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Launching Your First Formation

Beginner 10 minutes Auto-generated screenshots

Overview

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to launch a cloud formation in the RosettaHub Supercloud platform. Formations are cloud-agnostic IaC recipes that describe the infrastructure needed to create cloud services across AWS, Azure, GCP, Alibaba Cloud, OVH, and OpenStack. When you launch a formation, RosettaHub creates a session with one or more running machines -- all within your organization's budget controls and policy enforcement.

Prerequisites

  • [ ] RosettaHub account with active subscription
  • [ ] At least one cloud account connected
  • [ ] Access to shared or public formations

Steps

Step 1: Open the Formations Panel

From the dashboard sidebar, click Formations to open the formations panel.

You'll see formations organized by:

  • Private - Formations you own
  • Shared - Formations shared with you
  • Public - Publicly available formations

Step 2: Select a Formation

Browse or search for a formation to launch. For beginners, look for:

  • Jupyter Lab - Python notebook environment
  • RStudio - R development environment
  • Ubuntu Workspace - General Linux environment

Click on a formation to select it.

Step 3: Launch the Formation

With a formation selected, click Launch (or double-click the formation).

The launch dialog appears with pre-configured options.

Step 4: Review Launch Settings

Review and optionally modify:

Setting Description
Cloud Key Credentials for deployment
Instance Type Compute resources (CPU, memory)
Region Deployment location

Tip

Default settings are usually appropriate. Only modify if you have specific requirements.

Step 5: Confirm and Deploy

Click Launch to start deployment.

Warning

Launching creates cloud resources that incur costs. Monitor your budget.

Step 6: Monitor Progress

Watch the deployment progress. A session is created containing your machine(s):

  1. Pending - Request submitted
  2. Creating - Resources being provisioned
  3. Running - Ready to use

Your machine will appear in the Machines panel once provisioned.

Step 7: Connect to Your Machine

Once running, connect to your machine:

  • Click the machine to open the web interface (Jupyter, RStudio, etc.)
  • Right-click → Connect for SSH/RDP access
  • Right-click → Get Summary for connection details

Creating Your Own Formation

To create a customized formation:

Method 1: Clone and Customize

  1. Clone an existing formation
  2. Customize the label and description
  3. Update instance type and settings
  4. Configure container and launch options
  5. Launch, install your software, then Snapshot the machine
  6. Share with others

Method 2: Create from Scratch

  1. Click Create Formation in the Formations panel
  2. Select the formation type
  3. Configure all settings (image, keys, instance type)
  4. Save and launch

See Formations User Guide for detailed instructions.

Managing Your Machines

When finished working, manage your machines to control costs:

Stop a Machine

  1. Open the Machines panel
  2. Select your running machine
  3. Click Stop or right-click → Stop
  4. The machine stops but preserves its storage

Tip

Stopped machines don't incur compute charges but still incur storage costs.

Start a Stopped Machine

  1. Select the stopped machine in the Machines panel
  2. Click Start or right-click → Start
  3. The machine resumes from where you left off

Delete a Machine

  1. Select the machine
  2. Click Delete or right-click → Delete
  3. Confirm the action

Warning

Deleting a machine terminates it permanently. All data on the root volume is lost.

Key Concepts

Term Description
Formation Recipe/template for infrastructure
Session Active deployment from a formation
Machine Running cloud instance
  • Formations define what to deploy
  • Machines are running sessions you interact with
  • Stop/Start/Delete actions apply to machines, not formations

Next Steps

Troubleshooting

Machine stuck in 'Creating' status

This may indicate:

  • Cloud provider quota limits
  • Region availability issues
  • Budget exceeded

Check your cloud account status or contact your administrator.

Cannot find any formations

Ensure you have:

  • Active cloud accounts connected
  • Formations shared with you or your organization
  • Correct filter settings (check Public/Shared/Private toggles)
Launch fails with permission error

Your account may lack:

  • Required instance type permissions
  • Access to the selected region
  • Sufficient budget

Contact your organization administrator.