Quick Guide
- Access to bwCloud-OS requires an active account from a bwIDM-participating institution.
- Your account must include a valid entitlement, assigned by your home institution. This is usually automatic. If missing (see here), contact your institution’s IT support. The bwCloud-OS team cannot assign entitlements.
- Log in once to the Dashboard to activate your profile. Setup is automated via bwIDM.
- After login, select your region as described here to begin using bwCloud-OS.
- Instances can be created via the Dashboard wizard, select: name →source → flavor → network → SSH key → launch.
- The source defines the base disk for the instance, usually a pre-configured image containing the operating system (Rocky, Ubuntu, etc.) and initial software optimized for cloud environments.
- The available resources of a virtual machine (vCPU, memory, etc.) are pre-defined by flavors. Choose a flavor that fits your workload and available quota when launching your instance
- To access your bwCloud-OS virtual machines, you must register an SSH key pair and assign it when creating instances. If you lose your private SSH key, you will lose access to your instance!
- Each bwCloud-OS instance automatically receives a public IP address, valid for its entire lifetime (until deletion).
- Instances are also assigned a persistent FQDN based on their UUID and region.
- Domain hosting is not provided, but you can point your own domain to the instance’s FQDN using a CNAME record.
- SSL certificates can be obtained via Let’s Encrypt using tools like Certbot.
- By default, bwCloud-OS VMs are only accessible via SSH (port 22) and ICMP (e.g., ping) ; all other incoming traffic is blocked for security.
- To allow access on additional ports (e.g. HTTPS/443), you can add rules via the Security Groups in the Dashboard — changes take effect immediately.
- Some ports are centrally filtered in certain bwCloud-OS regions and cannot be opened individually; refer to the Port Overview for region-specific details.
- If you suspect a security incident, stop the affected VMs and submit a support ticket immediately.
- If you need more storage in a VM, create and attach additional volumes — root disks cannot be enlarged. Using special flavors with larger root disks as a reserve for extra storage is generally discouraged, as they offer less flexibility.
- All data is stored redundantly (e.g., 3× replication in Ceph), but no automatic backups are performed — you are responsible for backing up your own data.
- Back up your data regularly using snapshots or by downloading (volume-)images using the OpenStack client as explained here.
- ⚠️To avoid data loss: Never store critical or irreplaceable data only in bwCloud-OS — always back up externally.
- Each bwCloud-OS project has predefined quotas for vCPU, RAM, storage, and networks. Quota increases can be requested via the bwSupportPortal.
- Group projects allow shared access to resources. Members can manage instances collaboratively. Quotas can be assigned in multiple regions. A designated project owner is required to manage membership and act as the main contact.
- Instances cannot be moved between projects directly. Use snapshots and volume transfer instead, as described here.
- Application Credentials enable secure, password-free access to bwCloud-OS — ideal for CLI usage and automation.
- You can use these credentials with the OpenStack client to manage your cloud resources from the command line.
- Automation tools like Ansible or Terraform can be used for efficient deployment and configuration of instances.