Working with Virtual Servers

Using the SoftLayer portal to order virtual servers is fine, but for a number of reasons it’s often more convenient to use the command line. For this, you can use SoftLayer’s command-line client to make administrative tasks quicker and easier. This page gives an intro to working with SoftLayer virtual servers using SoftLayer’s command-line client.

Note

The following assumes that the client is already configured with valid SoftLayer credentials.

First, let’s list the current virtual servers with slcli vs list.

$ slcli vs list
:.....:............:.........................:.......:........:..............:.............:....................:........:
:  id : datacenter :           host          : cores : memory :  primary_ip  :  backend_ip : active_transaction : owner  :
:.....:............:.........................:.......:........:..............:.............:....................:........:
:.....:............:.........................:.......:........:..............:.............:....................:........:

We don’t have any virtual servers yet! Let’s fix that. Before we can create a virtual server (VS), we need to know what options are available to us: RAM, CPU, operating systems, disk sizes, disk types, datacenters, and so on. Luckily, there’s a simple command to show all options: slcli vs create-options.

Some values were ommitted for brevity

$ slcli vs create-options
:................................:.................................................................................:
:                           name : value                                                                           :
:................................:.................................................................................:
:                     datacenter : ams01                                                                           :
:                                : ams03                                                                           :
:                                : wdc07                                                                           :
:             flavors (balanced) : B1_1X2X25                                                                       :
:                                : B1_1X2X25                                                                       :
:                                : B1_1X2X100                                                                      :
:                cpus (standard) : 1,2,4,8,12,16,32,56                                                             :
:               cpus (dedicated) : 1,2,4,8,16,32,56                                                                :
:          cpus (dedicated host) : 1,2,4,8,12,16,32,56                                                             :
:                         memory : 1024,2048,4096,6144,8192,12288,16384,32768,49152,65536,131072,247808            :
:        memory (dedicated host) : 1024,2048,4096,6144,8192,12288,16384,32768,49152,65536,131072,247808            :
:                    os (CENTOS) : CENTOS_5_64                                                                     :
:                                : CENTOS_LATEST_64                                                                :
:                os (CLOUDLINUX) : CLOUDLINUX_5_64                                                                 :
:                                : CLOUDLINUX_6_64                                                                 :
:                                : CLOUDLINUX_LATEST                                                               :
:                                : CLOUDLINUX_LATEST_64                                                            :
:                    os (COREOS) : COREOS_CURRENT_64                                                               :
:                                : COREOS_LATEST                                                                   :
:                                : COREOS_LATEST_64                                                                :
:                    os (DEBIAN) : DEBIAN_6_64                                                                     :
:                                : DEBIAN_LATEST_64                                                                :
:            os (OTHERUNIXLINUX) : OTHERUNIXLINUX_1_64                                                             :
:                                : OTHERUNIXLINUX_LATEST                                                           :
:                                : OTHERUNIXLINUX_LATEST_64                                                        :
:                    os (REDHAT) : REDHAT_5_64                                                                     :
:                                : REDHAT_6_64                                                                     :
:                                : REDHAT_7_64                                                                     :
:                                : REDHAT_LATEST                                                                   :
:                                : REDHAT_LATEST_64                                                                :
:                    san disk(0) : 25,100                                                                          :
:                    san disk(2) : 10,20,25,30,40,50,75,100,125,150,175,200,250,300,350,400,500,750,1000,1500,2000 :
:                  local disk(0) : 25,100                                                                          :
:                  local disk(2) : 25,100,150,200,300                                                              :
: local (dedicated host) disk(0) : 25,100                                                                          :
:           nic (dedicated host) : 100,1000                                                                        :
:................................:.................................................................................:

Here’s the command to create a 2-core virtual server with 1GiB memory, running Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and that is billed on an hourly basis in the San Jose 1 datacenter using the command slcli vs create.

