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What is a VM

A virtual machine (VM) is a server you run inside a VDC. It behaves like a physical computer, with CPU, memory, disks, network interfaces, and an operating system, but it is created, sized, and managed entirely from the dashboard.

What makes up a VM​

  • Compute: vCPU and memory, sized when you create the VM and adjustable later. A VM draws this from your VDC's compute quota.
  • Operating system: chosen from the available images (such as Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky, or Windows). The image sets the initial boot disk.
  • Disks: a boot disk that holds the operating system, plus optional volume disks for extra data. Each disk has a storage tier, Performance, Standard, or Archive.
  • Network: one or more network adapters (NICs), each connected to a subnet. A NIC can use DHCP or a static IP, and can have a public IP attached.
  • Access: an SSH key or password, set when the VM is created. You can also provide a startup script that runs on first boot.

What you can do with a VM​

Once a VM exists, you manage its lifecycle from the dashboard:

  • Power: start, shut down gracefully, force off, or reboot.
  • Clone: create a full copy of a running or stopped VM.
  • Snapshot: capture a point-in-time state to roll back to later.
  • Backup: create incremental restore points to recover the VM later (see Configure backup for a VM).
  • Resize: change vCPU and memory, within your VDC quota.
  • Destroy: delete a stopped VM, optionally keeping its disks.

VM vs disk​

A VM and its disks are separate resources:

  • The VM is the running server, with its CPU, memory, and configuration.
  • A disk is storage that attaches to a VM. When you delete a VM you can keep its disks; a detached disk becomes an orphan disk that you can attach to another VM later.