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☁️ Practical 8: OpenStack Image and Instance Management

OpenStack Glance Nova

Objective: Manage cloud images using Glance and launch virtual machine instances using Nova within an OpenStack environment.

🖥️ Method 1: Console / GUI Guide (OpenStack Horizon)

If you prefer to manage images and instances via the Horizon Dashboard, follow these steps:

  1. Log In: Access your Horizon Dashboard.
  2. Upload Image: Go to Project > Compute > Images. Click Create Image, provide a name, and upload a .qcow2 or .img file (e.g., Cirros).
  3. Define Flavor: (Admin only) Go to Admin > Compute > Flavors to see available hardware templates.
  4. Launch VM: Go to Project > Compute > Instances. Click Launch Instance.
  5. Configuration:

- Details: Name your instance.

- Source: Select the image you uploaded.

- Flavor: Choose a small flavor (e.g., m1.tiny).

- Networks: Select the default private network.

  1. Verify: Once the status is Active, use the Console tab to log into the VM.

🚀 Method 2: Automated Script Guide

For rapid, reproducible deployments, use the provided bash scripts.

🔍 Script Analysis

Script Name Action Performed
8instancedeploy.sh 🟢 Automates the image upload to Glance (using the Cirros lightweight image), creates a custom flavor if needed, and launches a Nova instance with automated health checks to ensure the VM is responsive.
8imagecleanup.sh 🔴 Deletes the launched instances and removes the uploaded images from the Glance registry to save storage space.

🛠️ Usage Instructions

Prerequisites:

  • OpenStack environment (DevStack) installed and running.
  • OpenStack CLI tools installed (python3-openstackclient).

Execute the following commands from the root directory:

# 1. Navigate to scripts folder
cd scripts/

# 2. Provide execution permission
chmod +x 8_instance_deploy.sh 8_image_cleanup.sh

# 3. Upload images, create flavors, and launch VM accurately
./8_instance_deploy.sh     

# 4. Delete VM and related OpenStack entities when securely finished
./8_image_cleanup.sh

🖼️ Result / Output

OpenStack Glance service listing available cloud images

Figure 8.1: OpenStack Glance service listing available cloud images.

Launching a new virtual machine instance via the Horizon UI

Figure 8.2: Launching a new virtual machine instance via the Horizon UI.

OpenStack Nova dashboard showing the active virtual instance

Figure 8.3: OpenStack Nova dashboard showing the active virtual instance.

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