$ slcli vs create --hostname=example --domain=softlayer.com -f B1_1X2X25 -o DEBIAN_LATEST_64  --datacenter=ams01 --billing=hourly
This action will incur charges on your account. Continue? [y/N]: y
    :..........:.................................:......................................:...........................:
    :    ID    :               FQDN              :                 guid                 :         Order Date        :
    :..........:.................................:......................................:...........................:
    : 70112999 : testtesttest.test.com : 1abc7afb-9618-4835-89c9-586f3711d8ea : 2019-01-30T17:16:58-06:00 :
    :..........:.................................:......................................:...........................:
    :.........................................................................:
    :                            OrderId: 12345678                            :
    :.......:.................................................................:
    :  Cost : Description                                                     :
    :.......:.................................................................:
    :   0.0 : Debian GNU/Linux 9.x Stretch/Stable - Minimal Install (64 bit)  :
    :   0.0 : 25 GB (SAN)                                                     :
    :   0.0 : Reboot / Remote Console                                         :
    :   0.0 : 100 Mbps Public & Private Network Uplinks                       :
    :   0.0 : 0 GB Bandwidth Allotment                                        :
    :   0.0 : 1 IP Address                                                    :
    :   0.0 : Host Ping and TCP Service Monitoring                            :
    :   0.0 : Email and Ticket                                                :
    :   0.0 : Automated Reboot from Monitoring                                :
    :   0.0 : Unlimited SSL VPN Users & 1 PPTP VPN User per account           :
    :   0.0 : 2 GB                                                            :
    :   0.0 : 1 x 2.0 GHz or higher Core                                      :
    : 0.000 : Total hourly cost                                               :
    :.......:.................................................................:

After the last command, the virtual server is now being built. It should instantly appear in your virtual server list now.

$ slcli vs list
:.........:............:.......................:.......:........:................:..............:....................:
:    id   : datacenter :          host         : cores : memory :   primary_ip   :  backend_ip  : active_transaction :
:.........:............:.......................:.......:........:................:..............:....................:
: 1234567 :   ams01    : example.softlayer.com :   2   :   1G   : 108.168.200.11 : 10.54.80.200 :    Assign Host     :
:.........:............:.......................:.......:........:................:..............:....................:

Cool. You may ask, “It’s creating… but how do I know when it’s done?” Well, here’s how:

$ slcli vs ready 'example' --wait=600
READY

When the previous command returns, you’ll know that the virtual server has finished the provisioning process and is ready to use. This is very useful for chaining commands together.

Now that you have your virtual server, let’s get access to it. To do that, use the slcli vs detail command. From the example below, you can see that the username is ‘root’ and password is ‘ABCDEFGH’.

Warning

Be careful when using the –passwords flag. This will print the virtual server’s password on the screen. Make sure no one is looking over your shoulder. It’s also advisable to change your root password soon after creating your virtual server, or to create a user with sudo access and disable SSH-based login directly to the root account.

$ slcli vs detail example --passwords
:..............:...........................:
:         Name : Value                     :
:..............:...........................:
:           id : 1234567                   :
:     hostname : example.softlayer.com     :
:       status : Active                    :
:        state : Running                   :
:   datacenter : ams01                     :
:        cores : 2                         :
:       memory : 1G                        :
:    public_ip : 108.168.200.11            :
:   private_ip : 10.54.80.200              :
:           os : Debian                    :
: private_only : False                     :
:  private_cpu : False                     :
:      created : 2013-06-13T08:29:44-06:00 :
:     modified : 2013-06-13T08:31:57-06:00 :
:        users : root ABCDEFGH             :
:..............:...........................:

virtual bandwidth

Bandwidth data over date range. Bandwidth is listed in GB

Using just a date might get you times off by 1 hour, use T00:01 to get just the specific days data Timezones can also be included with the YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.00000-HH:mm format.

Due to some rounding and date alignment details, results here might be slightly different than results in the control portal.

Example:

slcli hw bandwidth 1234 -s 2019-05-01T00:01 -e 2019-05-02T00:00:01.00000-12:00
virtual bandwidth [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

-s, --start_date <start_date>

Required Start Date YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss,

-e, --end_date <end_date>

Required End Date YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss

-p, --summary_period <summary_period>

300, 600, 1800, 3600, 43200 or 86400 seconds

Default

3600

-q, --quite_summary

Only show the summary table

Default

False

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

If no timezone is specified, IMS local time (CST) will be assumed, which might not match your user’s selected timezone.

virtual cancel

Cancel virtual servers.

virtual cancel [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual capture

Capture one or all disks from a virtual server to a SoftLayer image.

virtual capture [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

-n, --name <name>

Required Name of the image

--all <all>

Capture all disks belonging to the VS

--note <note>

Add a note to be associated with the image

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual create

Order/create virtual servers.

