---
title: "Get started with Node"
description: "Create your first MyAccount node, pick a way in, and connect to it over SSH in one path."
content_type: "get-started"
product: "node"
platform: "MyAccount"
url: "/myaccount/node/get-started/"
---

# Get started with Node

Create your first Linux node and sign in to it over SSH. All you need to start is a MyAccount account with some credit or a payment method on file.

## Create a node

Open **Compute > Nodes** and click **Add New Node**. Stay on the **CPU** tab, the plain way to
launch a node from an operating system. **GPU** and **Marketplace** are for later, when you
start from a GPU or a ready-made product instead.

Choose an operating system; a search box above the list narrows it down if you are looking for
a specific one. If you have no preference, choose Ubuntu, the system these pages use in their examples. You will land
on the **Select Plan** screen with version **24.04** already chosen, or the newest version if
24.04 is not listed.

On **Select Plan**, choose a plan from the list; each one shows its CPU count, RAM, disk
space, and IOPS so you can compare before you pick. IOPS is input/output operations per
second, how fast the disk can read and write. Each family suits a kind of work: **C3** for
CPU-heavy work, **M3** for memory-heavy work, and **E1** for development and testing; see
[Node families](/myaccount/node/concepts/node-families/) to compare them. For a first node, the
smallest plan is enough to try things out; upgrade it once you know what you need.

Leave the optional settings below the plan at their defaults for your first node. A default
security group is already attached, allowing all traffic in and out. Each one has its own
how-to once you need it.

Decide how you will get in: add an SSH key under the **SSH Keys** step, or leave it as is and
E2E emails you a password instead. An SSH key is the more convenient path if you already have
one; a password needs no setup now. Review the **Summary** panel, then click **Launch**.

Launching takes you to your node list, where the new node shows as **Creating** and then
**Running**, usually within a few minutes.

## Connect to the node

Once the node reads **Running**, connect to it from a terminal:

```bash frame="none"
ssh <username>@<your-node-ip>
```

The first time you connect, SSH asks you to confirm the host's fingerprint; type **yes** to
continue. Find the node's IP address on the node list or its details page. If you added an SSH
key, E2E's email gave you the node's username; connect straight away with it. If you are using
a password instead, that same email has both the username and the password: enter the
password when SSH asks for it.

When you are in, your terminal shows the node's own prompt: you are now working on the node
itself. If the connection times out or is refused, see
[Troubleshooting node networking and connectivity](/myaccount/node/troubleshooting/networking-and-connectivity/#ssh-or-rdp-connection-fails).

## What to do next with your node

- [What is a node?](/myaccount/node/concepts/what-is-a-node/): how a node compares to a VM,
  an instance, or a TIR Instance, if any of those terms are throwing you off.
- [Node families](/myaccount/node/concepts/node-families/): what E1, C3, M3, and the rest are
  each good for, so your next node starts from the right family.
- [Create a node](/myaccount/node/how-to/create-a-node/): the full create flow, including the
  GPU and Marketplace tabs and every optional setting this quickstart skipped.
- [Add an SSH key to a node](/myaccount/node/how-to/add-an-ssh-key-to-a-node/): switch from the
  emailed password to a key.
- [Create a snapshot of a node](/myaccount/node/how-to/create-a-snapshot/): take a restore point before
  you change anything big.

For help with any problem, [Troubleshooting node](/myaccount/node/troubleshooting/node/) lists the
common ones by area.