Launch an Ubuntu VSI on IBM Cloud¶

To launch a Virtual Server Instance (VSI) with Ubuntu on IBM Cloud, you can use either the IBM Cloud web console or the CLI.

Note

A Virtual Server Instance (VSI) is IBM’s equivalent of a virtual machine. For more information, refer to IBM’s documentation about VSI.

Before starting, ensure that you have an active IBM Cloud account. If you don’t, you can sign up for one.

Using the web console¶

On the IBM Cloud web console:

Go to VPC Infrastructure > Compute> Virtual server instances>, and select Create + to open the virtual server creation form.
Enter a unique name for your VSI in the Name field.
Under the image section, go to Change image > Stock Images and search for “Ubuntu” in the search bar to select the Ubuntu OS of your preference.
Choose the desired profile for your VSI under the Profile section.
Select an existing ssh key or create a new one using Add SSH key.
Customise any other settings as needed and select Create virtual server to launch your VSI.

Using the CLI¶

Install and configure the CLI¶

To install the CLI, follow the IBM instructions for installing CLI. Once installed, authenticate with your IBM Cloud account, by running:

ibmcloud login

Install the VPC infrastructure plugin:

ibmcloud plugin install vpc-infrastructure

Set VPC CLI to use generation 2:

ibmcloud is target --gen 2

Create an SSH key pair¶

SSH key pairs are needed to log in to a VSI from your local machine. To create one, follow the IBM instructions for creating key pairs.

Find an Ubuntu image¶

Use Find Ubuntu images to find an appropriate Ubuntu image and its ID.

Choose a zone and region¶

When creating a VSI, you’ll need to specify a region and zone for the VSI to be created in. For a list of available regions and zones, refer to IBM’s documentation about regions.

Set the region (e.g. us-south):

ibmcloud is target --region us-south

Create other needed resources¶

If you don’t have an existing VPC, subnet and security group, set them up by following IBM’s instructions for creating VPC resources. Note the created VPC ID for later use.

For existing VPCs, you can list them using:

ibmcloud is vpcs

Launch the VSI¶

Create the VSI using:

ibmcloud is instance-create MyInstance \
         <vpc-id> <zone> <instance-type> <image-id> \
         --keys <ssh-key-id>

Replace <vpc-id>, <zone>, <image-id> and <ssh-key-id> with the information gathered above. If you need help deciding on the instance-type refer to IBM’s documentation on instance profiles.

An example command with the image ID for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (and other IDs hidden) would look something like this:

ibmcloud is instance-create MyUbuntuInstance \
         xxxx-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx us-south-1 bx2-2x8 \
         r006-3a44e4ee-9c9f-4693-98ae-fced7a46ffce \
         --keys xxxx-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx

The command initiates the creation of your VSI and may take a few minutes to complete.

Access Your VSI¶

After the instance is provisioned, access it via SSH:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa ubuntu@<Instance-Public-IP>

where <Instance-Public-IP> is the public IP address of your new VSI.

Terminate Your VSI¶

When you are finished with your VSI, you can terminate it using:

ibmcloud is instance-delete <instance-id>