Working with Virtual Servers¶
Using the SoftLayer portal to order virtual servers is fine, but for a number of reasons it’s often more convenient to use the command line. For this, you can use SoftLayer’s command-line client to make administrative tasks quicker and easier. This page gives an intro to working with SoftLayer virtual servers using SoftLayer’s command-line client.
Note
The following assumes that the client is already configured with valid SoftLayer credentials.
First, let’s list the current virtual servers with slcli vs list.
$ slcli vs list
:.....:............:.........................:.......:........:..............:.............:....................:........:
: id : datacenter : host : cores : memory : primary_ip : backend_ip : active_transaction : owner :
:.....:............:.........................:.......:........:..............:.............:....................:........:
:.....:............:.........................:.......:........:..............:.............:....................:........:
We don’t have any virtual servers yet! Let’s fix that. Before we can create a virtual server (VS), we need to know what options are available to us: RAM, CPU, operating systems, disk sizes, disk types, datacenters, and so on. Luckily, there’s a simple command to show all options: slcli vs create-options.
Some values were ommitted for brevity
$ slcli vs create-options
:................................:.................................................................................:
: name : value :
:................................:.................................................................................:
: datacenter : ams01 :
: : ams03 :
: : wdc07 :
: flavors (balanced) : B1_1X2X25 :
: : B1_1X2X25 :
: : B1_1X2X100 :
: cpus (standard) : 1,2,4,8,12,16,32,56 :
: cpus (dedicated) : 1,2,4,8,16,32,56 :
: cpus (dedicated host) : 1,2,4,8,12,16,32,56 :
: memory : 1024,2048,4096,6144,8192,12288,16384,32768,49152,65536,131072,247808 :
: memory (dedicated host) : 1024,2048,4096,6144,8192,12288,16384,32768,49152,65536,131072,247808 :
: os (CENTOS) : CENTOS_5_64 :
: : CENTOS_LATEST_64 :
: os (CLOUDLINUX) : CLOUDLINUX_5_64 :
: : CLOUDLINUX_6_64 :
: : CLOUDLINUX_LATEST :
: : CLOUDLINUX_LATEST_64 :
: os (COREOS) : COREOS_CURRENT_64 :
: : COREOS_LATEST :
: : COREOS_LATEST_64 :
: os (DEBIAN) : DEBIAN_6_64 :
: : DEBIAN_LATEST_64 :
: os (OTHERUNIXLINUX) : OTHERUNIXLINUX_1_64 :
: : OTHERUNIXLINUX_LATEST :
: : OTHERUNIXLINUX_LATEST_64 :
: os (REDHAT) : REDHAT_5_64 :
: : REDHAT_6_64 :
: : REDHAT_7_64 :
: : REDHAT_LATEST :
: : REDHAT_LATEST_64 :
: san disk(0) : 25,100 :
: san disk(2) : 10,20,25,30,40,50,75,100,125,150,175,200,250,300,350,400,500,750,1000,1500,2000 :
: local disk(0) : 25,100 :
: local disk(2) : 25,100,150,200,300 :
: local (dedicated host) disk(0) : 25,100 :
: nic (dedicated host) : 100,1000 :
:................................:.................................................................................:
Here’s the command to create a 2-core virtual server with 1GiB memory, running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and that is billed on an hourly basis in the San Jose 1 datacenter using the command slcli vs create.
$ slcli vs create --hostname=example --domain=softlayer.com -f B1_1X2X25 -o DEBIAN_LATEST_64 --datacenter=ams01 --billing=hourly
This action will incur charges on your account. Continue? [y/N]: y
:..........:.................................:......................................:...........................:
: ID : FQDN : guid : Order Date :
:..........:.................................:......................................:...........................:
: 70112999 : testtesttest.test.com : 1abc7afb-9618-4835-89c9-586f3711d8ea : 2019-01-30T17:16:58-06:00 :
:..........:.................................:......................................:...........................:
:.........................................................................:
: OrderId: 12345678 :
:.......:.................................................................:
: Cost : Description :
:.......:.................................................................:
: 0.0 : Debian GNU/Linux 9.x Stretch/Stable - Minimal Install (64 bit) :
: 0.0 : 25 GB (SAN) :
: 0.0 : Reboot / Remote Console :
: 0.0 : 100 Mbps Public & Private Network Uplinks :
: 0.0 : 0 GB Bandwidth Allotment :
: 0.0 : 1 IP Address :
: 0.0 : Host Ping and TCP Service Monitoring :
: 0.0 : Email and Ticket :
: 0.0 : Automated Reboot from Monitoring :
: 0.0 : Unlimited SSL VPN Users & 1 PPTP VPN User per account :
: 0.0 : Nessus Vulnerability Assessment & Reporting :
: 0.0 : 2 GB :
: 0.0 : 1 x 2.0 GHz or higher Core :
: 0.000 : Total hourly cost :
:.......:.................................................................:
After the last command, the virtual server is now being built. It should instantly appear in your virtual server list now.