virtual create [OPTIONS]

Options

-H, --hostname <hostname>

Required Host portion of the FQDN

-D, --domain <domain>

Required Domain portion of the FQDN

-c, --cpu <cpu>

Number of CPU cores (not available with flavors)

-m, --memory <memory>

Memory in mebibytes (not available with flavors)

-f, --flavor <flavor>

Public Virtual Server flavor key name

-d, --datacenter <datacenter>

Required Datacenter shortname

-o, --os <os>

OS install code. Tip: you can specify <OS>_LATEST

--image <image>

Image ID. See: ‘slcli image list’ for reference

--boot-mode <boot_mode>

Specify the mode to boot the OS in. Supported modes are HVM and PV.

--billing <billing>

Billing rate

Default

hourly

Options

hourly | monthly

--dedicated, --public

Create a Dedicated Virtual Server

--host-id <host_id>

Host Id to provision a Dedicated Host Virtual Server onto

--san

Use SAN storage instead of local disk.

--test

Do not actually create the virtual server

--export <export>

Exports options to a template file

-i, --postinstall <postinstall>

Post-install script to download

-k, --key <key>

SSH keys to add to the root user (multiple occurrence permitted)

--disk <disk>

Disk sizes (multiple occurrence permitted)

--private

Forces the VS to only have access the private network

--like <like>

Use the configuration from an existing VS

-n, --network <network>

Network port speed in Mbps

-g, --tag <tag>

Tags to add to the instance (multiple occurrence permitted)

-t, --template <template>

A template file that defaults the command-line options

-u, --userdata <userdata>

User defined metadata string

-F, --userfile <userfile>

Read userdata from file

--vlan-public <vlan_public>

The ID of the public VLAN on which you want the virtual server placed

--vlan-private <vlan_private>

The ID of the private VLAN on which you want the virtual server placed

--subnet-public <subnet_public>

The ID of the public SUBNET on which you want the virtual server placed

--subnet-private <subnet_private>

The ID of the private SUBNET on which you want the virtual server placed

--router-public <router_public>

The ID of the public ROUTER on which you want the virtual server placed

--router-private <router_private>

The ID of the private ROUTER on which you want the virtual server placed

-S, --public-security-group <public_security_group>

Security group ID to associate with the public interface (multiple occurrence permitted)

-s, --private-security-group <private_security_group>

Security group ID to associate with the private interface (multiple occurrence permitted)

--wait <wait>

Wait until VS is finished provisioning for up to X seconds before returning

--placementgroup <placementgroup>

Placement Group name or Id to order this guest on. See: slcli vs placementgroup list

--ipv6

Adds an IPv6 address to this guest

--transient

Create a transient virtual server

See ‘slcli vs create-options’ for valid options

virtual create-options

Virtual server order options.

virtual create-options [OPTIONS] [LOCATION]

Options

--vsi-type <vsi_type>

VS keyName type.

Default

PUBLIC_CLOUD_SERVER

Options

PUBLIC_CLOUD_SERVER | TRANSIENT_CLOUD_SERVER | SUSPEND_CLOUD_SERVER | CLOUD_SERVER

-p, --prices

Use –prices to list the server item prices, and to list the Item Prices by location,add it to the –prices option using location short name, e.g. –prices dal13

Arguments

LOCATION

Optional argument

virtual dns-sync

Sync DNS records.

virtual dns-sync [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

-a, --a-record

Sync the A record for the host

--aaaa-record

Sync the AAAA record for the host

--ptr

Sync the PTR record for the host

--ttl <ttl>

Sets the TTL for the A and/or PTR records

Default

7200

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

If you don’t specify any arguments, it will attempt to update both the A and PTR records. If you don’t want to update both records, you may use the -a or –ptr arguments to limit the records updated.

virtual edit

Edit a virtual server’s details.

virtual edit [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

-D, --domain <domain>

Domain portion of the FQDN

-H, --hostname <hostname>

Host portion of the FQDN. example: server

-g, --tag <tag>

Tags to set or empty string to remove all

-u, --userdata <userdata>

User defined metadata string

-F, --userfile <userfile>

Read userdata from file

--public-speed <public_speed>

Public port speed.

Options

0 | 10 | 100 | 1000 | 10000

--private-speed <private_speed>

Private port speed.

