> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rafftechnologies.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Create a VM
> Launch a new virtual machine from the Raff Platform dashboard
Updated May 8, 2026
Create a new VM by picking a region, an OS template, a plan, and authentication. Optional steps add storage, backups, tags, and let you launch up to 20 VMs at once.
## Before you start
* A Raff Platform account
* A project to deploy into (the dashboard's project picker is at the top-left, next to the **Raff Technologies** badge)
* A payment method — Google Pay or a credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners). Applied at checkout; you don't need to pre-fund a balance.
* An SSH public key on your machine, **or** a password you'll set during creation
## 1. Open the create flow
From any page, click the orange **+ Create** button at the top right and choose **Instance**. The new-VM page opens with sensible defaults pre-selected.
## 2. Pick a region
Pick the location closest to your users. The footer summary updates with the selected region.
A VM cannot move regions after creation; pick carefully if latency matters. See [Regions](/products/build/virtual-machines/concepts/regions) for the full availability list and how region choice affects pricing and VPCs.
## 3. Pick an OS template
Pick the operating system, then the version.
**Two source tabs:**
* **OS** — vanilla operating systems (no preinstalled apps)
* **Marketplace** — pre-built application images (databases, web stacks, dev tools)
**OS lineup:**
| Linux | BSD | Windows |
| ------------ | ------- | -------------- |
| Ubuntu | FreeBSD | Windows Server |
| Debian | | |
| Fedora | | |
| CentOS | | |
| AlmaLinux | | |
| Rocky Linux | | |
| Alpine Linux | | |
| openSUSE | | |
**Version picker** — once you select an OS, the **Version** dropdown shows every supported version. Pick the version your application targets; defaults to the newest stable release.
For Linux, multiple LTS releases per distribution are available (e.g. Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04). For **Windows Server**, the available SKUs are:
| Edition | Versions |
| -------------- | ---------------- |
| **Standard** | 2019, 2022, 2025 |
| **Datacenter** | 2022, 2025 |
The footer summary shows the final selection (e.g. `Ubuntu 24.04×64`).
## 4. Choose size
Pick the billing term, plan family, and plan.
**Billing term** (top tabs):
| Term | Discount |
| ----------- | -------- |
| **Monthly** | — |
| **Yearly** | -17% |
| **2 Years** | -17% |
**Plan family**:
* **General Purpose** — flexible compute for websites, dev environments, and everyday workloads.
* **CPU-Optimized** — dedicated vCPU resources for production apps, databases, and consistent performance.
**Plan card** — each card shows vCPU, RAM, and base NVMe SSD. Bandwidth is **unlimited** on every plan and is not part of the choice. Pick the smallest plan that fits the workload; you can [resize](/products/build/virtual-machines/quickstart-guides/resize) up later. See [Plans & sizing](/products/build/virtual-machines/concepts/plans-and-sizing) for what each plan family includes and how to choose.
The footer summary updates immediately with the picked plan and price.
## 5. Networking
The defaults work for most VMs.
| Field | Default | When to change |
| ------------------- | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Private Network** | None | Optional. Pick an existing VPC if you want this VM to share a private network with other VMs in the same region. Skipping this leaves the VM reachable only via its public IP — fine for single-server workloads |
| **Public IPv4** | Auto — Random IPv4 | Switch to a [reserved Public IP](/products/network/public-ips) for a stable address across rebuilds |
| **IPv6 Address** | Off | Toggle on for dual-stack networking |
## 6. Authentication (required)
Pick how you'll log in to the VM. The form blocks checkout until this is set.
* **SSH Key** — recommended. Pick an existing key from your account or paste a new public key.
* **Password** — username and password. Easier for one-off VMs, but less secure for production.
You can change auth later, but the initial choice determines how you connect for the first time.
## 7. Additional storage (optional)
Add a block volume that attaches at boot, beyond the plan's base disk.
* **Presets** — None, 50, 100, 150 GiB
* **Custom** — type a value or drag the slider, up to 1000 GiB
* The total storage line shows base + additional and the per-month cost
Skip this step if you only need the plan's base NVMe SSD. You can [attach a volume later](/products/store/volumes/quickstart-guides/attach-to-vm) without recreating the VM.
## 8. Backup (optional)
Enable a recurring backup schedule.
* **Shared free-storage pool.** Backups and snapshots share one account pool — 50 GB free plus 10% (Standard) or 15% (Premium) of each VM's disk. Same for Daily and Weekly schedules.
* **\$0.05/GB/mo** for combined backup + snapshot storage above the pool.
* **Daily and Weekly cost the same per GB** — pricing is by storage, not by frequency. Pick by your RPO: Daily = up to 24h of data loss in a worst case, Weekly = up to 7 days.
## 9. Quantity, tags, hostnames
Launch up to 20 VMs at once and label them for filtering.
* **VM Quantity** — 1 to 20 VMs from this configuration. Each becomes its own VM with its own IP.
* **Tags** — free-form labels for filtering in the VM list (`prod`, `web`, `customer-acme`). Press Enter, Space, or Comma to add.
* **Hostnames** — auto-generated as `---NN`; edit per-VM if you want specific names. Allowed: `A-Z`, `a-z`, `0-9`, hyphen. 3-63 characters.
## 10. Proceed to checkout and pay
Click **Proceed to Checkout** in the footer summary bar. The checkout page opens with the order summary on the right and the payment form on the left.
**Order Summary** (right side) shows what you're buying and how it's paid:
| Line | What it means |
| ------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Plan + OS** | The plan, region, and OS you picked |
| **Monthly / Yearly / 2 Years** | The billing term |
| **Subtotal** | Full price for the term |
| **Account Balance** | How much of your existing balance is applied — `\$0.00` if none |
| **Card Charge** | The remainder charged to the card on this checkout |
**Payment Method** (left side) — pick one:
* **Subscribe with G Pay** — one-click Google Pay
* **Use saved cards** — any card you've used before; auto-charges with the saved CVC
* **Add new** — enter card number, expiry, CVC, and name. The card is saved to your account for future payments; remove it any time from **Settings → Payment Methods**.
Click **Proceed** to confirm. By confirming, you authorise Raff Technologies LLC to charge the card for this and future renewals.
The VM starts provisioning immediately. Returns are covered by the **14-day money-back guarantee** shown on the checkout page.
## After launch
The VM transitions through these states before it's reachable:
| Status | Description |
| -------------- | ------------------------- |
| `provisioning` | Resources being allocated |
| `booting` | VM is booting up |
| `initiating` | Initial setup running |
| `active` | Ready to use |
Provisioning typically takes 30-90 seconds depending on template and region. Once `active`, the VM detail page shows the public IPv4 you'll use to connect.
## Next steps
Open a shell on a Linux VM.
Open a Remote Desktop session to a Windows VM.
Start, stop, reboot.
Skip backups now? Turn them on after the fact.