Projects and Quota

In a Nutshell

(Group-)Projects allow shared access to resources. Project members can manage instances collaboratively. A designated project owner is required to manage the project and act as the main contact. Each bwCloud-OS project has predefined quotas for vCPU, RAM, storage, networks, etc. Quota increases can be requested via the bwSupportPortal. Quotas can be assigned to a project in multiple regions. Instances cannot be moved between projects directly. Use snapshots and volume transfer instead, as described here.

(Group) Projects

In which situations is a new (group) project useful?

Projects allow multiple users to share and jointly manage resources within a single bwCloud-OS project. This is particularly useful for:

• Collaborative administration of servers with a long-term or operational purpose
• Teaching or training scenarios where students or participants need to collaborate
• Projects that involve users from multiple bwCloud-OS regions

Such collaboration is also supported through the use of access tokens (Application Credentials).

📌 Note: If the only goal is to allow multiple users to connect to the same virtual machine, you can simply add their SSH public keys to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on the VM. In that case, a new project is not required.

What does resource administration look like in a project?

OpenStack uses a basic role and rights model:

• There is the role of “Administrator”, which is reserved exclusively for members of the bwCloud-OS operations team.
• All regular users have the same standard user permissions.

As a result:

• Every project member can see all shared resources (instances, images, security groups, etc.).
• All members can create, modify, or delete resources.
• There are no internal role distinctions within a project — all members have equal rights.

How can I request a new (group) project?

Gen2:

To create a new project, you need to submit a ticket with specific information about your request. Please note:

• Only users who are already registered in bwCloud-OS can be added as project members.
• The project must have a designated owner. Please review the role of the project owner, who is responsible for managing the project and its quota usage.
• The project name should be no longer than 16 characters.

Please use the following template when submitting your request:

SUBJECT:        NEW_PROJECT
MOTIVATION:     TEXT
REGION:         NAME
PROJECT_NAME:   NAME 
OWNER_UUID:     UUID
MEMBER_UUIDS:   UUID, UUID, ...
NUMBER_VM:      INTEGER
RAM_GB:         INTEGER
VCPU:           INTEGER
STORAGE_GB:     INTEGER
SPECIAL_QUOTA:  TEXT
CUT_OFF_DATE:   dd.mm.yyyy

📌 Note: Members of the University of Stuttgart are subject to special rules, which are explained in detail here.

Gen3:

To create a new project, you need to submit a ticket with specific information about your request. Please note:

• Only users who are already registered in bwCloud-OS can be added as project members.
• For the quota flavor you need a respective eligibility.
• The owner of the eligibility will become the project owner.

Please use the following template when submitting your request:

SUBJECT:        "Request new project"
MOTIVATION:     TEXT
REGION:         NAME
MEMBER_UUIDS:   UUID, UUID, ...
QUOTA_FLAVOR:   NAME
SPECIAL_QUOTA:  TEXT
CUT_OFF_DATE:   dd.mm.yyyy

Why is it necessary to specify a project owner?

The person designated as the project owner is needed for several important reasons:

1. Billing and accountability: Cost allocation is introduced with bwCloud-OS (Gen3). Any billing or formal communication related to the project will be directed to the project owner's institution.
2. Primary contact for the bwCloud-OS team: The project owner acts as the main contact person for the bwCloud-OS team — for operational issues, incidents, and support inquiries.
3. User and membership management: The owner is responsible for managing project membership. We can only accept requests to add or remove members from the owner (or a designated replacement), since all project members have the same technical permissions. Otherwise, we cannot verify who has the authority to manage membership.

The project owner is always a member of the project.

Can the project owner be a functional or shared account?

No. All accounts and identifiers used in bwCloud-OS — including those for project owners and project members — must be assigned to individual, identifiable persons.

How can I change the eligibility and ownership of a project?

Gen2

If you currently own the project, you can request this via a ticket. The new owner needs to respond within the ticket as well.

Gen3

To request the change of the eligibility assigned to the project, please provide the following information in a Ticket. Please note:

• The owner of the new eligibility will be the (new) owner of the project.
• If you currently own the project and are holding additional eligibility, you can request this. If a second user is holding the new eligibility, the second user needs to respond within the ticket as well.
• Check for holding the new eligibility.

Please use the following template when submitting your request:

SUBJECT:        "Change eligibility"
MOTIVATION:     TEXT
OWNER_UUID:     UUID
PROJECT_UUID:   UUID 
QUOTA_FLAVOR:   NAME
SPECIAL_QUOTA:  TEXT
CUT_OFF_DATE:   dd.mm.yyyy

Can project members be changed?

Yes, members of a project can be added or removed at any time. Only the project owner is authorized to request changes to the project membership.

To request member changes, please submit a support ticket and provide the following information using this template:

SUBJECT:         MEMBER_PROJECT
NEW_OWNER:       UUID
PROJECT:         UUID
MEMBERS_ADD:     UUID, UUID, ...
MEMBERS_REMOVE:  UUID, UUID, ...

How can I switch between projects?

A user can be a member of multiple projects, and projects can have quotas in multiple bwCloud-OS regions.

To switch between projects and regions, use the project/region selector button located at the top left of the Dashboard. This allows you to choose the target project and corresponding region for your current session.

Can I move an instance to another project?

Instances cannot be directly moved between projects. However, you can use the following workaround, provided the target project has sufficient available quota:

In the Source Project:

1. Create a snapshot of the instance. The snapshot will appear under Images.
2. From the snapshot, create a volume. The volume will appear under Volumes.
3. Create a transfer for the volume and record the Transfer ID and Authorization Key.

In the Target Project:

1. Go to Volumes and select Accept Transfer.
2. Enter the recorded Transfer ID and Authorization Key. The volume will now appear under Volumes.
3. Convert or upload the volume to an image. The image will appear under Images. This process may take some time.
4. Launch a new instance from the image in the target project.

Project Quota

Quota defines the resource limits allocated to a project, such as vCPUs, RAM, networks, and storage

How can I request an additional quota?

Gen2:

To request additional quota, please provide the following information and submit your request via the Support Portal using the following template:

SUBJECT:        NEW_QUOTA
MOTIVATION:     TEXT
USER_UUID:      UUID
PROJECT_UUID:   UUID 
NUMBER_VM:      INTEGER
RAM_GB:         INTEGER
VCPU:           INTEGER
STORAGE_GB:     INTEGER
SPECIAL_QUOTA:  TEXT
CUT_OFF_DATE:   dd.mm.yyyy

📌 Note: The values you provide must represent the total desired quota for your project after the increase, not the additional amount to be added on top of your current quota.

Gen3:

To request additional quota please request the change of the eligibility. Please note:

• For the project quota you need a respective eligibility.