1. Log in to the DCD with your username and password.

2. Choose a Cube. From the Settings tab in the Inspector pane, select Power > Resume.

3. Confirm your action by checking the appropriate box and clicking Apply RESUME.

4. Provision your changes. Confirm the action by entering your password.

You can create a Cube, configure storage, connect a Cube to the internet, and provision changes to procure IONOS's resources and make the most efficient use of Cubes to maximize profit.

Create a Cube

1. Drag the Cube element from the Palette into the Workspace.

2. Click the Cube element to highlight it. The Inspector pane will appear on the right.

3. In the Inspector pane, configure your Cube from the Settings tab.

• Name: Your choice is recommended to be unique to this Virtual Data Center (VDC).

• Template: choose the appropriate configuration template.

• vCPUs: set automatically when a Template is chosen.

• RAM in GB: set automatically when a Template is chosen.

• Storage in GB: set automatically when a Template is chosen.

4. You will also notice that the Cube comes with an Unnamed Direct Attached Storage. Click on the storage device and rename it in the Inspector pane.

• Name: Your choice is recommended to be unique to this Virtual Data Center (VDC).

• Size in GB: Specify the required storage capacity.

• Image: You can select one of IONOS' images or use your own.

• Password: The combination should be between 8 and 50 characters in length; using only Latin characters and numbers.

• Backup Unit: Backs up all data with version history to local storage or your private cloud storage.

Increase Cube Storage

1. Drop a Storage element from the Palette onto a Cube in the Workspace to connect both.

2. In the Inspector pane, configure your Storage device in the Settings tab.

• Name: Specify a name unique to this Virtual Data Center (VDC).

• Availability Zone: Select a zone where you wish to host the Storage device.

• Size in GB: Specify the required storage capacity for the SSD.

• Performance: Depends on the size of the SSD.

• Image: You can select one of IONOS' images or use your own.

• Password: The combination should be between 8 and 50 characters in length; using only Latin characters and numbers.

• Backup Unit: Backs up all data with version history to local storage or your private cloud storage.

Connect a Cube to the Internet

1. Each compute instance has a NIC, which is activated via the Autoport symbol. Connect the Cube to the Internet by dragging a line from the Cube's Autoport to the internet's NIC.

2. In the Inspector pane, configure your LAN device in the Network tab.

• Name: Your choice is recommended to be unique to this Virtual Data Center (VDC).

• MAC: The MAC address will be assigned automatically upon provisioning.

• Primary IP: The primary IP address is automatically assigned by the IONOS DHCP server. You can, however, enter an IP address for manual assignment by selecting one of the reserved IPs from the drop-down menu. Private IP addresses should be entered manually. The NIC has to be connected to the Internet.

• Failover: If you have an HA setup including a failover configuration on your VMs, you can create and manage IP failover groups that support your HA setup.

• Firewall: Configure a firewall.

• DHCP: It is often necessary to run a DHCP server in your virtual data center (e.g. PXE boot for fast rollout of VMs). If you use your own DHCP server, clear this checkbox so that your IPs are not reassigned by the IONOS DHCP server.

• Additional IPs: In order to use "floating" or virtual IPs, you can assign additional IPs to a NIC by selecting them from the drop-down menu.

Provision Changes

1. Start the provisioning process by clicking PROVISION CHANGES in the Inspector pane.

2. The Provision Data Center dialog opens. Review your changes in the Validation tab.

3. Confirm changes with your password. Resolve outstanding errors without a password.

4. Once ready, click Provision Now to start provisioning resources.

A is a with an attached NVMe Volume. You can use each newly created Cube as a new VM, either standalone or in combination with other IONOS Cloud products. For more information, see .

You can create and configure your Cubes visually using the interface. For more information, see . However, the creation and management of Cubes are easily automated via the , as well as our custom-made tools and .

Configuration templates

You may choose between nine template sizes. Each template varies by processor, memory, and storage capacity.

