CoreWeave Cloud UI

Deploy Virtual Servers via the Cloud UI

Prerequisites

This guide presumes you have an active CoreWeave Cloud account. Once the account is active, log in to the Cloud UI dashboard to get started.

Virtual Servers on the CoreWeave Cloud UI

The CoreWeave Cloud UI is a responsive, Web-based dashboard enabling users to configure, deploy, and manage Virtual Servers. To view, manage, and deploy Virtual Servers in the Cloud UI, navigate to Virtual Servers from the left-hand menu.

If there are already existing Virtual Servers in the active namespace, they are listed here in the menu, just below the page header. Expand a Virtual Server's details by clicking the downward arrow beside its name. This view offers further information about the selected machine, such as the data center in which it is hosted, its host DNS name, its external IP address, the cost it incurs per hour, and more.

New Virtual Servers can also be created from this page.

Virtual Server deployment methods

Note

To learn about all of the configuration options for Virtual Servers in detail, see Configuration Options.

There are several different ways to deploy a Virtual Server - each method may suit a different use case. If this is your first time creating a Virtual Server, start by creating a brand new Virtual Server.

Create a brand new Virtual Server

If you haven't ever created a Virtual Server before, start here.

A new deployment is a blank slate. All settings are configured from scratch in order to build a custom-configured Virtual Server.

Clone an existing Server

A clone deployment takes a complete snapshot of an existing Virtual Server's state, including its data, then creates an exact duplicate from that snapshot.

Create a Virtual Server from a template

A template deployment copies the configuration from an existing Virtual Server, without the state or data, in order to generate a duplicate configuration for a new Server.

Create a Server from a custom image

A custom image deployment loads the Operating System image from a specified PVC or from a remote HTTP source.

Create a brand new Virtual Server

If this is your first Virtual Server, it is recommended to begin by initiating a brand new configuration, using the Cloud UI to configure the Server.

Note

At this time, when deploying a new Virtual Server, you may be asked if you'd like to try the new deploy form:

The VS Deploy in Cloud version is newer, and offers more features than the CoreWeave Apps edition within an easy-to-use GUI.

While both methods are functional, the following documentation covers deployment using the VS Deploy in Cloud options.

To start, navigate to the Virtual Servers page from the left-hand navigation of the Cloud UI, or click the Deploy Now button found in the Deploy Virtual Server box in the center of the homepage.

All Virtual Servers are managed from the Virtual Servers page. Here, all existing Servers are listed, alongside the option to deploy new ones. To create a new Virtual Server, click the New Virtual Server button.

Configure the Virtual Server

Virtual Servers are configured and deployed from the New Virtual Server page. When creating a brand new Virtual Server, all configurations are manually selected here in order to create a machine custom-tailored to your needs.

The creation page consists of two panes: a Web UI on the right, and a YAML manifest editor on the left, revealed by clicking Edit YAML on the right-hand side of the screen.

The YAML editor gives the creator direct access to the Custom Resource Definition (CRD) that defines the Virtual Server object in Kubernetes, providing a high level of flexible customization and transparency. Exposing the Virtual Server's manifest also offers an opportunity for programmatic deployment via the Kubernetes CLI.

Changes made using either the GUI or the YAML editor are automatically reflected on both sides. For example, changing the name of the Virtual Server in the GUI's Name field automatically updates the value in the YAML manifest's metadata.name field.

Important

Not all Virtual Server configuration options are exposed in the GUI - certain more advanced configuration options may only be adjusted by editing the YAML manifest. See Configuration Options for further details.

To hide the YAML editor from view, click Hide YAML. This tab transforms into Edit YAML once closed, and may be clicked again to re-open the YAML editor pane.

Additional Resources

Learn more about all Virtual Server configuration options.

Sensitive values

Sensitive values such as passwords are obscured by asterisks in the YAML editor when entered in the Cloud UI editor. Clicking on the YAML editor will reveal the entered password in the manifest.

Additional page controls

Beside the page header, there are three buttons in the upper-right corner of the Web UI pane.

The magic wand button reverts the current form to the last valid configuration.
The arrow button resets the current form by clearing all fields.
The "copy" button offers the option to switch deployment methods to either copying an existing Virtual Server's configuration, or to creating a clone from one.

