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Create and connect instance

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This guide contains information about GPU and NPU instances.
Video transcoding instance is provided in Virtual Machine. For more details, refer to Virtual Machine > Create and connect instance.

Create instance​

Instances are virtualized hardware resources that configure servers of different instance types. Here's how to create an instance in GPU:

  1. Go to KakaoCloud Console > Beyond Compute Service > GPU.

  2. In the Instance menu, click the [Create instance] button.

  3. Enter the required information and click the [Create] button.

    • Network connection after creating an instance can take up to 10 minutes.

    image. Create instance Create instance

    ItemDescription
    ① Basic informationName: Name of the instance
    - Duplicate instance names are allowed within the same project
    - When creating multiple instances, the name of the first instance created is used as the base name for the rest
    Count: Number of instances to create
    - Up to 10 instances can be created simultaneously
    - Creation limit is based on the maximum quota (limit per project)
       ᄂ kr-central-1: 100
       ᄂ kr-central-2: 500

    ️⚠️ Shared with the quota for Virtual Machine instances.
    Description (optional): Description of the instance (up to 100 characters)
    ② ImageImage to use
    - Default tab: Images officially provided by KakaoCloud
    - My Images tab: Images created by the account (see Manage image for details)
    ③ Instance typeInstance specifications
    - See Instance Specifications for details
    ④ VolumeVolume attached to the instance. Root Volume is displayed by default, with additional custom volumes available as needed.
    - Size: Can be created between 1 and 5,120GB
    - Type: Currently supports SSD only; more types will be supported in the future
    - Maximum IOPS: Preset IOPS based on volume size (edit option will be available in the future)
    - Delete with instance: Option to delete the volume when the instance is deleted
    ⑤ Key pairKey pair to apply to the instance
    - Click Create Key Pair to create and assign a new key pair

    ⚠️ The private key file for the created key pair cannot be downloaded again; ensure it is stored securely.
    ⚠️ You cannot connect to the instance without a key pair.
    ⑥ NetworkVPC: Network for the instance
    Network interface: Network interface to be connected when creating the instance; a new network interface can be created or an existing one can be attached
    Subnet: Select a subnet from the network
    - If a new VPC and subnet are needed, they must be created under KakaoCloud Console > VPC
    - A public IP can be assigned after instance creation via Associate public IP

    IP Allocation: Select how the network interface will be assigned an IP
    Security Group: Security group to apply to the instance

    Inbound/Outbound Rules
    - Inbound tab: Inbound rules applied to the security group above
    💡 To connect to the instance, you must allow the following inbound ports based on the selected image (required):
    ᄂ Linux: Allow TCP port 22
    ᄂ Windows: Allow TCP port 3389
    ᄂ Windows + MSSQL: Allow TCP ports 3389 and 1433

    - Outbound tab: Outbound rules, allowing all ports and protocols
    ⑦ Advanced settingsUser script: Script to execute user data at instance startup for initial environment setup (runs only on the first start)
    - Enter or upload a user data script or cloud-init command within 16KB
    - Script is copied and executed in /var/lib/cloud/instances
    - To check script execution logs, use the following commands:
    ᄂ Ubuntu: sudo cat /var/log/syslog or sudo journalctl -u cloud-final.service
    ᄂ CentOS: sudo cat /var/log/messages or sudo journalctl -u cloud-final.service

    ⚠️ Entering an incorrect user script or an uncompleted script may cause boot failure.