Options

0 | 10 | 100 | 1000 | 10000

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual list

List virtual servers.

virtual list [OPTIONS]

Options

-c, --cpu <cpu>

Number of CPU cores

-D, --domain <domain>

Domain portion of the FQDN

-d, --datacenter <datacenter>

Datacenter shortname

-H, --hostname <hostname>

Host portion of the FQDN

-m, --memory <memory>

Memory in mebibytes

-n, --network <network>

Network port speed in Mbps

--hourly

Show only hourly instances

--monthly

Show only monthly instances

--transient <transient>

Filter by transient instances

--hardware

Show the all VSI related to hardware

--all-guests

Show the all VSI and hardware VSIs

--tag <tag>

Filter by tags (multiple occurrence permitted)

--sortby <sortby>

Column to sort by

Default

hostname

--columns <columns>

Columns to display. [options: guid, primary_ip, backend_ip, datacenter, action, power_state, created_by, tags]

Default

id,hostname,primary_ip,backend_ip,datacenter,action

-l, --limit <limit>

How many results to get in one api call, default is 100

Default

100

virtual pause

Pauses an active virtual server.

virtual pause [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual power-on

Power on a virtual server.

virtual power-on [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual power-off

Power off an active virtual server.

virtual power-off [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

--hard, --soft

Perform a hard shutdown

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual resume

Resumes a paused virtual server.

virtual resume [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual rescue

Reboot into a rescue image.

virtual rescue [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual reboot

Reboot an active virtual server.

virtual reboot [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

--hard, --soft

Perform a hard or soft reboot

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual ready

Check if a virtual server is ready.

virtual ready [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

--wait <wait>

Seconds to wait

Default

0

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual upgrade

Upgrade a virtual server.

virtual upgrade [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

--cpu <cpu>

Number of CPU cores

--private

CPU core will be on a dedicated host server.

--memory <memory>

Memory in megabytes

--network <network>

Network port speed in Mbps

--add-disk <add_disk>

add Hard disk in GB

--resize-disk <resize_disk>

Update disk number to size in GB. –resize-disk 250 2

--flavor <flavor>

Flavor keyName Do not use –memory, –cpu or –private, if you are using flavors

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

Note: SoftLayer automatically reboots the VS once upgrade request is placed. The VS is halted until the Upgrade transaction is completed. However for Network, no reboot is required.

virtual usage

Usage information of a virtual server.

virtual usage [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

-s, --start_date <start_date>

Required Start Date e.g. 2019-3-4 (yyyy-MM-dd)

-e, --end_date <end_date>

Required End Date e.g. 2019-4-2 (yyyy-MM-dd)

-t, --valid_type <valid_type>

Required Metric_Data_Type keyName e.g. CPU0, CPU1, MEMORY_USAGE, etc.

-p, --summary_period <summary_period>

300, 600, 1800, 3600, 43200 or 86400 seconds

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual storage

Get storage details for a virtual server.

virtual storage [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual billing

Get billing for a virtual device.

virtual billing [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual detail

Get details for a virtual server.

virtual detail [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

--passwords

Show passwords (check over your shoulder!)

--price

Show associated prices

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual reload

Reload operating system on a virtual server.

virtual reload [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

-i, --postinstall <postinstall>

Post-install script to download

--image <image>

Image ID. The default is to use the current operating system. See: ‘slcli image list’ for reference

-k, --key <key>

SSH keys to add to the root user (multiple occurrence permitted)

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual credentials

List virtual server credentials.

virtual credentials [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

virtual migrate

Manage VSIs that require migration. Can migrate Dedicated Host VSIs as well.

virtual migrate [OPTIONS]

Options

-g, --guest <guest>

Guest ID to immediately migrate.

-a, --all

Migrate ALL guests that require migration immediately.

-h, --host <host>

Dedicated Host ID to migrate to. Only works on guests that are already on a dedicated host.

virtual authorize-storage

Authorize File, Block and Portable Storage to a Virtual Server.

virtual authorize-storage [OPTIONS] IDENTIFIER

Options

-u, --username-storage <username_storage>

The storage username to be added to the virtual server

--portable-id <portable_id>

The portable storage id to be added to the virtual server

Arguments

IDENTIFIER

Required argument

Manages the migration of virutal guests. Supports migrating virtual guests on Dedicated Hosts as well.

Reserved Capacity

Placement Groups