Your first VM

A machine is a virtual machine. It boots from a disk image in your catalogue, with the size you pick, and runs on Cloud Hypervisor. In this guide you create a Linux machine and sign in to it, then a Windows Server machine and open its desktop.

Before you start

Add your SSH public key, so the machine can let you in:

1. Open your own page (your name, in the start menu), then SSH keys. (Right after your first sign-in, Getting started offers the same as Add an SSH key.)
2. Add a key you already have, or let Velrix make a new pair. A new private key is shown once, in that answer, and stored nowhere: save it then.

A machine takes its keys at its first boot. Adding a key later means a new machine, so add yours first.

A Linux machine

1. Open Machines and choose New machine.
2. Name: build-box. It is also the machine’s hostname: lowercase letters, digits and dashes.
3. Image: for example AlmaLinux 10 or Debian 13. Your operator decides which images the catalogue offers.
4. Size: for example c.small (1 core, 1 GB).
5. SSH key: pick yours.
6. Choose Create machine.

The machine’s page shows it starting, then running, with the server it runs on. Its CPU, memory, network and disk are measured while it runs.

Sign in

• Console opens the machine’s console in a window, from the first line the firmware prints. It works even before the network is up.
• SSH works from anywhere that reaches your project’s network: the machine has its address there, and lets in the key you picked.

Stop, start, delete

Stop and Start do what they say. Delete removes the machine and its disk, for good.

A Windows Server machine

Windows Server runs as a machine like any other. If your operator offers it, the catalogue lists an image such as Windows Server 2022.

1. Check the licence

The create form says how Windows is licensed for that image. There are three ways:

Microsoft’s licences are never part of the Velrix licence itself.

2. Create it

Create the machine as above. Choose a size with room for Windows, such as g.medium (2 cores, 4 GB). Windows takes a few minutes to prepare itself on its first boot.

3. Set the Administrator password

The image has no password anyone knows. On the machine’s page, set the Administrator password first. Velrix sets it through the guest agent inside the machine.

4. Open its desktop

Choose Remote desktop. A window of its own opens in your browser and asks for the Administrator password; then Windows’ desktop is there. You can paste text from your own computer into it, and resizing the window resizes the desktop.

Nothing is exposed to do this. The connection reaches the machine from inside the platform, so its Remote Desktop port can stay closed to everyone. To use your own Remote Desktop client instead, open port 3389 to it in a security group.

Every time someone opens a machine’s screen is recorded. The machine’s Access tab lists who opened it, when, and whether it opened.

5. Check activation

The machine’s page shows Windows’ Activation: activated, in its grace period with the days left, or not activated with the reason. For a KMS licence it also shows whether the KMS host answered at first boot.

The same machine, as code

resource "velrix_machine" "build" {
  name        = "build-box"
  image_id    = "almalinux-10"
  size_id     = "c.small"
  ssh_key_ids = [velrix_ssh_key.me.id]
}

The OpenTofu and Terraform provider and machines:create in the HTTP API are in the API reference in your realm’s Docs window.

Next

• Machines: sizes, consoles, scripts at first boot
• Volumes
• Kubernetes on your machines