Getting Started Tutorial

A hands-on introduction to the MRC IaaS product, where we will create a computer in the cloud, connect to it, run some commands, and close it down again.

PREREQUISITES

1. Linux familiarity

This tutorial focuses on Linux. While we provide all the commands you need to enter at the command line, a basic familiarity with the command line will help you be most productive. There are many Linux training resources online, but the first few sections of this tutorial are a good place to start.

2. SSH client

You'll need a working SSH client on your computer. If you are not familiar with SSH, this guide explains how to set it up.

3. MRC IaaS project

This tutorial assumes you have already been approved for an MRC IaaS project. While all users are associated with a trial project, with a name like pt-XXXXX, these are not configured to offer usable resources in the MRC. For instructions on how to request a project, see the Allocations Guide. Once your project is approved, come back to this tutorial to learn how to get your first virtual machine instance up and running (specifically, you'll bring an instance online running Linux (specifically, Ubuntu 18.04), and connect to it over SSH).

4. Terminology

Please visit the glossary, especially if you are not familiar with the following cloud computing concepts that are core to this tutorial:

virtual machine
instance
flavor
security group
keypairs

TUTORIAL OBJECTIVE

Bring a virtual machine instance online running Linux (specifically Ubuntu 18.04) and connect to it over SSH.

Prepare for a new instance

Login to the dashboard

Login to the MRC Dashboard using your University account.

Create a keypair

Navigate to Compute -> Key Pairs and click the + Create Key Pair button.
Give your keypair a name.
Download the private half of the keypair (a file ending in .pem).

Keep this file secret, keep it safe. Anyone with access to it can log into your instances.

There is a guide if you would like more information on SSH. The public half of the keypair will be kept in the cloud to inject into any instances you launch.

Launch an instance

Navigate to ‘Instances' and click 'Launch Instance'. This will open a 'Launch Instance’ dialog.

Instance details

The first tab that will open in the Launch Instance dialog is Details. You must give an Instance Name; the other fields can be left as their default values. (Contrary to popular belief, instance names do not need to be unique.)

Select source

It isn't possible to create a 'blank' instance; all instances are based on a source containing software such as an operating system. For this tutorial, we will base our instance on Ubuntu Bionic.

Go to the Source tab.
Ensure that the Select Boot Source drop down is set to Image.
Search for ubuntu in the Available search box.
Select the image named NeCTAR Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble) amd64 by clicking on the 'up' arrow next to it.

Once selected, you should see the image appear in the section titled Allocated.

Choose flavor

Go to the Flavor tab.
Select the uom.general.1c4g flavor by clicking on the 'up' arrow next to it in the Available list.

Add security groups

On the Security Groups tab, enable the default and ssh security groups.

The 'default' security group allows outgoing connections from the instance (e.g. for downloading software), while the 'ssh' group allows incoming connections on the port used for SSH (22) so you can connect to your instance.
Important: If you don't enable the SSH Security Group, you will not be able to manage your instance until you do.

Add public key

Under the Key Pair tab, make sure your new key pair is selected from the Available list.

Launch!

Click on the Launch Instance button at the bottom of the dialog.

Your instance will now be created. It will take a couple minutes to come online, when it does you should see an IP address listed in your list of instances. If anything does go wrong, delete the resultant instance and do the above steps again.

Connect to the instance

Open your SSH client, and connect to your instance using the IP address listed in the previous step. The username will be ubuntu, and instead of using a password, you should select the key you created above.

MobaXTerm: The necessary fields are circled. You will most likely need to hit Advanced SSH settings to make those settings appear.

OS X Terminal: Here you can see a user move (mv) their mykey.pem into .ssh, change the permissions accordingly, then login to the server. Note that the yes/no challenge will only happen the first time you try to connect.

Try some commands

You're now connected to your instance! Try running some commands:

type the following into the command prompt and hit enter: $ echo hello world! > hello.txt
this will write hello world! to a text file called hello.txt
If you type the command ls you'll see the file in your current directory, and if you type cat hello.txt it will display its contents

If you struggle with this step, don't forget the command line tutorial!

Always release resources when you’re not using them

Congratulations, you've created your first instance in the Unmanaged Melbourne Research Cloud!

The cloud is a shared resource. Accordingly, if you are running an instance, that may prevent someone else from being able to run their instance. This is one of the reasons why each project has a limit on the set of resources they can use.

To be a good neighbour, and to safeguard your project limits, you should only use resources when you need them. When you are finished with them, you should release them so others can use them.

Close the instance

Exit your SSH client by pressing ctrl-d or closing the window or by typing $ exit.
Then delete your instance by clicking on the checkbox next to it and selecting the Delete Instance button.

Don't panic

You will make mistakes and get frustrated with the Dashboard - we know because we do too! For us, we’re always forgetting to allow access for the appropriate ports in Security Groups. Always. Don't panic. If you can, just delete the instance and start again. If you can't, try turning it off and on again. Or contact us for support.