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Compute Instances (cloud-based virtual machines) are the foundational infrastructure components for most applications and workloads running on Linode. They offer a fully virtualized Linux system with root access. As such, you can install whatever software you need and configure to be perfectly tuned for your use cases. Compute Instances can host anything from a personal blog or small business website all the way up to enterprise applications serving millions of people a day.

Create a Compute Instance

Compute Instances can be deployed using the Cloud Manager, the Linode API, or the Linode CLI. For instructions on deploying one through the Cloud Manager, see the following guides:

Note
Consider deploying an app from the Linode Marketplace to quickly get up and running with many popular applications, including Wordpress, WooCommerce, LEMP, cPanel, Plesk, and Nextcloud. See How to Use Linode’s Marketplace Apps.

Connect to the Instance

After the Compute Instance is finished provisioning and has fully booted up, you can connect to it through the built-in Lish Console in the Cloud Manager (or via the SSH Lish Gateway) or SSH directly to your new system.

  • Weblish (via the Cloud Manager): Click the Launch LISH Console link at the top right corner of the Compute Instance’s detail page. See Using the Lish Console > Through a Browser.

  • SSH: Copy the command from the SSH Access field that is available in Cloud Manager under the Access section on the Compute Instance’s detail page. Paste the command into your local computer’s terminal. The command should look similar to the following, only with the IP address of your newly created instance.

    ssh root@192.0.2.1
  • Lish (via SSH): Copy the command from the LISH Console via SSH field that is available in Cloud Manager under the Access section on the Compute Instance’s detail page. Paste the command into your local computer’s terminal. The command should look similar to the one below, only with your username, data center, and Compute Instance label. Review Using the Lish Console > Through SSH for more instructions.

    ssh -t user@lish-newark.linode.com example-instance

Migrate Existing Workloads

Linode’s Compute Instances (and other products and services) can run almost any workload you may have on other hosting providers. Review the migration guides for instructions.

Deploy New Applications

Now you can start using your Compute Instance. Whether you’re just here to test things out or are looking to host a specific application with us, we may have a guide that can help you get up and running. Open the Guides section and start browsing or use the search tool at the top of the page to find any guides related to your use case.

Email restrictions on the Linode Platform
In an effort to fight spam originating from our platform, outbound connections on ports 25, 465, and 587 are blocked by default on Compute Instances for some new accounts. These restrictions prevent applications from sending email. If you intend to send email from a Compute Instance, review the Send Email on the Linode Platform guide to learn more about our email policies and to request the removal of these restrictions.

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