The breakdown of resources is as follows:

Basic Cubes

Memory Cubes

Resource usage

Storage options

Included direct-attached storage

A default Cube comes ready with a high-speed direct-attached NVMe storage volume. Please check Configuration Templates for NVMe Storage sizes.

Add-on network block storage

Boot options

Any storage device, including the CD-ROM, can be selected as the boot volume. You may also boot from the network.

Images and snapshots

Images and snapshots can be created from and copied to direct-attached storage, block storage devices, and CD-ROM drives. Also, direct-attached storage volume snapshots and block storage volumes can be used interchangeably.

Data Security

Encryption at rest protects inactive data on physical media. DAS uses the same encryption technology as Block Storage, AES-XTS (256-bit) encryption method. Each volume has a unique, securely stored encryption key that is inaccessible to root users.

Secure deletion ensures that deleted data cannot be restored, even with physical media access. When a DAS volume is deleted:

• Metadata is "zeroed out," destroying the block mapping.

• The volume's encryption key is destroyed, making any remaining encrypted data unreadable.

Limitations

• Cubes are limited to a maximum of 24 devices. The NVMe volume already occupies one of these slots.

• You may not change the properties of a configuration template (vCPU, RAM, and direct-attached storage size) after the Cube is provisioned.

• The direct-attached NVMe storage volume is set upon provisioning and cannot be unmounted or deleted from the instance.

When creating based on IONOS Linux images, you can inject into your . You can access your VMs safely on the IONOS Cloud, which uses SSH keys for authentication and secure communication. SSH keys that you intend to use more often can be saved in the view.

Establish connection using SSH Keys

With SSH key-based authentication, you can establish secure connections to your Linux VMs. An SSH key is composed of a public-private key pair:

• A private key: It stays on your local system. Ensure that you do not share your private key.

• A public key: It is saved on your VM and enables you to access your provisioned VMs.

When you connect to your VM (which has the public key) using an SSH client, the remote VM validates the private key of the client. The client can access the VM only if the client has the correct private key.

Supported SSH Key types

SSH keys are necessary to connect via SSH. The following are the types of SSH keys that can be used for an SSH connection:

Workflow

You can connect to the VM via SSH in the following ways:

To generate SSH keys, ensure that you have ssh-keygen command-line tool installed. ssh-keygen is a utility for generating SSH key pairs and storing them in a secure location. With these keys, you can connect to your instances without encountering the login prompt. You can use the SSH keys on a macOS or a Linux using an SSH client.

You can manually generate SSH keys when working with a SSH client using the following:

1. Enter the following command into the terminal window on your computer and press ENTER.

1. Accept the default location by pressing the ENTER key, or enter the path to the file where you want to save the key /home/username/.ssh/id_rsa.

1. Enter the passphrase that will be used to encrypt the private key file on the disk. You can also press ENTER to accept the default (no passphrase) SSH key. However, we recommend that you use a passphrase.

2. Enter your passphrase once more.

You can copy the public key to your clipboard by running the following command:

You can enable IPv6 on Cubes when you create them or after you create them.

Set up IPv6

You can set up IPv6 to improve the network connectivity for your virtualized environment. By setting up IPv6 for your Cubes, you can ensure that they are accessible to IPv6-enabled networks and clients.

To enable IPv6 for Cubes, connect it to an IPv6-enabled using the following:

1. Log in to DCD with your username and password.

2. Select the Network option on the right pane for the specific Cube and enter the following:

• Name: It is recommended to enter a unique name for this Network Interface Controller (NIC).

• MAC: This field is automatically populated.

• LAN: Select an IPv6 enabled Local Area Network (LAN).

• Firewall: Specify whether you want to enable or disable the firewall. For enabling the firewall, choose Ingress to create flow logs for incoming traffic, Egress for outgoing traffic, or Bidirectional to create flow logs for all traffic.

• Flow Log: Select + to add a new flow log. Enter name, direction, action, target S3 bucket, and select + Flow Log to complete the configuration of the flow log. It becomes applied once you provision your changes.

