With the Cloud Server feature, you can launch up to nine virtual machines, allowing you to quickly start learning. They'll help you lower the risk of misconfiguration or missing packages on your local machine. Go spin up a few Cloud Servers and try it out for yourself.
Creating a new Cloud Server
- Click New Server in the Cloud Servers tab.
Fill out the details of your desired Cloud Server.
- Distribution: Choose your preferred server distribution from the drop down list. Keep in mind there are different attributes and access based on the distribution.
Distribution Web SSH Available in Trial Enterprise Exclusive Amazon Linux 2 ✓ ✓ CentOS 6 ✓ ✓ CentOS 7 ✓ ✓ CentOS 7 w/Docker ✓ ✓ CloudNative Kubernetes Server ✓ ✓ CoreOS ✓ ✓ Debian 9 ✓ ✓ Linux Essentials ✓ ✓ Red Hat 7 ✓ ✓ Ruby on Linux ✓ ✓ Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial LTS ✓ ✓ Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver LTS ✓ ✓ Kali Linux ✓ Windows Server 2019 ✓ Fedora Workstation ✓ ✓ Ubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo ✓ ✓ Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 ✓ ✓ openSUSE Leap 15.1 ✓ ✓ SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 ✓ ✓ - Zone: There are five available zones to choose from and you can only have one active zone at a time. You’ll need to delete the Cloud Servers before trying to create one in another zone.
- Size: Choose from Micro to Large for your server size. Each user has a max limit of 9 units total on the account. The system won't allow you to go over.
- Tag: Stay organized by adding an optional tag to your server to be displayed in the Tag column of your Server list.
- Distribution: Choose your preferred server distribution from the drop down list. Keep in mind there are different attributes and access based on the distribution.
- Click Create Server to spin up your Cloud Server. This will send you back to your Cloud Servers list and show your Cloud Server progress.
- Manage your Cloud Server by clicking the drop down arrow to the far right of your Cloud Server.
Available server information
- Credential: The default username (cloud_user) and temporary password will be displayed here. You'll need to copy and use these credentials to access your Cloud Server.
- IP Addresses: This section lists the Public IPv4 address, Private IPv4 address, and IPv6 address assigned to the server. The Public IPv4 will change every time the server is started. The Private IPv4 address and the IPv6 address will remain associated with the server until it is deleted.
- Public Hostnames: This section displays automatically generated DNS hostnames that are available for the servers. The DNS entry will remain associated with the server after restart.
- Auto-Shutdown: Cloud Servers have a four-hour time limit. This field displays the time your server is set to shut down.
- Logs: The Logs section to the right will list the servers' status actions as it changes from stopped to ready (or initial creation to ready). This will let you know what step the server is on and see the progress as the server starts up or shuts down.
Your available actions
If the Cloud Server supports the Web Terminal, click Open Terminal at the bottom to open a new Web Terminal tab.
You can also click Quick Actions to view a dropdown list of server distribution options. Options vary from one distribution to another. These are the current standard options for most distributions:
- Reset password: Reset the password for the cloud_user to the randomly generated one that is displayed on the server details.
- Add /dev/xvdb: Add a 1GB secondary drive that will be listed as /dev/xvdb on your server.
- Delete server: Removes the Cloud Server entirely.
Important: Cloud Servers will be deleted after 14 days of inactivity. If you do not engage with your server for two weeks, you’ll need to create a new one.
Congratulations Cloud Guru, you now know how to spin up a Cloud Server and manage those servers. Take a deep breath, it's okay, we know it's a lot to take in.
If you need help, please contact Pluralsight Support.