Questions and answers about Compute Cloud

General questions

What is cloud computing used for?

Yandex.Cloud provides scalable computing capacity: you can quickly create and start VMs when necessary and stop them if the load drops. The usage of cloud resources reduces your IT infrastructure costs because you pay only for the resources you use.

It's easier to manage a cloud infrastructure so you can focus on your business challenges instead of server maintenance.

What can I do with Yandex.Cloud VMs?

• Use only those computing resources which are necessary to meet your needs. If you need expensive powerful systems, you don't have to buy them. You can create a VM in Yandex.Cloud and use it whenever necessary.

• Quickly scale processing capacity to meet your needs. You can start additional VMs during peak times and stop them when the load is low.

• Use your VMs to deploy applications that must be always available. You don't need to worry about guaranteeing server uptime: Yandex.Cloud will keep it running smoothly. Focus on creating applications that work.

• Configure backups to make it easier to restore your data in the event of loss.

• Create and distribute VM disk images. You can use images to quickly deploy your software on other VMs.

• Automate VM management using the API and scripts in the command line interface.

For more information about Yandex.Cloud VMs, see Virtual machines.

How do Yandex.Cloud VMs differ from regular hosting?

Traditional hosting offers you resources on lease with pre-agreed performance for a fixed time. Yandex.Cloud VMs let you use cloud resources like your personal data center. At the same time, you receive all the advantages of the resilient infrastructure of Yandex's data centers.

You can scale your cloud infrastructure as your performance requirements change. This way you can control how many resources you are using at any given time and how much you pay for them.

You also get full control over the status of your VMs. You can start and stop VMs when you need to. You can set up your VM software configuration and change it as necessary. Disk images and snapshots let you easily transfer data between your VMs.

How do I get started with Yandex.Cloud VMs?

You can create your first VM using one of the methods described in Getting started with Compute Cloud.

How do I get access to a VM?

You can connect to a VM from another VM in the same cloud network. Use the VM's internal IP address or FQDN to do this.

If a public IP address was assigned to the VM when it was created, you can use it to connect to the VM from the internet.

You can find out the IP addresses, FQDN and other information in the management console (go to the Network section on the virtual machine's page).

For more information, see Network on a VM.

To connect to Linux VMs, use SSH. Connect to Windows VMs over RDP.

How quickly can I change the performance of my information systems?

You can change the performance of your information system in one of the following ways:

• Create VMs in advance with the appropriate characteristics and pre-installed software. During peak times, you will just need to start these VMs to increase the performance of the information system. When the load drops, you can stop some of the VMs so that you will not have to pay for consuming extra resources.
• If you frequently need new VMs with the same configuration, you can create a boot disk image and use it when creating VMs.

What operating systems are supported by Yandex.Cloud VMs?

Linux and Windows operating systems are supported.

Public boot disk images that have been tested in Yandex.Cloud are available for popular distributions of these systems.

Does the service meet the requirements under Federal Law No. 152-FZ On personal data?

Yes, you can read the full security audit conclusion.

How do I contact technical support?

You can contact technical support in the management console under Support.

Can I get logs of my operations with services?

Yes, you can request log records about your resources from Yandex.Cloud services. For more information, see Data requests.

Virtual machines

Technical specifications

What VM configuration (memory, vCPU) can I use?

When creating a VM, you select its vCPU performance level. This determines the required number and performance of cores (vCPUs). You can choose the computing resources that are appropriate for the expected load.

Learn more in vCPU performance levels.

How can I change the amount of RAM and the number of cores allocated to a VM?

Learn more in Changing VM computing resources.

Operations on VMs

Can I copy or clone an existing VM?

Yes, you can take snapshots of disks attached to a VM and use them when creating a new VM.

Can I move my VM to a different availability zone?

You cannot directly change the availability zone where the VM is hosted. However, you can create a copy of the VM in the availability zone you need.

Can I move my VM to a different folder?

You cannot directly change the folder that the VM belongs to. However, you can create a copy of the VM in the appropriate folder.

If I accidentally delete my VM, can I restore it?

No, you can't. Deleting a VM is an irreversible operation.

To avoid losing your data in case of accidental deletion, you can configure disk backups using snapshots or specify that the disks should not be automatically deleted when deleting the VM.

If I lose a private key file from a Linux VM, how else can I log in to it?

If you configured the serial console, you can use it to connect to the VM.

You can also access your data the following way:

1. Create a snapshot of the boot disk.
2. Create a VM from a public image.
3. Attach the disk restored from the snapshot to the VM.

You can then export your data or restore access to the VM.

To restore access:

1. Change the SSH key in the /home/<username>/.ssh/authorized_keys file.
2. Make a snapshot of the attached disk.
3. Create a VM with the disk from the snapshot.

Disks and snapshots

How much disk space can I use for a VM?

For disk limitations, see Quotas and limits in Compute Cloud.

Can I resize a disk?