• IPv4 Configuration: This field is automatically populated. If Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is enabled, the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) address is dynamic, meaning it can change while the Dedicated Core Server is operational or in the case of a restart. Add additional public IP addresses in Add IP. It is an optional field.

• IPv6 Configuration: You can populate a NIC IPv6 CIDR block with prefix length /80 or allow it to be automatically assigned from the VDCs allocated range, as seen in the screenshot below. In order to use "floating" or virtual IPs, you can assign additional IPs to a NIC by selecting them from the drop-down list in Add IP.

1. Click PROVISION CHANGES.

Cubes are virtual private service instances with shared resources. Refer to our user guides, reference documentation, and FAQs to support your hosting needs.

Product Overview

Quick Links

Developer Tools

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

To get answers to the most commonly encountered questions about Cubes, see .

When you suspend a Cube, you turn off the server, but the Cube remains saved, and you can it later. The following occurs when you suspend a Cube:

• The Cube releases the associated CPU, RAM, and and suspends their billing.

• The connected storage devices will be billed.

• The server does not remove the reserved IP addresses.

• A red cross marks the deallocated VM in the DCD.

To suspend a Cube, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the DCD with your username and password.

2. Select the appropriate Virtual Data Center associated with the Cube.

3. Click on the respective Cube in the Workspace.

4. From the Settings tab in the Inspector pane, select Power > Suspend.

5. (Optional) In the dialog that appears, connect using Remote Console and shut down the VM at the operating system level to prevent data loss.

6. Confirm your action by checking the appropriate box and clicking Apply SUSPEND.

7. Provision your changes. Confirm the action by entering your password.

What are Cubes?

For a long time, the duopoly of virtual private servers (VPS) and dedicated cloud servers dominated virtualized computing environments.

Enter Cubes — virtual private service instances — the next generation of IaaS. Developed by IONOS Cloud, Cubes are ideal for specific workloads that do not require high compute performance from all resources at all times — development and testing environments, website hosting, simple web applications, and so on.

While based on shared resources, the Cubes can rival physical servers through a platform design that can redistribute available performance capacities among individual instances. At the same time, reduced operational complexity and highly optimized resource utilization translate into lower operating costs.

Cubes instances come complete with vCPUs, RAM, and direct-attached NVMe storage volumes; choose among standard configurations by selecting one of several templates for your Cubes. Storage capacities can be expanded further by adding network block storage units to your Cubes.

Cubes instances can be used together with all enterprise-grade features, resources, and services, offered by IONOS Cloud.

Affordable, quickly available, and with everything you need — have your Cubes up and running in minutes in the IONOS Cloud.

You can connect to your VM instance using an SSH client. However, it varies depending on your operating system.

• Linux: Search Terminal or press CTRL+ALT+T.

• macOS: Search Terminal.

• Windows: Search Bash. If you do not have it installed, use PuTTY instead.

Follow these steps to connect to your VM:

1. Open the terminal window on your local computer and enter the SSH connection command below. After the @, add the IP address of your VM instance. Next, press ENTER.

ssh root@192.0.2.1

For a private key, ensure that you have the location of the private key (.pem file), the username, and the public DNS name. Enter the following command:

ssh -i /path/key-pair-name.pem instance-username@instance-public-dns-name

1. Authentication is the next step in the connection process. You will be able to connect to the VM immediately if you have added the SSH keys or after entering your key pair's passphrase.

If you have not already added SSH keys, you will be prompted for your password:

root@192.0.2.1's password:

The terminal remains empty for you to paste the initial password into. Pasting into text-based terminals is different from desktop applications. It is also different from one window manager to another:

• For Linux Gnome Terminal, use CTRL+SHIFT+V.

• For macOS, use the SHIFT-CMD-V or a middle mouse button.

• For Bash on Windows, right-click on the window bar, choose Edit, then Paste. You can also right-click to paste if you enable the QuickEdit mode.

1. Press ENTER after you enter the password.

To associate an SSH key with a Linux storage image of a VM, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the DCD with your credentials.

