Before you begin

1. The instance must be stopped to export its disk, so plan for downtime.
2. The download link for the exported disk is valid for 24 hours. If it expires, export the disk again.
3. Instances on Public Cloud [New] don’t get a public IP address automatically. You’ll need to assign a new public IP. Then update DNS records, firewall rules and any configuration that uses the old instance.
4. Choose a new instance type with a disk at least as large as the exported disk.

Step 1: Export the disk from Public Cloud [Old]

1. Log in to the Customer Portal and go to your Public Cloud instances
2. Open the instance you want to migrate.
3. Under Quick Actions, click Stop and wait until the state shows STOPPED.
4. Open the Extract volume tab and click Extract volume.
   1. https://secure.leaseweb.com/public-cloud/instances/your-instance-ID/extract-volume
5. Wait until Volume ready appears. It shows the disk format (QCOW2) and when the link expires.

From here you can:

1. Download the disk to keep a local copy.
2. Copy URL to use the link in the next step.
3. Create custom image to go straight to new Public Cloud with the URL filled in.

Step 2: Create a custom image in Public Cloud [New]

1. Click Create custom image, or go to Public Cloud [New] > Custom Images and click Create.
2. Fill in the form:
   1. Image URL: the link from Step 1. It’s filled in automatically if you used the Create custom image button.
   2. Image Name and Description: anything that helps you recognize the image.
   3. OS Distribution, OS Version and Admin User: optional, but recommended. They help identify the image and set the right defaults when you launch instances.
   4. Disk Format: QCOW2.
3. Click Create and wait until the image is available in the Custom Images list.

Step 3: Launch an instance in new Public Cloud

1. In Public Cloud [New], launch a new instance.
2. Select your custom image as the image source.
3. Choose the instance type, region and network settings, then launch.
4. Go to Public Cloud [NEW] > Public IPs and assign a public IP address to the new instance.

Step 4: Verify and switch over

1. Log in to the new instance and check that your applications and data work as expected.
2. Update DNS records, firewall rules and any configuration that refers to the old Instance IP addresses.
3. When everything works, terminate the old instance to stop billing for it.

Troubleshooting

1. The Extract volume button is disabled. The instance is still running. Stop it first.
2. The image import fails. The link may have expired. Export the disk again and use the new URL.

Before you begin

1. Your image must be in RAW or QCOW2 format.
2. The image file must be available at a publicly reachable HTTPS URL.
3. V2 instances don’t get a public IP address automatically. You’ll need to assign one after launching the instance.

Step 1: Create the custom image

1. Log in to the Customer Portal.
2. In the menu, go to Public Cloud > Custom Images.
3. Click Create custom image.

1. Fill in the form:
   1. Project: the project the image belongs to.
   2. Availability Zone: the zone where the image will be available. Choose the zone where you plan to launch instances.
   3. Image URL: the HTTPS URL of your RAW or QCOW2 image file.
   4. Description: a short description of the image.
   5. Image Name: a name that helps you recognize the image.
   6. OS Distribution, OS Version and Admin User: optional, but recommended. They help identify the image and set the right defaults when you launch instances.
   7. Disk Format: select the format of your image file, RAW or QCOW2. This must match the actual file format.
2. Click Create.
3. Wait until the image shows as available in the Custom Images list. This can take a while for large images.

Step 2: Launch an instance from the custom image

1. In Public Cloud V2, go to launch a new instance page, in the same project and availability zone as the image.

1. Select your custom image as the image source.
2. Choose an instance type with a disk at least as large as the image.
3. Choose your network settings and launch the instance.

Troubleshooting

1. The image import fails. Check that the URL is publicly reachable over HTTPS, the link hasn’t expired, and the selected disk format matches the file.
2. You can’t find your image when launching an instance. Make sure you’re launching in the same project and availability zone as the image.
3. You can’t reach the new instance. Check that a public IP is assigned and that your security settings allow the traffic

Using the API

The base URL is https://api.leaseweb.com/bareMetals/v2/hardwareMonitoring/raw. Under it, the API serves the standard Prometheus HTTP API paths:

For request parameters, response formats and more examples for each of these paths, see VictoriaMetrics API examples: Reads. When you follow those examples, replace the host with the base URL above and add the X-LSW-Auth header. Only the paths listed in the table above are available through the Leaseweb API.

Connect Grafana

1. In Grafana, go to Connections → Data sources → Add data source and pick Prometheus.
2. Set Prometheus server URL to https://api.leaseweb.com/bareMetals/v2/hardwareMonitoring/raw (the base URL, without /api/v1/...).
3. Under HTTP headers, add a header named X-LSW-Auth with your API key as the value.
4. Under Other: Use series endpoint: true
5. Click Save & test.