$ slcli vs list
:.........:............:.......................:.......:........:................:..............:....................:
: id : datacenter : host : cores : memory : primary_ip : backend_ip : active_transaction :
:.........:............:.......................:.......:........:................:..............:....................:
: 1234567 : ams01 : example.softlayer.com : 2 : 1G : 108.168.200.11 : 10.54.80.200 : Assign Host :
:.........:............:.......................:.......:........:................:..............:....................:
Cool. You may ask, “It’s creating… but how do I know when it’s done?” Well, here’s how:
$ slcli vs ready 'example' --wait=600
READY
When the previous command returns, you’ll know that the virtual server has finished the provisioning process and is ready to use. This is very useful for chaining commands together.
Now that you have your virtual server, let’s get access to it. To do that, use the slcli vs detail command. From the example below, you can see that the username is ‘root’ and password is ‘ABCDEFGH’.
Warning
Be careful when using the –passwords flag. This will print the virtual server’s password on the screen. Make sure no one is looking over your shoulder. It’s also advisable to change your root password soon after creating your virtual server, or to create a user with sudo access and disable SSH-based login directly to the root account.
$ slcli vs detail example --passwords
:..............:...........................:
: Name : Value :
:..............:...........................:
: id : 1234567 :
: hostname : example.softlayer.com :
: status : Active :
: state : Running :
: datacenter : ams01 :
: cores : 2 :
: memory : 1G :
: public_ip : 108.168.200.11 :
: private_ip : 10.54.80.200 :
: os : Debian :
: private_only : False :
: private_cpu : False :
: created : 2013-06-13T08:29:44-06:00 :
: modified : 2013-06-13T08:31:57-06:00 :
: users : root ABCDEFGH :
:..............:...........................:
vs bandwidth¶
Bandwidth data over date range. Bandwidth is listed in GB
Using just a date might get you times off by 1 hour, use T00:01 to get just the specific days data Timezones can also be included with the YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.00000-HH:mm format.
Due to some rounding and date alignment details, results here might be slightly different than results in the control portal.
Example:
slcli hw bandwidth 1234 -s 2019-05-01T00:01 -e 2019-05-02T00:00:01.00000-12:00
vs bandwidth [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
-s
,
--start_date
<start_date>
¶ Start Date YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss, [required]
-
-e
,
--end_date
<end_date>
¶ End Date YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss [required]
-
-p
,
--summary_period
<summary_period>
¶ 300, 600, 1800, 3600, 43200 or 86400 seconds [default: 3600]
-
-q
,
--quite_summary
¶
Only show the summary table [default: False]
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
If no timezone is specified, IMS local time (CST) will be assumed, which might not match your user’s selected timezone.
vs cancel¶
Cancel virtual servers.
vs cancel [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs capture¶
Capture one or all disks from a virtual server to a SoftLayer image.
vs capture [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
-n
,
--name
<name>
¶ Name of the image [required]
-
--all
<all>
¶ Capture all disks belonging to the VS
-
--note
<note>
¶ Add a note to be associated with the image
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs create¶
Order/create virtual servers.
vs create [OPTIONS]
Options
-
-H
,
--hostname
<hostname>
¶ Host portion of the FQDN [required]
-
-D
,
--domain
<domain>
¶ Domain portion of the FQDN [required]
-
-c
,
--cpu
<cpu>
¶ Number of CPU cores (not available with flavors)
-
-m
,
--memory
<memory>
¶ Memory in mebibytes (not available with flavors)
-
-f
,
--flavor
<flavor>
¶ Public Virtual Server flavor key name
-
-d
,
--datacenter
<datacenter>
¶ Datacenter shortname [required]
-
-o
,
--os
<os>
¶ OS install code. Tip: you can specify <OS>_LATEST
-
--image
<image>
¶ Image ID. See: ‘slcli image list’ for reference
-
--boot-mode
<boot_mode>
¶ Specify the mode to boot the OS in. Supported modes are HVM and PV.
-
--billing
<billing>
¶ Billing rate [default: hourly]
Options: hourly|monthly
-
--dedicated
,
--public
¶
Create a Dedicated Virtual Server
-
--host-id
<host_id>
¶ Host Id to provision a Dedicated Host Virtual Server onto
-
--san
¶
Use SAN storage instead of local disk.
