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Deploy Your First VPS Instance

Learn how to provision, configure, and connect to a high-performance virtual machine in under 5 minutes using the CloudNexus API or CLI.

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Prerequisites You'll need a CloudNexus account, an API key with `compute:write` permissions, and the latest version of our CLI (`cnx-cli v2.4+`).

1. Configure Your Environment

Before provisioning, authenticate your CLI session and set your default region. All compute operations require an active authentication token.

bash
# Install CLI (macOS/Linux)
curl -sL https://cli.cloudnexus.dev/install.sh | bash

# Login with API key
cnx auth login \n  --api-key cnx_live_8xK2mP9... \n  --region us-east-1

# Verify connection
cnx status

2. Provision the Instance

Use the cnx compute create command to spin up a bare-metal-backed VPS. Specify instance family, storage tier, and networking options.

bash
cnx compute create \n  --name prod-web-01 \n  --family nexus-hp \n  --cpu 4 --ram 8 --storage 100 \n  --os ubuntu-22.04 \n  --firewall allow-ssh,allow-https \n  --label env=production \n  --label team=platform
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Pro Tip Use --auto-scale to enable intelligent traffic-based scaling. CloudNexus will automatically adjust vCPU/RAM allocation based on real-time load metrics.

3. Connect & Verify

Once provisioned, retrieve the public IP and establish a secure SSH connection. All instances come with hardened SSH defaults and automatic key rotation.

Parameter Default Description
ssh_user cnx-admin Non-root privileged user
port 22 Standard SSH port
protocol SSH-2 Encrypted channel version
bash
# Get instance IP
cnx compute get prod-web-01 --field ipv4
# Output: 198.51.100.42

# Connect
ssh -i ~/.cnx/id_ed25519 cnx-admin@198.51.100.42

REST API Alternative

Prefer programmatic deployment? Use the Compute API to orchestrate infrastructure at scale.

http
POST /v2/compute/instances
Authorization: Bearer cnx_live_...
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "api-backend-node",
  "region": "eu-west-2",
  "spec": {
    "vcpus": 2,
    "memory_gb": 4,
    "disk_gb": 50,
    "image": "debian-12"
  },
  "network": {
    "firewall_ids": ["fw_default", "fw_app"]
  }
}
⚠️
Rate Limits API requests are capped at 100 req/min per account. Use bulk endpoints for deployments > 10 instances to avoid 429 throttling.

Next Steps