Query from the command line

Store your API key in an environment variable, then call the API with curl:

export LSW_TOKEN="[YOUR_API_KEY]"
B=https://api.leaseweb.com/bareMetals/v2/hardwareMonitoring/raw

# BMC details of every monitored server
curl -s -H "X-LSW-Auth: $LSW_TOKEN" -G "$B/api/v1/query" \
  --data-urlencode 'query=ipmi_bmc_info'

# All temperature readings above 70 °C right now
curl -s -H "X-LSW-Auth: $LSW_TOKEN" -G "$B/api/v1/query" \
  --data-urlencode 'query=ipmi_temperature_celsius > 70'

# The list of servers (instance label values)
curl -s -H "X-LSW-Auth: $LSW_TOKEN" "$B/api/v1/label/instance/values"

Keep your API key out of scripts you commit to version control; read it from a secrets manager or environment variable instead.

Good to know

• Refresh rate: metrics are collected every 5 minutes. The API is not suited for second-by-second monitoring.
• History: metrics are kept for 30 days. To keep longer history, you could store the data on your own equipment.
• Read-only, no alerting: the API does not send notifications or accept alert rules. Set up alerts in your own tools, for example Grafana alerting or your Prometheus rules, on top of the API.
• Sensors vary by model: older or entry-level servers expose fewer sensors. A metric that is missing for one server is usually not reported by that server’s BMC.
• Hardware level only: IPMI sees the physical machine, not your operating system. CPU load, disk usage, memory usage and application metrics are not included.
• Gaps during maintenance: while a server reboots or its BMC is reset, some readings can be missing for one or more collection rounds.
• Proxies: if a proxy between your tool and the API adds an X-Real-IP header, the API rejects the request with 401. Remove that header or call the API directly.

Frequently asked questions

Can other customers see my data? No. Each request is tied to your API key, and the API only returns series for servers on your account.

Does this install anything on my server? No. Data is read from the server’s BMC over IPMI using the read-only lswhwmon user. Nothing runs on your operating system.

One of my servers is missing from the results. Why? The lswhwmon IPMI user is most likely missing on that server. Run an IPMI reset from the Customer Portal to create it; data appears after the next collection rounds.

How do I turn monitoring off for a server? Delete the lswhwmon user in the server’s remote management interface. Collection for that server stops.

Grafana says “Save & test” failed. What should I check? Check that the URL ends in /hardwareMonitoring/rawwith no /api/v1 suffix, that the X-LSW-Auth header holds a valid API key, and that no proxy adds an X-Real-IP header.

Can I set alerts in the Customer Portal? Not today. Use the API with your own alerting tools.

Is there a cost? No. Hardware Monitoring and its API are included with your dedicated server.

What is included in this release?

• Product scope: Both Object Storage products can be ordered via the API:
  • Reserved: a fixed storage capacity for a contract term. You choose the capacity (500 GB to 1,000,000 GB, in steps of 100 GB) and the contract term (1 month to 3 years). Longer terms get a discount.
  • On Demand: no fixed capacity and no contract term. You only pay for what you use.
• Usage billing: for both products, usage (stored data, outgoing traffic and API calls) is billed on top of the periodic price, at the usage prices returned by the API.
• Eligibility: Only existing, verified customers who are on invoice payment with no prepayment obligation can order via the API. If you are on invoice payment but get an error when ordering, your account probably has a prepayment requirement; contact Leaseweb Sales or log a support ticket to have it removed. New customers must complete the Know Your Customer (KYC) process first.
• Sales Organization: you can only order in locations that belong to the Leaseweb entity of your API key. For example, a key from the US entity can only order Object Storage in US data centers.
• Dry run: you can validate an order without placing it. Nothing is ordered and nothing is charged.
• Available locations:
  • Amsterdam (AMS-01)
  • Frankfurt am Main (FRA-01)
  • London (LON-01)
  • Montreal (MTL-02)
  • Singapore (SIN-01)
  • Washington DC (WDC-02)
• Note: the available locations can change. New locations are added when capacity becomes available, and an existing location may no longer show up when its capacity is full. The list above reflects the locations at the time of writing.

First steps

1. Generate an API key in the Customer Portal under Administration > API Keys.
   • For detailed instructions, refer to API Key Management
2. For all endpoints, set the X-LSW-Auth header to your API key: X-LSW-Auth: {API_KEY}
3. All endpoints use the base URL https://api.leaseweb.com/ordering/v1.

