Compute Instances (cloud-based virtual machines) are the foundational infrastructure components for most cloud computing applications and workloads. 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 Cloud Manager, the Linode API, or the Linode CLI. For instructions on deploying a Compute Instance through Cloud Manager, see the following guides:

• Choose a Compute Instance plan
• Create a Compute Instance

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Consider deploying an app from the Marketplace to quickly get up and running with many popular applications, including Wordpress, WooCommerce, LEMP, cPanel, Plesk, and Nextcloud. See Marketplace Apps - Get started.

Connect to the Compute 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 Cloud Manager (or via the SSH Lish Gateway) or SSH directly to your new system.

• Weblish (via Cloud Manager): Click the Launch LISH Console link at the top right corner of the Compute Instance's detail page. See Access your system console using Lish > Through Cloud Manager.

• 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 Compute Instance.

  ssh root@192.0.2.1
  

  • Windows: Windows 10 and 11 users can connect to their Compute Instance using the Command Prompt (or PowerShell) application, provided their system is fully updated. For users of Windows 8 and earlier, Secure Shell on Chrome, PuTTY, or many other third party tools can be used instead. See Connecting to a Remote Server Over SSH on Windows.
  • macOS: The Terminal application is pre-installed on macOS. See Connecting to a Remote Server Over SSH on a Mac.
  • Linux: You can use a terminal window, regardless of desktop environment or window manager. See Connecting to a Remote Server Over SSH on Linux

• 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 Access your system console using Lish > Through SSH for more instructions.

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

Migrate existing workloads

Compute Instances and related 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 trying things out or 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 to find guides related to your use case.

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Email restrictions on our 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, see Send email on the Linode platform to learn more about our email policies and to request the removal of these restrictions.