2. If a VM does not exist, drag a VM element (a Dedicated Core server, a vCPU Server, or a Cube) from the palette onto the workspace based on your needs. Else, you can choose to add storage to an existing VM.

3. Click + on the VM to attach storage.

1. Based on the need, either associate an HDD or an SSD storage by choosing one of these options: Create and attach HDD Storage or Create and attach SSD Storage.

1. Click Create HDD Storage or Create SSD Storage. The option differs based on the storage type you have chosen.

The Cloud API lets you manage Cubes resources programmatically using conventional HTTP requests. All the functionality available in the IONOS Cloud Data Center Designer is also available through the API.

You can use the API to create, destroy, and retrieve information about your Cubes. You can also use the API to suspend or resume your Cubes.

However, not all actions are shared between Dedicated Core Servers and Cubes. Since Cubes come with direct-attached storage, a composite call is required for setup.

Furthermore, when provisioning Cubes, Templates must be used. Templates will not be compatible with Servers that still support full flex configuration.

APIs & SDKs

Retrieving available Templates and Template details

Retrieve Template list

GET https://api.ionos.com/docs/cloud/v6/#tag/Templates/cloudapi/v6/templates

This method retrieves a list of configuration templates that are currently available. Instances have a fixed configuration of vCPU, RAM and direct-attached storage size.

Path Parameters

Retrieve Template details

GET https://api.ionos.com/docs/cloud/v6/#tag/Templates/cloudapi/v6/templates?depth=1

Retrieves Template information. Refine your request by adding the optional query parameter

depth

. The response will show a template's ID, number of cores, ram and storage size.

Path Parameters

Query Parameters

{
    "id": "templates",
    "type": "collection",
    "href": "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/templates",
    "items": [
        {
            "id": "5e98b425-1887-44e4-b782-a654bfbe7eaa",
            "type": "template",
            "href": "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/templates/5e98b425-1887-44e4-b782-a654bfbe7eaa",
            "metadata": {
                "etag": "106988fd270d48ffd1734a210801a33d",
                "createdDate": "2021-02-13T17:07:39Z",
                "createdBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "createdByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedDate": "2021-08-10T10:11:45Z",
                "lastModifiedBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "state": "AVAILABLE"
            },
            "properties": {
                "name": "CUBES XL",
                "cores": 6,
                "ram": 16384,
                "storageSize": 320
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "99d022bd-55ea-4af1-9ba7-6d4174d9fc22",
            "type": "template",
            "href": "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/templates/99d022bd-55ea-4af1-9ba7-6d4174d9fc22",
            "metadata": {
                "etag": "2fd7e4e39bbbb7b33920bf4d7b5509a6",
                "createdDate": "2021-02-13T17:06:25Z",
                "createdBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "createdByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedDate": "2021-08-10T10:11:35Z",
                "lastModifiedBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "state": "AVAILABLE"
            },
            "properties": {
                "name": "CUBES L",
                "cores": 4,
                "ram": 8192,
                "storageSize": 160
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "5ae1bfbd-05f2-47f5-a736-eaca3dcce41b",
            "type": "template",
            "href": "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/templates/5ae1bfbd-05f2-47f5-a736-eaca3dcce41b",
            "metadata": {
                "etag": "6e68d67158a63d6d644a7c680342b26f",
                "createdDate": "2021-02-13T17:03:51Z",
                "createdBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "createdByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedDate": "2021-08-10T10:10:49Z",
                "lastModifiedBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "state": "AVAILABLE"
            },
            "properties": {
                "name": "CUBES S",
                "cores": 1,
                "ram": 2048,
                "storageSize": 50
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "15c6dd2f-02d2-4987-b439-9a58dd59ecc3",
            "type": "template",
            "href": "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/templates/15c6dd2f-02d2-4987-b439-9a58dd59ecc3",
            "metadata": {
                "etag": "4ff2f8ebb363005b447edb38563405a6",
                "createdDate": "2021-02-13T17:02:13Z",
                "createdBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "createdByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedDate": "2021-08-10T10:11:03Z",
                "lastModifiedBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "state": "AVAILABLE"
            },
            "properties": {
                "name": "CUBES XS",
                "cores": 1,
                "ram": 1024,
                "storageSize": 30
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "56ce4e71-b03a-42b2-85be-9a4520aa40be",
            "type": "template",
            "href": "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/templates/56ce4e71-b03a-42b2-85be-9a4520aa40be",
            "metadata": {
                "etag": "f528ce3bcba9ff1332d7c181f221984c",
                "createdDate": "2021-02-13T17:08:50Z",
                "createdBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "createdByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedDate": "2021-08-10T10:11:57Z",
                "lastModifiedBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "state": "AVAILABLE"
            },
            "properties": {
                "name": "CUBES XXL",
                "cores": 8,
                "ram": 32768,
                "storageSize": 640
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "7f8dfdb3-594b-4ae2-ae2e-a9dfcbf05f74",
            "type": "template",
            "href": "https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/templates/7f8dfdb3-594b-4ae2-ae2e-a9dfcbf05f74",
            "metadata": {
                "etag": "fbb4194b718ce3e456437dbc55405273",
                "createdDate": "2021-02-13T17:05:17Z",
                "createdBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "createdByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedDate": "2021-08-10T10:11:22Z",
                "lastModifiedBy": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "lastModifiedByUserId": "[UNKNOWN]",
                "state": "AVAILABLE"
            },
            "properties": {
                "name": "CUBES M",
                "cores": 2,
                "ram": 4096,
                "storageSize": 80
            }
        }
    ]
}

