard to Launch and Terminate Instances

Using OpenStack Dashboard to launch instances

Instances are virtual machines that run inside the cloud.

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Launching instances are easily done, using the Openstack Dashboard. We simply select our chosen image, choose the size of the instance, and then launch it.

In this article, you will learn below topics

Getting ready to OpenStack Dashboard How to do OpenStack Dashboard to launch instances How Launch Instance works Using OpenStack Dashboard to terminate instances Getting ready to terminate instances How to do terminate instances How Terminate Instances work

Getting ready to OpenStack Dashboard

Load a Web browser, point it to our OpenStack Dashboard address at https://172.16.0.200/horizon, and log in as a user, such as a demo user created in Adding users of keystone OpenStack Identity Service, with the password OpenStack.

How to do OpenStack Dashboard to launch instances

To launch an instance by using the OpenStack Dashboard interface, carry out the following steps:

• Navigate to the Images & Snapshots tab and select an appropriate image to launch, for example, the ubuntu 12.04 x86_64 server image:

• Click on the Launch button under the Actions column of the image to be launched.
• A dialog box appears requesting a name for the instance (for example, horizon1). Choose an instance type of tiny:

• Next, choose the Access & Security tab, and choose the keypair and security groups for this image as shown in the following screenshot:

Tip: If you haven’t created a keypair you can click on the + button and import a key from this dialog box.

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• With Neutron configured in our environment, selecting the Networking tab allows us to choose the networks that our instance, will be attached to by dragging the networks listed under Available networks into the Selected Networks box:

• Once selected, we can click on the Launch Instance
• We will be returned to the Instances & Volumes tab that shows the instance in a Build status, which will eventually change to Active:

Tip: If the display hasn’t refreshed, click on the Instances tab to refresh the information manually.

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How Launch Instance works

Launching instances from Horizon—the OpenStack Dashboard—is done in two stages:

• Selecting the appropriate image from the Images
• Choosing the appropriate values to assign to the instance.

The Instances tab shows the running instances under our cookbook project.

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Tip: You can also see an overview of what is running in our environment, by clicking on the Overview tab.

Using OpenStack Dashboard to terminate instances

Terminating instances can be simply done by using OpenStack Dashboard.

Getting ready to terminate instances

Load a Web browser, point it to our OpenStack Dashboard address at https://172.16.0. 200/horizon, and log in as a user, such as a demo user created in Adding users recipe of Keystone OpenStack Identity Service, with the password OpenStack.

How to do terminate instances

To terminate instances by using OpenStack Dashboard, carry out the following steps:

• Select the Instances tab and choose the instance to be terminated by selecting the checkbox next to the instance name (or names) then click on the red Terminate Instances button:

• We will be presented with a confirmation screen. Click on the Terminate Instances button to terminate the selected instance:

• We will be presented with the Instances screen with a confirmation that the instance has been terminated successfully.

How Terminate Instances work

Terminating instances by using OpenStack Dashboard is easy. We simply select our running instance and click on the Terminate Instances button, which is highlighted when an instance is selected. After clicking on the Terminate Instances button, we are asked to confirm this action to minimize the risk of accidentally terminating an instance