Endpoints

There are 2 endpoints.

1. Get an Object Storage product and its price
2. Place an order for Object Storage product

Object Storage has only two products, so there is no list endpoint. Use reserved or onDemand as the {objectStorageId} in the path.

Get an Object Storage product and its price

GET /products/objectStorages/{objectStorageId}

Returns the product, its price for the configuration you ask for, the discount per contract term, and the usage prices.

The response includes:

• price.total: the periodic price for the selected capacity and term, with the term discount applied.
• price.contractTerms: the total and discount for every contract term, so you can compare them in one call.
• price.usagePrices: the price per unit for stored data (per GB/month), outgoing traffic (per GB/month) and API calls (per 1,000). These are billed on top of price.total.
• configurationOptions.storageQuantity: the accepted capacity range and step (only for reserved).

Note: the location field in the response lists every location where the product exists, regardless of your API key’s entity. You can only order in the locations of your own entity.

Order Object Storage

POST /products/objectStorages/{objectStorageId}/order

Places the order. Each request orders one Object Storage, so to order several you send several requests. A successful order returns 201 Created with the orderId.

Important: for onDemand, send only location (and optionally dryRun). Ordering onDemand with storageQuantity or contractTerm returns 400 Bad Request.

Dry run: set "dryRun": true to check an order before you place it. The request is validated the same way as a real order, including your payment eligibility. The response contains "dryRun": true and a placeholder orderId. No contract is created and nothing is charged.

Examples

Getting the price of 1,000 GB Reserved Object Storage in AMS-01 on a 1-year term:

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.leaseweb.com/ordering/v1/products/objectStorages/reserved?location=AMS-01&storageQuantity=1000&contractTerm=1_YEAR' \
  --header 'X-LSW-Auth: {API_KEY}'

Getting the usage prices of On Demand Object Storage in FRA-01:

curl --request GET \
  --url 'https://api.leaseweb.com/ordering/v1/products/objectStorages/onDemand?location=FRA-01' \
  --header 'X-LSW-Auth: {API_KEY}'

Checking an order with a dry run (1,000 GB Reserved, AMS-01, 1 year):

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://api.leaseweb.com/ordering/v1/products/objectStorages/reserved/order' \
  --header 'X-LSW-Auth: {API_KEY}' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "location": "AMS-01",
    "storageQuantity": 1000,
    "contractTerm": "1_YEAR",
    "dryRun": true
  }'

Response (201 Created, nothing ordered):

{
  "orderId": 0,
  "dryRun": true
}

Placing the same order: send the same request without dryRun. Response (201 Created):

{
  "orderId": 44011723
}

Ordering On Demand Object Storage in FRA-01:

curl –request POST \
–url ‘https://api.leaseweb.com/ordering/v1/products/objectStorages/onDemand/order’ \
–header ‘X-LSW-Auth: {API_KEY}’ \
–header ‘Content-Type: application/json’ \
–data ‘{“location”: “FRA-01”}’

After you order

• Track the order: use the orderId with the Orders API: GET /account/v1/orders/{Id}. You can also list all your orders with GET /account/v1/orders.
• Set up your storage: once delivered, the Object Storage API (/objectStorage/v1/objectStorages) lets you manage buckets, users, groups and access keys. You can also do this in the Customer Portal.

Errors

All errors return a correlationId, an errorCode and an errorMessage. Please include the correlationId when you contact Support.

Cluster

The following limits apply per cluster by default:

• Worker nodes: 10 by default spread across node pools. You can request up to 100 by opening a support ticket
• Pods per node: 110
• Namespaces: 10,000
• Services per namespace: 5,000
• Services per cluster: 10,000

Networking

Each cluster includes 3 public IP addresses free of charge. The subnet is selected at order time. If you need to change your IP allocation or subnet after the cluster has been created, please contact our sales team by opening a ticket through the Customer Portal.

The total outbound bandwidth available to a cluster is 1 Gbps shared across all nodes. This is a current limitation of the CloudStack vRouter when using isolated networks.

Private networking is not yet available. As a result, traffic to and from Object Storage uses the public network and is therefore subject to standard bandwidth rates. Integration with Leaseweb File Storage and Block Storage is also not possible until private networking is in place.

There are known issues when exposing UDP-based traffic. Workloads relying on UDP — such as VOIP, media streaming, and live media — may experience instability. Contact support before deploying UDP-dependent workloads to production.

