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 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:

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.

What to do next with your node

• 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: what E1, C3, M3, and the rest are each good for, so your next node starts from the right family.
• 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: switch from the emailed password to a key.
• Create a snapshot of a node: take a restore point before you change anything big.

For help with any problem, Troubleshooting node lists the common ones by area.