-
--test
¶
Do not actually create the virtual server
-
--export
<export>
¶ Exports options to a template file
-
-i
,
--postinstall
<postinstall>
¶ Post-install script to download
-
-k
,
--key
<key>
¶ SSH keys to add to the root user (multiple occurrence permitted)
-
--disk
<disk>
¶ Disk sizes (multiple occurrence permitted)
-
--private
¶
Forces the VS to only have access the private network
-
--like
<like>
¶ Use the configuration from an existing VS
-
-n
,
--network
<network>
¶ Network port speed in Mbps
-
-g
,
--tag
<tag>
¶ Tags to add to the instance (multiple occurrence permitted)
-
-t
,
--template
<template>
¶ A template file that defaults the command-line options
-
-u
,
--userdata
<userdata>
¶ User defined metadata string
-
-F
,
--userfile
<userfile>
¶ Read userdata from file
-
--vlan-public
<vlan_public>
¶ The ID of the public VLAN on which you want the virtual server placed
-
--vlan-private
<vlan_private>
¶ The ID of the private VLAN on which you want the virtual server placed
-
--subnet-public
<subnet_public>
¶ The ID of the public SUBNET on which you want the virtual server placed
-
--subnet-private
<subnet_private>
¶ The ID of the private SUBNET on which you want the virtual server placed
-
-S
,
--public-security-group
<public_security_group>
¶ Security group ID to associate with the public interface (multiple occurrence permitted)
-
-s
,
--private-security-group
<private_security_group>
¶ Security group ID to associate with the private interface (multiple occurrence permitted)
-
--wait
<wait>
¶ Wait until VS is finished provisioning for up to X seconds before returning
-
--placementgroup
<placementgroup>
¶ Placement Group name or Id to order this guest on. See: slcli vs placementgroup list
-
--ipv6
¶
Adds an IPv6 address to this guest
-
--transient
¶
Create a transient virtual server
vs dns-sync¶
Sync DNS records.
vs dns-sync [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
-a
,
--a-record
¶
Sync the A record for the host
-
--aaaa-record
¶
Sync the AAAA record for the host
-
--ptr
¶
Sync the PTR record for the host
-
--ttl
<ttl>
¶ Sets the TTL for the A and/or PTR records [default: 7200]
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs edit¶
Edit a virtual server’s details.
vs edit [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
-D
,
--domain
<domain>
¶ Domain portion of the FQDN
-
-H
,
--hostname
<hostname>
¶ Host portion of the FQDN. example: server
-
-g
,
--tag
<tag>
¶ Tags to set or empty string to remove all
-
-u
,
--userdata
<userdata>
¶ User defined metadata string
-
-F
,
--userfile
<userfile>
¶ Read userdata from file
-
--public-speed
<public_speed>
¶ Public port speed.
Options: 0|10|100|1000|10000
-
--private-speed
<private_speed>
¶ Private port speed.
Options: 0|10|100|1000|10000
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs list¶
List virtual servers.
vs list [OPTIONS]
Options
-
-c
,
--cpu
<cpu>
¶ Number of CPU cores
-
-D
,
--domain
<domain>
¶ Domain portion of the FQDN
-
-d
,
--datacenter
<datacenter>
¶ Datacenter shortname
-
-H
,
--hostname
<hostname>
¶ Host portion of the FQDN
-
-m
,
--memory
<memory>
¶ Memory in mebibytes
-
-n
,
--network
<network>
¶ Network port speed in Mbps
-
--hourly
¶
Show only hourly instances
-
--monthly
¶
Show only monthly instances
-
--transient
<transient>
¶ Filter by transient instances
-
--tag
<tag>
¶ Filter by tags (multiple occurrence permitted)
-
--sortby
<sortby>
¶ Column to sort by [default: hostname]
-
--columns
<columns>
¶ Columns to display. [options: guid, primary_ip, backend_ip, datacenter, action, power_state, created_by, tags] [default: id,hostname,primary_ip,backend_ip,datacenter,action]
-
-l
,
--limit
<limit>
¶ How many results to get in one api call, default is 100 [default: 100]
vs pause¶
Pauses an active virtual server.
vs pause [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs power-on¶
Power on a virtual server.
vs power-on [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs power-off¶
Power off an active virtual server.
vs power-off [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
--hard
,
--soft
¶
Perform a hard shutdown
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs resume¶
Resumes a paused virtual server.
vs resume [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs rescue¶
Reboot into a rescue image.
vs rescue [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs reboot¶
Reboot an active virtual server.
vs reboot [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
--hard
,
--soft
¶
Perform a hard or soft reboot
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs ready¶
Check if a virtual server is ready.
vs ready [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
--wait
<wait>
¶ Seconds to wait [default: 0]
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs upgrade¶
Upgrade a virtual server.
vs upgrade [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
--cpu
<cpu>
¶ Number of CPU cores
-
--private
¶
CPU core will be on a dedicated host server.
-
--memory
<memory>
¶ Memory in megabytes
-
--network
<network>
¶ Network port speed in Mbps
-
--flavor
<flavor>
¶ Flavor keyName Do not use –memory, –cpu or –private, if you are using flavors
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument
vs usage¶
Usage information of a virtual server.
vs usage [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER
Options
-
-s
,
--start_date
<start_date>
¶ Start Date e.g. 2019-3-4 (yyyy-MM-dd) [required]
-
-e
,
--end_date
<end_date>
¶ End Date e.g. 2019-4-2 (yyyy-MM-dd) [required]
-
-t
,
--valid_type
<valid_type>
¶ Metric_Data_Type keyName e.g. CPU0, CPU1, MEMORY_USAGE, etc. [required]
-
-p
,
--summary_period
<summary_period>
¶ 300, 600, 1800, 3600, 43200 or 86400 seconds
Arguments
-
IDENTIFIER
¶
Required argument