Storage & persistent volumes

The following limits apply to persistent volumes provisioned through the CSI driver:

The CSI driver does not support instant snapshots or volume encryption at rest. If encryption is a compliance requirement, it must be handled at the application level.

Volumes can only be mounted by a single node at a time (ReadWriteOnce). ReadWriteMany is not supported — a volume cannot be shared across multiple nodes or pods simultaneously.

Ecosystem & integrations

Leaseweb Object Storage and Leaseweb CDN are available. As noted above, Object Storage traffic is billed at public network rates until private networking is available.

Cloud Connect (powered by Megaport) is not currently available. This integration depends on private networking, which is on the roadmap.

Scheduling & node affinity

Worker nodes are deployed with soft anti-affinity by default. This means the scheduler attempts to spread worker nodes across different physical hypervisors. However, this is not guaranteed — if more worker nodes exist than available hypervisors, or if hypervisors are fully occupied, the scheduler may place multiple workers on the same physical host. Hypervisor maintenance and CloudStack Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) rebalancing may also move nodes during the cluster lifecycle.

Control plane components are deployed with hard anti-affinity. At least three copies of the etcd database are always placed on different physical hypervisors — two etcd members cannot share the same physical host.

Most of the times it doesn’t make any difference whether the IP address is floating or not. But extra steps need to be taken if you plan to use your Floating IP range with dedicated servers that run virtual machines (that act as hypervisors). In this artice we’re going to explain how to use floating IP range with Linux hypervisor using Proxmox VE as an example.

The difference between regular IP address and floating IP address

TLDR: the normal IP address are bridged, while floating IP addresses are routed.

Virtualization solutions, such as Proxmox VE, connect your virtual machines directly to the network via bridge. They expect all the IPs to be available within the same layer 2 segment:

However, the floating IPs are always routed to the anchor IP. In other words, Leaseweb router sends the traffic destined for the Floating IP to its anchor IP, expecting it will be forwarded further. In this case, a virtual machine host (hypervisor) must act as a router:

Configure Proxmox to route subnets of an announced range

You announced the whole range (e.g. 192.0.2.0/24) via Leaseweb. That gives you 256 Floating IP addresses.

Most likely, you want to split it over multiple hypervisors (proxmox servers). Something like this:

• The subnet 192.0.2.0/26 (192.0.2.0-192.0.2.63) goes to the hypervisor called Proxmox1
• The subnet 192.0.2.64/26 (192.0.2.64-192.0.2.127) goes to the hypervisor called Proxmox2
• The subnet 192.0.2.128/26 (192.0.2.128-192.0.2.191) goes to the hypervisor called Proxmox3
• The subnet 192.0.2.192/26 (192.0.2.192-192.0.2.256) goes to the hypervisor called Proxmox4

Of course, it is also possible to route the entire subnet to a single server.

Configure a Proxmox server

1. By default, Linux doesn’t perform routing. To enable it, create a file /etc/sysctl.d/10-routing.conf containing the following line:

net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1

Apply it with the command:

sysctl --system

2. In Proxmox web UI, create a new bridge. Assign the first usable IP of the subnet as the bridge IP address, do not specify the gateway, and do not add any ports to the bridge:

3. In Leaseweb customer portal, route the subnet 192.0.2.0/26 to Proxmox1 anchor IP:

Routing the first subnet 192.0.2.0/26 to the first Proxmox server IP

4. Once the steps above are done, you can start creating virtual machines with the following network settings:

Bridge name (specified during virtual machine creation): vmbr0
IP address: anything in range 192.0.2.2-192.0.2.62
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.192 (or /26)
Gateway: 192.0.2.1
DNS servers: 23.19.52.52, 23.19.53.53

5. Repeat the steps above for the rest of proxmox servers.

Conclusion

Despite floating IPs were not initially designed for virtualization, after leveraging some tricks we can make it work so.

The how-to above is made for Proxmox, but can also be applied to any Linux-based hypervisor.

Note.: VMWare ESXi, however, seems to only work in Layer 2 bridge (vswitch) mode. Thus, they can not be used together with Floating IPs.

Overview

To assign an IPv6 address to an instance, your instance must be connected to a network that has an IPv6-enabled subnet and is attached to a router.

If your instance was created before IPv6 was enabled on the network, you may need to reboot the instance for it to obtain an IPv6 address.

Prerequisites

Before your instance can receive an IPv6 address, ensure the following:

• A network has been created.
• The network includes an IPv6 subnet.
• A router is attached to the network.
• Your instance is connected to this network.

