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Instances - Quickstart

Published on 26 May 2021

Scaleway Instances are computing units which provide you with resources to run your applications. After you have created your Instance and installed your image of choice (e.g. an operating system), you can connect to it via SSH to use it as you wish. When you are done using the Instance, you can delete it from your account.

Security & Identity (IAM):

You may need certain IAM permissions to carry out some actions described on this page. This means:

  • you are the Owner of the Scaleway Organization in which the actions will be carried out, or
  • you are an IAM user of the Organization, with a policy granting you the necessary permission sets
Requirements:

How to create an Instance

  1. Click Instances in the Compute section of the side menu. The Instance creation page displays.

  2. Click Create Instance. The Instance creation wizard displays.

  3. Complete the following steps in the wizard:

    • Choose an Availability Zone, which is the geographical region where your Instance will be deployed.
    • Choose an Instance type. Different Instance types have different prices, processing power, memory, SSD disks and bandwidth. See our dedicated documentation on choosing an Instance type to help you choose the best Instance type for your needs.
    • Choose an Image to run on your Instance. This can be an operating system, an InstantApp or a custom image. A complete list of all available Linux distributions and InstantApps can be found here.
    Note:

    When choosing an image for an Enterprise Instance, be aware this Instance type is not compatible with bootscripts, except for rescue mode. InstantApps are also not available for this Instance type.

    • Add Volumes. Volumes are storage spaces used by your Instances.
    • For GP1 Instances you can leave the default settings of a maximum local storage, or choose how much local and/or block storage you want. Your system volume is the volume on which your Instance will boot. The system volume can be either a local or a block volume.
    • PLAY2, PRO2, and Enterprise Instances boot directly on block volumes. You can add several block volumes and define how much storage you want for each.
    Important:

    Please note that:

    • a volume with an OS image should be at least 10GB (125GB for a GPU OS).
    • if several Block Storage volumes are connected to your Instance, the first volume will contain the OS and is required to boot the Instance. You can change your boot volume after you create the Instance.
    • if you have two or more volumes with identical operating systems, or a volume with no operating system, choosing one of these as your boot volume may cause unpredictable boot behavior.
    • Enter a Name for your Instance, or leave the randomly-generated name in place. Optionally, you can also add tags to help you organize your Instances.
    • Click Advanced Options if you want to configure a flexible IP, a local bootscript or a cloud-init configuration. Otherwise, leave these options at their default values.
    • Verify the SSH Keys that will give you access to your Instance.
    • Verify the Estimated Cost of your Instance, based on the specifications you chose.

  4. Click Create Instance to create your Instance. You will be informed when the Instance is ready.

How to connect to an Instance

How to connect from OSX (Mac) and Linux

  1. Open a terminal program.
  2. Enter the command below into the terminal. Make sure you replace your_private_key with the filename of your private key (often id_rsa) and your_instance_ip with the IP address of your Instance. 
    ssh -i ~/.ssh/your_private_key root@your_instance_ip
Important:

If you use bash as your default shell replace “sh” with “bash” when entering the previous command.

  1. If / when prompted, allow connection to the host by typing yes, then press Enter. 
    The authenticity of host 'myhost.ext (212.47.226.35)' can't be established.
    RSA key fingerprint is 4f:ba:65:cf:14:64:a7:1e:b6:07:7c:00:71:95:21:fa.
    Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

You are now connected to your Instance.

How to connect from Windows

To connect to your Instance from Windows, you will need to use a small application called PuTTy, an SSH client.

  1. Download and install PuTTy here

  2. Launch PuTTy on your computer.

  3. Enter your Instance’s IP address in the Hostname field.

  4. In the side menu, under Connection navigate to the Auth sub-category. (Connection —> SSH —> Auth)

  5. Click the Browse button and select the private key file you generated previously.

  6. Click Open at the bottom of the screen to open a connection to the Instance. PuttY asks you to allow the connection to the host.

  7. Click OK to confirm. The terminal window diplays.

  8. Enter the username root and press Enter to authenticate against the server with your SSH key.

    You are now connected to your Instance.

How to delete an Instance

Important:

Deleting an Instance will destroy all the volumes and data stored on that Instance. Note that your Instance must be powered off or stopped to be deleted.

  1. Click Instances in the Compute section of the side menu. The Instances page displays.
  2. Click the «See more Icon» icon next to the Instance you want to delete, and select Delete from the drop-down menu. A pop-up asks you to confirm the action.
  3. Type DELETE and then click Delete Instance.