After completely configuring the Virtual Server to the desired specifications, click the Deploy Now button.

Clone a Virtual Server

Important

The deployment page does not allow cloning running Servers. Be sure to shut down the source server before creating a clone of it.

A clone is a snapshot of an existing Virtual Server that includes the PVC containing the OS and all files. This means that deploying a clone of a Virtual Server creates an exact duplicate of an existing Virtual Server in the same state the original is in at the time the clone is created.

There are two ways to create Virtual Server clones.

Select a source server from the "New Virtual Server" form

From the New Virtual Server form, click Load or clone from existing in the upper-right to open the Select Template modal.

Select an existing Virtual Server in the drop-down given. Then, toggle the Clone (use resource as source) option to create an exact clone of the selected Virtual Server.

Select a Server from the Virtual Servers list as the clone source

Another way to deploy a clone is to choose a Server from the primary list on the Virtual Servers main page. To the right of the Virtual Server's detail pane is an ellipsis menu. Clicking it reveals further options, including Clone and, separately, Use as Template.

Changes to the cloned configuration may be made after the clone is created.

Note

There is less risk of deployment issues when creating a Server from a template rather than a clone, as templates do not copy the files or state of the source Server.

Create a new Virtual Server from a template

A template uses an existing Virtual Server as a model. Creating a new Virtual Server from a template creates a new Server using the same configuration as the selected source Server, but it does not copy the state of the source machine or the source machine's data the way cloning does.

The steps to deploy a Virtual Server from a template are similar to deploying a clone, but instead of toggling the Clone (use resource as source) option to the "on" position, ensure it is in the "off" position, and that the deployment button's text reads Use as template.

Clicking this button will automatically configure the form settings on the Virtual Server creation page to match those of the machine used as its source. Changes to the copied configuration may be made once the configuration is copied into the editor.

Note

If configuration changes to the new Server are desired, it is generally safer to create a copy of a Server from a template rather than from a clone because templates do not copy the files or state of the source Server.

Custom deployments

A custom deployment loads the Operating System image from an existing PVC or from a remote HTTP source.

To deploy a custom Virtual Server, begin by following the same steps as if deploying a brand new Virtual Server. In the Operating System section of the configuration screen, select either Image From Remote Source for an HTTP source, or Image From PVC to load an OS from a PVC.

Load an image from a remote source

In the Image From a Remote Source box, enter the URL of an OS in the text field provided in the box. Operating System images may be in qcow2, raw and iso formats, and may optionally compressed with either gz or xz.

Load an image from a PVC

This option creates a copy of an existing PVC to be used as the root disk of the Virtual Server. The PVC may be copied from an existing Virtual Server. Alternatively, a disk image may be imported.

Important

This option will not be shown if there are no eligible PVCs deployed in your namespace. Ensure the source Server is shut down before using its PVC as an image source for a new Server.

Cloud UI tools

There are several additional tools in the Cloud UI for managing Virtual Servers.

Status tools

Once your Virtual Server has begun deploying, you will be automatically redirected to the Virtual Servers page. From here, the Virtual Server can be stopped (shut down), restarted, edited, cloned, used as a template, or deleted.

Click the Virtual Server to expand its menu for more information and to see all options.

Virtual terminal

The status page also offers access to a virtual terminal, which provides immediate access to the Virtual Server through a VNC terminal once the Server is in a ready state. To open the virtual terminal, click the Terminal button in the Virtual Server's expanded menu, or click the ellipses on the right hand side of its name and select Terminal.

Clicking the Upgrade button redirects to the Hardware Selection page described above. From here, options such as GPU type, CPU core amounts, root disk size, may be adjusted.

Note

For Virtual Servers running Windows, it may take time to install and upgrade the OS. Additionally, the Web-based terminal is not supported by Virtual Servers utilizing custom EDID.

Events

The Events page is a basic diagnostic log of all actions involving the Virtual Server are recorded in a list, viewed by clicking the Events button.

Note

The events listed under Events are short-lived, so should mostly be used for diagnostic purposes or for tracing the status of the Virtual Server.