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Compute Service

Switch Cloud Compute is an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) platform that provides on-demand virtual machines and supports the deployment, scaling, and management of compute resources. It is powered by OpenStack and forms the foundational layer for services like Switch Cloud Kubernetes.

Important

Most instance management tasks, such as launching, resizing, or shelving VMs, take place in the OpenStack Horizon Dashboard or via OpenStack CLI. The Portal offers a limited set of service-specific management options, described below.

Provision and Use the Compute Service

When you activate the Compute service for your project, the following steps occur:

  1. OpenStack Project Creation: An OpenStack project is automatically created and synchronised with the Switch Cloud Portal, using the same name and code as the project.

  2. Service Interface in the Portal: Once provisioned, the Compute service page becomes available. From here you can navigate through the following tabs:

    • Authorisation: Manage service members and shared application credentials.
    • Server Management: View current virtual machines and volumes.
    • Networking: Inspect network resources linked to the project.
    • Details: View metadata such as UID, project name, and creation time.

Authorisation

The Authorisation tab allows you to manage who can access the Compute service by assigning permissions to project members and creating shared application credentials for automated access.

Manage Memberships

All existing project members are automatically added as members to the Compute service when it is activated. Specific permissions can be granted or revoked at any time by clicking Assign permissions or Remove permissions for any member listed in the Members table. If a user loses their project-level membership, they are also removed from the Compute service. You may only assign permissions to users who are project members.

Important

If an OpenStack account does not yet exist for a given Switch Cloud Portal user, it is created automatically during the membership creation process. The details of the OpenStack account can be viewed on the user's Profile page.

Create Shared Application Credentials

Shared application credentials allow multiple users or automated systems to authenticate and interact with Compute resources without using personal user credentials. These credentials are ideal for automation, CI/CD pipelines, and service integrations.

  1. On the Authorisation tab, click Create credential.
  2. Provide a Name and optional Expires at date.
  3. Save the Secret Key (it will not be shown again and it is not stored in the Portal).
  4. Follow the instructions to access Compute service via OpenStack CLI or OpenTofu.

Access Compute Service via OpenStack CLI or OpenTofu

Switch Cloud supports two primary tools for managing Compute resources:

  • OpenStack CLI: A command-line interface for interacting with OpenStack services.
  • OpenTofu: An open-source infrastructure-as-code tool compatible with Terraform for provisioning and managing cloud resources.

Both tools require the configuration of environment variables for authentication. Once you have created a shared application credential, you must export the following variables in your CLI session or CI/CD environment:

export OS_AUTH_TYPE=v3applicationcredential
export OS_AUTH_URL=https://identity.api.zhw.cloud.switch.ch/v3
export OS_REGION_NAME=zhw
export OS_APPLICATION_CREDENTIAL_ID=<your_application_credential_id>
export OS_APPLICATION_CREDENTIAL_SECRET=<your_application_credential_secret>

By setting up these variables, you can now use both OpenStack CLI and OpenTofu to interact with Switch Cloud Compute resources.

Server Management

The Server Management tab gives you a read-only overview of your servers and volumes in OpenStack.

Servers

Each server listed here corresponds to a virtual machine in OpenStack. For every server you can view, the Name, Status (e.g. active), Region, UID and Created timestamp.

Volumes

Volumes are block storage devices that can be attached to one server at a time. For each volume you can view, the Name (if any), Size in GB, Status (e.g. in-use), Region, UID and Created timestamp.

Snapshots

Snapshots are point-in-time copies of volumes that allow you to back up data or create new volumes from existing ones. For each snapshot, you can view the Name, Size in GB, Volume ID (the volume it was created from), Description, Region, Status, UID, and Created timestamp.

Networking

The Networking tab provides an overview of your network-related resources, including Networks, Floating IPs, Load Balancers, and Routers.

Networks

Networks listed here are available to your OpenStack project and define the virtual network infrastructure for your servers. Further network actions (e.g., create, modify, assign routers) should be done in the Horizon Dashboard or via the OpenStack CLI.

Floating IPs

A Floating IP provides a public IP address that can be dynamically assigned to an instance, enabling external access or failover between resources. For each Floating IP you can view the Floating IP address, Fixed IP address (if assigned), Region, Network ID, Attached Resource ID, UID, and Created timestamp.

Routers

Routers manage traffic between private networks and external gateways, enabling communication between internal and external networks. For each router, you can view the Name, Region, Status, Description, Gateway Network ID, UID, and Created timestamp.

Details

The Details tab shows read-only metadata about the Compute service:

  • Name: The name of the Compute project.
  • Updated: Date of last change in the service metadata.
  • Created: When the Compute project was provisioned.
  • UID: The unique service identifier.
  • Description: If applicable, the project's internal admin description.

Quota

The Quota tab provides an overview of the resource limits available for your project in the Compute service. It shows how much of each resource (such as cores, servers, RAM, networks, volumes, and snapshots) is currently in use compared to the total allocation. Quotas help ensure fair resource distribution across projects and prevent accidental overuse. If you need to increase your quota, you can request an extension by contacting cloud-support@switch.ch.

Access the Horizon Dashboard

Many day-to-day operations (such as creating instances, configuring networks, and assigning floating IPs) can be performed in OpenStack's Horizon Dashboard.

You can access the Horizon Dashboard:

  • From the Compute service card in the project page
  • From the top-right Dashboard button in the Compute service page

To learn how to use Compute features visit Switch Cloud Compute.