How to use the virtual machine console

How-to · Updated May 2026

Coming from another cloud?

▸AWS·EC2 Instances

EC2 Instanceshigh

Uses EC2 RunInstances API instead of Nova servers.create.
Requires predefined instance type selection.
Supports per-second On-Demand billing and Spot/Reserved options.
Includes hibernation state not standard in OpenStack.

AWS docs ↗

▸Azure·Virtual Machines

Virtual Machineshigh

Uses Azure Resource Manager (ARM) REST API at /providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines instead of OpenStack Nova API at /v2.1/servers.
Tightly integrated with Azure services like Azure Active Directory for authentication, unlike OpenStack's Keystone.
VM creation requires specifying size from predefined series with hardware-specific features (e.g., AMD/Intel/ARM), not custom flavor configs.
Billed per second with complex pricing tiers based on series/reservation options, vs OpenStack's typically hourly or usage-based.

Azure docs ↗

▸Google Cloud·VM instances

VM instanceshigh

Uses REST API 'instances.insert' instead of Nova 'servers.create' with different auth via service accounts vs Keystone.
Supports bare metal instances (no hypervisor), not in standard OpenStack Nova.
Network interfaces tied to VPC subnets; differs from Neutron ports/floating IPs.

Google Cloud docs ↗

How to use the virtual machine console

Access a running virtual machine through a browser-based VNC terminal. The console lets you interact with the instance without SSH, which is useful during OS installation, when network access is unavailable, or when recovering from a misconfiguration.

Prerequisites

ConsoleLogged in to the Quake AI console
CLIOpenStack CLI installed and authenticated (clouds.yaml or openrc sourced)
APIAPI token generated with $OS_TOKEN and service endpoint variables set

Windows: CLI examples use bash. Set up a Linux CLI environment on Windows before proceeding.

A running instance
A login password set on the instance

Open the console#

Go to Compute > Instances.
Locate the instance row. The row's first action icon is the Console icon (tooltip Console).
Select the Console icon, then select Open Console from the dropdown. The VNC console opens in a new browser tab. The sibling Console Log item navigates to the instance detail page's Console Log tab and shows serial and boot output instead.
Log in with the instance username and password.

Common usernames: ubuntu (Ubuntu), debian (Debian), rocky (Rocky Linux). See default usernames.

Usage Guidelines

The sample code, software libraries, command line tools, proofs of concept, templates, and other related technology on this page (including any of the foregoing that is provided by Quake AI personnel) is provided to you as Quake AI Content under the Quake AI Customer Agreement, or the relevant written agreement between you and Quake AI (whichever applies). Do not use this Quake AI Content in your production accounts, or on production or other critical data. You are responsible for testing, securing, and optimizing the Quake AI Content (such as sample code) as appropriate for production grade use based on your specific quality control practices and standards. Deploying Quake AI Content may incur Quake AI charges for creating or using Quake AI chargeable resources, such as running Compute instances or storing data in Object Storage. Your use is also subject to the Acceptable Use Policy.

For the full policy, see Usage Guidelines.

Last validated: 24.05.2026

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How to use the virtual machine console

How to use the virtual machine console

Open the console#

See also#

Usage Guidelines

Quick answers

See Also