Standard Instance Creation and Configuration

This section outlines the process of starting a standard (CPU-only) instance on the Aleph Cloud network.

via the Web

You can create, manage your instances via the Aleph Cloud Console.

via the CLI

The aleph-client command-line tool is required.
See CLI Reference or use --help for a quick overview of a specific command.

Create a Standard Instance via the CLI

Prerequisite: A ssh key so you can log onto your VM, you can create one using the ssh-keygen command. To create a standard instance, use:

aleph instance create

An instance will guide you and ask you question on how you want to configure your VM: base system, disk size, etc...

Once the process is complete, your VM should be ready to use in a few minutes.

Retrieve VM Logs

Monitor your VM's activity:

aleph instance logs <vm-hash>

Access Your VM via SSH

1. Find the Instance Details

• Via CLI:

aleph instance list

• Via API: Access the compute node's API at https://<node-url>/about/executions/list.

2. Connect via SSH:

Use the retrieved IP address to SSH into your VM:

ssh <user>@<ip> [-i <path-to-ssh-key>]

• Default Users:
  • Debian: root
  • Ubuntu: ubuntu

---

For more details, see the CLI Reference.

Network

Instance support both IPv4 and IPv6.

They receive a public IPv6 address and an internal IPv4 address. All correctly configured CRN nodes provide public IPv6 connectivity to instances.

It is possible to make the VM reachable from the outside on IPv4 using the Custom Domain and/or the Port Forwarding features.

• Custom domain allows redirecting of http(s) traffic on the standard 80 and 443 ports.
• Port forwarding exposes any chosen VM port on an external port of the host.

Backup and Restore

QEMU-based instances (standard and confidential) expose a backup and restore API on the CRN. These endpoints require JWK authentication using the same account that created the instance.

Method	Endpoint	Description
POST	/control/machine/{ref}/backup	Create a disk backup. Returns 200 with metadata if a non-expired backup already exists; otherwise returns 202 and the backup runs asynchronously. Returns 409 if a backup is already in progress. Add ?include_volumes=true to include persistent volumes.
GET	/control/machine/{ref}/backup	Check backup status. Returns backup metadata if a non-expired backup exists, 202 if a backup is in progress, or 404 if no backup has been created.
GET	/control/machine/{ref}/backup/{backup_id}	Download a backup archive via a presigned URL (no JWK required; uses ?signature=...&expires=... query parameters returned by the creation endpoint).
DELETE	/control/machine/{ref}/backup/{backup_id}	Delete a backup archive.
POST	/control/machine/{ref}/restore	Restore the VM rootfs. Accepts either a multipart upload with a rootfs QCOW2 file, or a JSON body with {"volume_ref": "<item_hash>"}. The VM is stopped, the rootfs is replaced, and the VM is restarted automatically.

TIP

Backups expire automatically after a period determined by the CRN operator. Poll the GET .../backup endpoint to check whether a backup is still available before attempting to download it.