This page is for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) having to do with Apache CloudStack as a project and its use.

Have a question that's not answered here? You might want to ask on the CloudStack users mailing list.

What is Apache CloudStack?

Apache CloudStack is a complete software suite for creating Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) clouds. Target environments include service providers and enterprises.

The CloudStack platform includes the Management Server and extensions to industry-standard hypervisor software (e.g. XenServer, vSphere, KVM) installed on Hosts running in the cloud. The Management Server is deployed on a farm of management servers. The administrator provisions resources (Hosts, storage devices, IP addresses, etc.) into the Management Server and the Management Server manages those resources. The Management server presents web interfaces to end users and administrators that enable them to take actions on some or all of their instances in the IaaS cloud.

Can I create my own private templates?

Yes. Every template has a privacy level associated with it. Privacy levels include:</a>

Administrators and end users can add templates to the system. Users can see the template owner when viewing the template.

(Templates define the base OS image that will be used when a guest is first booted. For example, a template might be a 64-bit version of CentOS 5.3.)

How are users, accounts, and domains handled in CloudStack?

Apache CloudStack users are assigned accounts. An account is typically a customer of the service provider or a department in a large organization. Accounts are the unit of isolation in the cloud. Accounts are grouped by domains. Domains usually contain accounts that have some logical relationship to each other and a set of delegated administrators with some authority over the domain and its subdomains. For example, a service provider with several resellers could create a domain for each reseller.

Multiple users can exist in an account. Users are like aliases in the account. Users in the same account are not isolated from each other. Most installations need not surface the notion of users; they just have one user per account.