# Get Started

IONOS Cloud is a robust and flexible platform that helps users build and manage their cloud infrastructure smoothly. The platform offers user-friendly cloud solutions that can be managed via the [<mark style="color:blue;">Data Center Designer (DCD)</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/sections-test/guides/set-up-ionos-cloud/data-center-designer) or [<mark style="color:blue;">API</mark>](https://docs.ionos.com/reference).

This section covers the first steps to working with the IONOS Cloud DCD and explores helpful advanced guides for fully configuring and managing various IONOS Cloud solutions.

## First steps

Access the DCD to create and configure your first data center with IONOS Cloud.

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Log in to the Data Center Designer</strong></mark></td><td>Log in to the DCD and explore the dashboard and menu options.</td><td><a href="get-started/log-in-dcd">log-in-dcd</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Create a Data Center</strong></mark></td><td>Create a data center and learn about individual User Interface (UI) elements.</td><td><a href="get-started/create-data-center">create-data-center</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Configure a Data Center</strong></mark></td><td>Configure a dedicated core server, add storage and a network, and provision the changes.</td><td><a href="get-started/configure-data-center">configure-data-center</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set User Privileges for Data Center</strong></mark></td><td>Learn how to create subusers and assign them relevant privileges to access data center.</td><td><a href="get-started/set-user-privileges-data-center">set-user-privileges-data-center</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Data Center Designer</strong></mark></td><td>Learn about IONOS Cloud DCD, access the core cloud services intuitively via the DCD UI, and configure and manage them.</td><td><a href="data-center-designer">data-center-designer</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Explore advanced guides

Dive deeper with advanced and commonly referred user guides to continue your learning.

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set Up a Dedicated Core Server</strong></mark></td><td>Set up and manage a dedicated core server.</td><td><a href="../compute-services/compute-engine/how-tos/set-up-dedicated-core">set-up-dedicated-core</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set Up a Network Load Balancer</strong></mark></td><td>Distribute incoming traffic efficiently with a network load balancer.</td><td><a href="../network-services/network-load-balancer/setup-nlb">setup-nlb</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set Up a PostgreSQL Database Cluster</strong></mark></td><td>Set up a high-availability, scalable PostgreSQL database cluster for your applications.</td><td><a href="../databases/postgresql/how-tos/setup-a-cluster-in-the-dcd">setup-a-cluster-in-the-dcd</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set Up Block Storage</strong></mark></td><td>Configure and manage reliable block storage for your data needs.</td><td><a href="../storage-and-backup/block-storage/how-tos/set-up-block-storage">set-up-block-storage</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Configure a NAT Gateway</strong></mark></td><td>Establish a secure NAT gateway for private network internet access.</td><td><a href="../network-services/nat-gateway/setup-nat-gateway">setup-nat-gateway</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Configure a Network on your VDC</strong></mark></td><td>Manage and configure networks within your Virtual Data Center (VDC).</td><td><a href="../network-services/vdc-networking/lan/how-tos/configure-private-lan">configure-private-lan</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set Up Object Storage Access</strong></mark></td><td>Set up and access scalable S3-compatible Object Storage.</td><td><a href="../storage-and-backup/ionos-object-storage/get-started/setup-access">setup-access</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Connect to Virtual Machines via SSH</strong></mark></td><td>Establish secure SSH connections to your remote servers.</td><td><a href="../compute-services/compute-engine/how-tos/connect-vm-via-ssh">connect-vm-via-ssh</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set Up Backup Units</strong></mark></td><td>Configure and manage backup units to safeguard your data.</td><td><a href="../storage-and-backup/backup-service/how-tos/set-up-backup-unit">set-up-backup-unit</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Configure Flow Logs</strong></mark></td><td>Set up flow logs to monitor and analyze network traffic.</td><td><a href="../network-services/flow-logs/how-tos/configure-flow-logs">configure-flow-logs</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Set Up a Kubernetes Cluster</strong></mark></td><td>Deploy and manage a Kubernetes cluster for container orchestration.</td><td><a href="../containers/managed-kubernetes/how-tos/cluster_management">cluster_management</a></td></tr><tr><td><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Create Alarms and Actions</strong></mark></td><td>Set up monitoring alerts and actions for your infrastructure.</td><td><a href="../observability/monitoring-as-a-service/dcd-how-tos/create-alarms-actions">create-alarms-actions</a></td></tr></tbody></table>