    CPU Multithreading: Option to optimize performance by assigning a single thread per CPU core
    - Recommended to disable for specific workloads like high-performance computing (HPC).
caution
  • If the created instance type is a Bare Metal Server with NVLink configuration (e.g., p2a.baremetal), you need to install Fabric Manager separately to utilize GPU features properly. Therefore, please install Fabric Manager as follows. For more details, refer to NVIDIA Fabric Manager Official Documentation > 2.6 Installation.
    • Ubuntu-based Linux: sudo apt-get install cuda-drivers-fabricmanager-[driver-branch]
    • RHEL-based Linux: sudo dnf module install nvidia-driver:[driver-branch]/fm
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  • Volumes for which the Delete when instance is deleted option is not selected will remain as detached volumes and be charged for even if the instance is deleted. In that case, delete the instance directly from the volume list.
  • Instances created starting January 16, 2023 will automatically have their hostname set to a private IP. (e.g. host-100-100-17-22).
  • After an instance is created, it is updated in host-IP format at the networking stage, and hostname may be displayed as the instance name for a while after instance creation.

Connect instance​

Metadata is required to connect to an instance. If there is no default security group of the instance, define an outbound rules for metadata acquisition in the Custom security group. For more details, refer to Custom security group.

Connect to Linux instance​

Linux instances are connected using the SSH command. Check the related explanation by clicking GPU > Instance menu > [More] icon > Use SSH to connect. Set up the security group according to the OS image and prepare the connection with public/private IP.

OSPrerequisites
Linux/macOSInstall SSH client and use ssh command in the terminal.
Step 1. Prepare SSH client​

Install an SSH client in advance to use the SSH command. Below is the preparation requirements for installing an SSH client by Operating system:

OSPrerequisites
Linux/macOSInstall an SSH client and use the ssh command in the terminal
WindowsInstall OpenSSH client to use the ssh command in the command prompt (cmd) or install a separate SSH client such as PuTTY
Step 2. Connect via SSH​

Use the SSH command to connect to the instance. Enter the path and file name of your private key (.pem), the username, and the address of the instance.

SSH command
ssh -i {PATH_TO_PRIVATE_KEY} {USERNAME}@{INSTANCE_IP}
CommandDescription
PATH_TO_PRIVATE_KEYPath to the private SSH key
USERNAMEUsername for connecting to the instance
INSTANCE_IPThe IP address of the instance
- Enter either a public or private IP according to the connection environment

Connect to Windows instance​

After the RDP connection, set up a Remote Desktop Connection to connect to the Windows instance. It is necessary to set up the security group according to the OS image, and prepare the connection so that it can be accessed via a public/private IP.

OSPrerequisites
WindowsInstall OpenSSH client to use ssh command in the Command Prompt (cmd) or install a separate SSH client like PuTTY.
Step 1. Connect via RDP​

Proceed with the RDP connection for an instance with Windows OS installed.

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  • Setting the initial password to connect to an instance may take approximately 20 minutes after requesting instance creation.
  • Access is only possible with the password obtained through the initial key pair file. If the password is changed, manually do so through the operating system (OS).
  • KakaoCloud Console only provides the initially obtained password, and any subsequently changed passwords will not be provided.
  • There are restrictions on using WSL (Windows Subsystem For Linux) in Windows instances. For Linux, please use a Linux instance.

  1. Go to KakaoCloud Console > Beyond Compute Service > GPU.

  2. In the Instance menu, select Use RDP to connect from the [More] icon of the instance.

    • The username automatically generated upon instance creation is Administrator.

  3. Click the [Upload key pair] button to upload the private key file associated with the instance and obtain the password.

    • The selected private key is not transmitted to the server.
Step 2. Connect via remote desktop​

To connect to the Windows instance, set up a remote PC (desktop) with the IP address and port number.

  1. Click on Start > Settings > System > Remote Desktop, or enter [Remote Desktop Connection](Microsoft Remote Desktop) in the search bar to launch Remote Desktop.

  2. Enter the public or private IP suitable for the instance's connection and click the [Connect] button.

    • If the instance is configured to use a different port number, add the port number after the IP address. (e.g. 10.0.0.0:1234)

  3. In Enter your credentials, enter the user name and password, click the [OK] button, and then access the respective Windows instance.

caution

If there are instances with the same hostname within the same network (VPC), some network functions may experience errors. Please be careful when changing the instance name or directly changing the host name.