Working with Servers
A server is a virtual machine instance that is managed by OpenStack Nova,
the Compute
service. One advantage of using OpenStack is that the
virtualization layer makes it easy to create and discard servers as needed.
The Server
object, generated by the Compute::server()
method, is used
to work with servers. You can create, update, or delete servers, and you can
perform various actions on the server, such as creating a backup image,
resizing it, or rebooting it.
To create an empty server:
$serv = $compute->server(); // assumes that $compute exists
To retrieve the data on an existing server:
$serv = $compute->server('9bfd203a-0695-410d-99a9-66c4194c967b');
Creating, updating, or deleting a server
Creating a new server
A server requires both a Flavor object and an
Image object to
be created. In addition, a server requires a name. You can easily create a
new server by setting the proper values and calling the create()
method:
$server = $compute->server();
$server->name = 'Small Server';
$server->flavor = $compute->flavor(2);
$server->image = $compute->image('c195ef3b-9195-4474-b6f7-16e5bd86acd0');
$server->create();
As a shortcut, you can also pass these parameters to the create()
method
in an associative array:
$server = $compute->server();
$server->create(array(
'name' => 'Small Server',
'flavor' => $compute->Flavor(2),
'image' => $compute->Image('c195ef3b-9195-4474-b6f7-16e5bd86acd0')
));
Note that when the create()
request completes, the server is not actually
created. Instead, the completion of the request indicates that the server
build has been initiated in the Compute instance. Server builds typically
take 1-5 minutes to complete (depending upon the size of the server). However,
the initial response will return the server's ID as well as the assigned
root password:
// assuming we've created $server, above
printf("ID is %s, root password is %s\n",
$server->id, $server->adminPass);
(Note: it is not recommended that you print out the root password because of security risks. This is only provided as an example.)
When you create a new server on the Rackspace public cloud, you can also associate it with one or more isolated networks. For more information, see Working with Cloud Networks.
Rebuilding an existing server
"Rebuilding" a server is nearly identical to creating one; you must supply an Image object. You can also change the server's name as part of the rebuild. The primary difference between a create and a rebuild is that, in the rebuild, the server's IP address(es) are retained (when the server is created, new IP addresses are assigned).
To rebuild a server:
$server = $compute->server('abaf0...'); // existing server
$server->rebuild(array(
'adminPass' => 'REPLACE THIS WITH THE SERVER ROOT PASSWORD',
'name' => 'A Bigger Server', // name is not required on rebuild
'image' => $compute->image('c195ef3b-9195-4474-b6f7-16e5bd86acd0')));
Updating a server
The update()
method is very similar to create()
except that the only
attributes of a server that you are permitted to update are its name and
the access IP addresses.
$compute = $cloud->compute();
$server = $compute->server('908c5617-26c2-4535-99a9-3f20e4b74835');
$server->update(array('accessIPv4'=>'50.57.94.244'));
Deleting a server
The delete()
method is short and sweet: it immediately initiates the
deletion of the server. Note that this is a destructive mechanism and it is
unlikely that the server can be recovered. Example:
$compute = $cloud->compute();
$server = $compute->server('908c5617-26c2-4535-99a9-3f20e4b74835');
$server->delete(); // BAM! bye-bye
Server actions
You can perform various actions on a server, such as rebooting it, resizing it, or changing the root password.
Setting the root password
Use the setPassword()
method to change the root user's password:
$server->setPassword('new password');
Note that it may take a few second for the new password to take effect. Also,
password restrictions (such as the minimum number of characters, numbers of
punctuation characters, and so forth) are enforced by the operating system and are
not always detectable by the Compute service. This means that, even though
the setPassword()
method succeeds, the password may not be changed, and
there may not be any feedback to that effect.
To reboot the server
You can perform either a hard reboot (this is like pulling the power cord and then restarting) or a soft reboot (initiated by the operating system and generally less disruptive than a hard reboot). A hard reboot is performed by default:
$server->reboot(); // hard reboot
$server->reboot(ServerState::REBOOT_STATE_HARD); // also a hard reboot
$server->reboot(ServerState::REBOOT_STATE_SOFT); // a soft reboot
If the server is "hung," or unresponsive, a hard reboot may sometimes be the only way to access the server.
To resize the server
A server can be resized by providing a new Flavor object:
$server->resize($compute->flavor(5));
Once the resize completes (check the $server->status
), you can either
confirm it:
$server->resizeConfirm();
or revert it back to the original size:
$server->resizeRevert();
To rescue/unrescue a server
In rescue mode, a server is rebuilt to a pristine state and the existing filesystem is mounted so that you can edit files and diagnose issues. See this document for more details.
Put server into rescue mode:
$password = $server->rescue();
The $password
is the assigned root password of the rescue server.
Take server out of rescue mode:
$server->unrescue();
This restores the server to its original state (plus any changes you may have made while it was in rescue mode).
Volumes
See Working with Volumes for information on the
Server::attachVolume()
and Server::detachVolume()
methods.
What next?
- Return to the Table of Contents.
- See also Working with Networks.
- To learn about dynamic volume creation and assignment, see Working with Volumes.