Creating instances with composite calls

A composite call doesn't only configure a single instance but also defines additional devices. This is required because a Cube must include a direct-attached storage device. An instance cannot be provisioned and then mounted with a direct-attached storage volume. Composite calls are used to execute a series of REST API requests into a single API call. You can use the output of one request as the input for a subsequent request.

The payload of a composite call to configure a Cubes instance is different from that of a POST request to create an enterprise server. In a single request you can create a new instance, as well as its direct-attached storage device and image (public image, private image, or snapshot). When the request is processed, a Cubes instance is created and the direct-attached storage is mounted automatically.

Create an instance

POST https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/datacenter/{datacenterId}/servers

This method creates an instance in a specific data center.

\

Replace {datacenterID} with the unique ID of your data center. Your Cube will be provisioned in this location.

Path Parameters

Suspend an instance

POST https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/datacenters/{datacenterId}/servers/{serverId}/suspend

This method suspends an instance.

Path Parameters

Setup, Resume and Delete

Resume instance

POST https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/datacenters/{datacenterId}/servers/{serverId}/resume

This method resumes a suspended instance.

Path Parameters

Delete instance

DELETE https://api.ionos.com/cloudapi/v6/datacenters/{datacenterId}/servers/{serverId}

This method deletes an instance.

Path Parameters

The DCD's SSH Keys view allows you to save and manage up to 100 public SSH keys for SSH access setup. This saves you from having to copy and paste the public part of an SSH key from an external source multiple times.

In addition to the SSH keys stored in the SSH Keys view, the IONOS SSH key concept supports Ad-hoc SSH keys for Dedicated Core servers, vCPU Servers, and Cubes.

Store SSH Keys in the DCD

To save your SSH key in the DCD, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the DCD with your credentials.

2. Go to Menu > Management > SSH Keys.

1. Select + Add Key in the top left corner.

1. Enter a Name and click Add.

2. Paste the SSH key from the clipboard into the SSH key field. If you have saved your SSH key in a file, you can upload it by selecting the Choose file button in the Select Key file field.

1. (Optional:) Select the Default checkbox to have the SSH key pre-selected when configuring SSH access. Clear the checkbox if you do not want the key to be set as default.

2. Click Save to save the key.

Delete an SSH key

To delete an existing SSH key, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the DCD with your credentials.

2. Go to Menu > Management > SSH Keys.

3. Select the respective SSH key from the list.

4. Click Delete Key.

5. Click OK in the Delete SSH key confirmation dialog box.