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This guide walks you through creating a virtual machine, connecting via SSH, and managing its lifecycle.

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Prerequisites

  • A Raff Cloud Platform account with billing set up
  • An API key
  • A project ID (found in your dashboard under project settings)
  • An SSH key pair (optional but recommended)

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Step 1: Authenticate

Set your API key and project ID as environment variables for convenience: 
export RAFF_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
export RAFF_PROJECT_ID="YOUR_PROJECT_ID"
Verify your access: 
curl -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" \
  https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms

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Step 2: Create a VM

Create an Ubuntu VM with 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM: 
curl -X POST https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms \
  -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Project-ID: $RAFF_PROJECT_ID" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-ubuntu-server",
    "template_id": "<template-uuid>",
    "pricing_id": 3,
    "region": "us-east",
    "ssh_keys": ["ssh-ed25519 AAAA... user@laptop"],
    "backup_type": "weekly",
    "backup_time": "8am",
    "backup_date": "Saturday"
  }'
Replace <template-uuid> with your OS template ID from the dashboard. The pricing_id determines CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth allocation.
The response includes your new VM details: 
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "69590a15-9f68-4b6f-8232-b07781218852",
    "name": "my-ubuntu-server",
    "status": "provisioning",
    "cpu": 2,
    "ram": 4,
    "storage": 80,
    "pricing_id": 3,
    "price_per_hour": "0.027764",
    "billing_type": "payg",
    "public_ipv4_address": "15.204.178.3",
    "region": "us-east"
  }
}

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Step 3: Wait for VM to Become Active

Poll the VM status until it becomes active: 
curl -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" \
  https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms/69590a15-9f68-4b6f-8232-b07781218852
The VM transitions through these states:
StatusDescription
provisioningResources being allocated
bootingVM is booting up
initiatingInitial setup running
activeReady to use

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Step 4: Connect via SSH

Once the VM is active, connect using the public IPv4 address: 
ssh root@15.204.178.3
If you provided a password instead of SSH keys during creation: 
ssh root@15.204.178.3
# Enter the password you set

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Step 5: Manage Your VM

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Stop the VM

curl -X POST -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" -H "X-Project-ID: $RAFF_PROJECT_ID" \
  https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms/69590a15-9f68-4b6f-8232-b07781218852/stop
Stopped VMs retain their resources and IP address. You are still billed for reserved resources.

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Resize the VM

Resize requires the VM to be stopped first: 
curl -X POST https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms/69590a15-9f68-4b6f-8232-b07781218852/resize \
  -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Project-ID: $RAFF_PROJECT_ID" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"cpu": 4, "ram": 8}'

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Start the VM

curl -X POST -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" -H "X-Project-ID: $RAFF_PROJECT_ID" \
  https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms/69590a15-9f68-4b6f-8232-b07781218852/start

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Delete the VM

curl -X DELETE -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" -H "X-Project-ID: $RAFF_PROJECT_ID" \
  https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms/69590a15-9f68-4b6f-8232-b07781218852
Deleting a VM is permanent. All data on the VM will be lost. Make sure to back up any important data first.

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VPC Networking

Every VM is automatically placed in a VPC for private networking. You can control this behavior:

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Auto-created VPC (Default)

If you don’t specify any VPC options, a new VPC is created automatically named vpc-{vm-name}.

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Shared VPC

To place multiple VMs on the same private network, create the first VM (which auto-creates a VPC), then pass that vpc_id to subsequent VMs: 
# Second VM joins the same VPC
curl -X POST https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms \
  -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Project-ID: $RAFF_PROJECT_ID" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-second-vm",
    "template_id": "<template-uuid>",
    "pricing_id": 1,
    "region": "us-east",
    "vpc_id": "<vpc-uuid-from-first-vm>"
  }'

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Custom VPC

Create a VPC with a specific name and CIDR: 
curl -X POST https://api.rafftechnologies.com/api/v1/vms \
  -H "X-API-Key: $RAFF_API_KEY" \
  -H "X-Project-ID: $RAFF_PROJECT_ID" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-vm",
    "template_id": "<template-uuid>",
    "pricing_id": 1,
    "region": "us-east",
    "vpc_name": "production-vpc",
    "vpc_cidr": "10.0.1.0/24"
  }'