Scenario 1: Creating a New Instance with IPv6

If you are launching a new instance:

1. Create a network.
2. Create an IPv6 subnet on the network.
3. Attach the network to a router.
4. Launch the instance and select the IPv6-enabled network.

The instance will automatically receive an IPv6 address during provisioning.

Scenario 2: Enabling IPv6 on an Existing Network

If your instance already exists and you later add an IPv6 subnet to its network:

1. Add an IPv6 subnet to the existing network.
2. Ensure the network is connected to a router.
3. Reboot the instance.

After the reboot, the instance will request network configuration again and should receive an IPv6 address.

Verify the IPv6 Address

After the instance has started (or restarted):

1. Open the Instance Details page.
2. Check the Network section.

If configured correctly, an IPv6 address will be displayed alongside the instance’s IPv4 address (if applicable).

There are two ways to create a network in Public Cloud:

1. From the Networks page
   • Navigate to Public Cloud.
   • Select Networks from the submenu.
   • Click Create Network.
2. During Instance Creation
   • While launching a new instance, you can create and attach a network as part of the deployment process.

Filling in the Create Network Fields

1. In the Leaseweb Customer Portal, navigate to your Public Cloud section
2. Go to the Networks page:
   • Navigate to Public Cloud.
   • Select Networks from the submenu.
   • Click Create Network.

3. Fill in the details as follows:

Best Practice

For most users, the recommended configuration is:

After a network is created, it can be used when launching instances, allowing them to connect to the network. If external connectivity is required, the network can also be attached to a router.

What is Extended Lifecycle Support?

When an operating system (OS) reaches its End-of-Life (EOL) date, the vendor stops issuing security updates, leaving servers and virtual machines on that OS more exposed to vulnerabilities. 

WebPros, the company behind Plesk and cPanel, runs an Extended Lifecycle Support (ELS) program for affected OS versions. This gives customers additional time to plan an upgrade while continuing to receive critical security updates. 

How ELS fees work

Where an ELS program is active, an additional monthly fee applies per control panel license on the affected OS. Leaseweb passes this fee through to customers and it appears as a separate line item on your invoice. 

New ELS fees can be introduced, or prices can be adjusted on a half-yearly or annual basis. Leaseweb will communicate any changes in advance via email. 

Affected operating systems

cPanel

Plesk

How to avoid ELS fees

Upgrading to a supported OS is the only way to remove the ELS fee from your invoice. Leaseweb strongly recommends doing this as soon as possible, as running an EOL OS carries security risks regardless of the ELS program, and fees may increase over time. 

For a list of currently supported operating systems, refer to the official documentation for Plesk and cPanel. 

Projects help you organize resources, users, and access permissions within your Public Cloud environment, which is why you will automatically have a Default Project created for your account.

How to Create a New Project

You can create up to 3 projects per account, including the default project that is created automatically:

1. Open the Project dropdown in the top navigation.
2. Click New Project.
   • You will be redirected to the Project Settings page.

3. Enter:
   • Project Name: A unique name for your project.
   • Description: Optional information describing the purpose of the project.
4. Click Create Project.

How to Manage Projects

The Project Settings page allows you to manage all project-related resources and permissions. Within a project, you can view and manage project quotas, SSH keys and users.

How to Manage Project Quotas

Project quotas define the resources available to the project, such as:

• vCPUs
• RAM
• Volumes

These quotas determine how many resources can be created within the project. Each project comes with the following default resource quotas:

These quotas define the maximum amount of compute, memory, and storage resources that can be allocated within a project. If you require additional resources, you can request a quota increase through our support, by opening a ticket from the Customer Portal.

To increase your quotas, go to Settings, select the project for which you want to increase the quotas, and click Increase Quotas.

A new pop-up will appear, where you can specify the quota limits you would like to set for your project.

After your request has been reviewed, you will receive a confirmation in the ticket.

How to Manage SSH Keys

SSH keys can be managed at the project level and are used to securely access instances created within that project.

From the SSH Keys section, you can:

• View existing SSH keys
• Add new SSH keys
• Remove unused SSH keys

How to Manage Project Users

Users determine who can access and manage resources within a project.

To use the OpenStack API, you must first create a user account. Each user has their own credentials for authenticating with the API and managing resources.

You can create multiple users to collaborate within the same project.

From the Users section, you can:

• View project members
• Add users to the project
• Remove users from the project

Example Project Use Cases

You may choose to separate workloads into different projects, for example:

Using separate projects helps keep resources organized while providing clear visibility into quotas, users, and access management.