How do I navigate the Horizon interface?
The Horizon Interface
The OpenStack web interface is called “Horizon”
Horizon provides visibility and control over all Virtual Machines (VMs) and Volumes within each Project
The simple Web UI is backed by an advanced Web Service API
Click around and kick the tires a bit! Horizon only shows you features that you can control
Switching Projects
To switch projects, use the omnipresent pull-down
Project Quotas
Each project has a set of Limits visible from the Project > Compute > Overview tab
The base subscription* to Stratus includes:
- 16 vCPUs
- 50 GB RAM
- 2 TB of Volume Storage
Exhausted quotas prevent creation of new VMs and Volumes
(*) à la carte pricing is available for larger allocations
Instances
The Project > Compute > Instances tab shows active VMs
You can Launch or Delete instances, as well as modify settings for individual instances
All active and manageable VMs are listed in the table
WARNING! A deleted VM is gone for good. Be careful what you delete
Volumes
The Project > Compute > Volumes tab shows active data volumes
Volumes store data, and/or active file systems within VMs
You can Create or Delete volumes, as well as modify settings like volume size and attachments
All active and manageable VMs are listed in the table
WARNING! A deleted volume is gone for good
Images
The Project > Compute > Images tab shows available images for new VMs
MSI provides a number of “blessed” images. These images come with some pre-configured rules and software for data security
Images can be Launched as VMs or converted into Volumes. Volumes created from images can also be launched as VMs
Security Groups
The Project > Compute > Access & Security tab shows security settings (e.g., security groups and key pairs), plus API access information
Security Groups control network traffic to VMs, and work like a firewall
By default Security Groups reject all incoming traffic to VMs. Additional Security Groups can be added with rules to open ports (e.g., ssh to TCP port 22)