Yes, you can change the disk size via the Yandex.Cloud API.

What happens to my data when a VM is deleted?

When you select a disk to attach to a VM, you can specify whether the disk should be deleted along with the VM. You can choose this option when creating a VM, updating it, or attaching a new disk to it.

If previously created disks are attached to the VM, they will be detached when the VM is deleted. The disk data is preserved and this disk can be attached to another VM in the future.

If you want a disk to be deleted with a VM, specify this during one of the following operations: when creating the VM, updating it, or attaching the disk to it. Such disks will be deleted when you delete the VM.

Do I need to stop a VM to create disk snapshots? Do I have to wait until disk snapshots are created before I start a VM?

You don't have to stop the VM. However, keep in mind that a snapshot contains only the data written to disk when creating the snapshot. You need to take care of the data integrity yourself. For information about how to create disk snapshots, see Creating a disk snapshot.

A snapshot is created asynchronously. You can resume writing data to disk immediately after running the create snapshot command, without waiting for the snapshot creation to be completed.

Instance groups

What is Instance Groups?

Instance Groups is a component that allows you to create, use, and scale groups of similar instances in the Yandex Compute Cloud infrastructure.

With Instance Groups, you can:

• Create groups with the required number of instances and performance parameters.
• Scale the computing capacity up or down, depending on the load.

You work with an instance group as a single entity in the Yandex Compute Cloud infrastructure. This allows you to manage the internal settings of the instance group to meet your application's requirements.

How is the cost of instance group use calculated?

Creation of an instance group is free of charge.

All other Yandex.Cloud services, such as creation of VMs or allocation of external IP addresses, are charged as usual.

How do I know I'm not overpaying?

To select the appropriate number of instances and minimize costs:

• Estimate the amount of computing resources required for your service and see the calculation examples and pricing policy for Yandex Compute Cloud.
• Try to frequently monitor the load on the service at different times of the day.

Licensing

The terms of use for Microsoft software are governed by the terms and conditions of the Microsoft license agreement that you enter into when purchasing a Microsoft product. The user is responsible for complying with the Microsoft licensing terms. Licensing recommendations are provided below. You are in no way obligated to follow such recommendations as they are not legally binding. If you have any questions about Microsoft software licensing and product usage rights, please consult your legal department or Microsoft reseller. The information on this page complies with the current Microsoft Product Terms.

General questions about licensing

What is the relationship between Microsoft and Yandex.Cloud?

Yandex.Cloud is licensed to distribute Microsoft software products under the Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) for providing software services. Yandex.Cloud is also an authorized Microsoft partner under the License Mobility through Software Assurance program.

Does Yandex.Cloud provide extended support for Microsoft products?

No, the Yandex.Cloud team does not currently offer support for Microsoft products.

What is License Mobility?

License Mobility is a benefit provided to customers with Microsoft corporate licenses for eligible server software covered by active Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) agreements. With License Mobility, customers can use eligible Microsoft software when working with third-party cloud solution providers such as Yandex.Cloud. To learn more, go to the Microsoft website.

What Microsoft software can I run on the Yandex.Cloud platform?

Yandex.Cloud supports server software available under the License Mobility through Software Assurance program.

How can I find out whether a Microsoft product is eligible for License Mobility?

This information is included in the terms of use for the Microsoft product. Whether or not a product is eligible for the License Mobility through Software Assurance program is indicated in the corresponding section of the Software Assurance agreement. Products that are eligible for the License Mobility through Software Assurance program include Remote Desktop Services, System Center, Exchange, and SharePoint.

Do I need to have a current Software Assurance agreement in place and participate in the License Mobility through Software Assurance program to deploy my own Microsoft licenses in Yandex.Cloud?

Yes. When using licensed Microsoft software in Yandex Compute Cloud, you must have a current Software Assurance agreement in place and participate in the License Mobility through Software Assurance program. An active Software Assurance agreement is always a requirement for participating in the License Mobility through Software Assurance program.

Can I import my own Windows image to Yandex.Cloud?

No. Currently, you cannot upload your own images with Windows.

Windows Server licensing

Can I purchase Windows Server from Yandex.Cloud?

Yes, you can purchase a VM with a pre-installed Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2019 image from Yandex.Cloud. The Windows Server license is included in the Yandex.Cloud service cost.

Can I deploy my own Windows Server licenses in Compute Cloud?

No. You currently can't deploy your own Windows Server licenses.

Does License Mobility cover Windows Server?

No. According to the terms of use for Microsoft products, License Mobility does not extend to Windows Server operating systems.

Licensing of other Microsoft products

Can I purchase other Microsoft products with licenses that can be deployed in Yandex Compute Cloud?

Yes. Currently, Yandex.Cloud only provides Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and RDS licenses and transfers server software licenses under the License Mobility through Software Assurance program. Licensing of MSDN, Windows OS, Microsoft Office, and other products is not available.