Web interface

The OpenStack Web UI, commonly known as Horizon, is useful and important because it provides a user-friendly, graphical interface for managing and interacting with OpenStack cloud resources. It allows users—including administrators, developers, and end-users—to easily perform tasks such as launching instances, managing storage, configuring networks, and monitoring resources without needing to use complex command-line tools or APIs. This lowers the barrier to entry, improves productivity, and helps organizations efficiently manage their cloud infrastructure.

Compute resources

The Compute Resources section is a core component of OpenStack that manages your virtual computing resources. This interface provides:

  • Overview Dashboard: Displays usage metrics, quotas, and resource allocation
  • Instance Management: Create, modify and monitor virtual machines
  • Image Library: Access pre-configured OS images and snapshots
  • Flavor Management: Define and select compute/memory/storage combinations
  • Key Management: Handle SSH keypairs for secure instance access

From this central location, administrators and users can efficiently provision and manage their compute infrastructure while monitoring resource utilization against defined quotas. The intuitive layout makes it easy to access common compute operations and view system status at a glance.

Instances

The Instances section is where you manage your virtual machines in OpenStack. Key capabilities include:

  • Instance Lifecycle: Launch, stop, start, and terminate virtual machines
  • Resource Monitoring: Track CPU, memory, and storage usage in real-time
  • Instance Actions: Perform operations like resize, rebuild, and create snapshots
  • Console Access: Direct access to instance console for troubleshooting
  • Network Management: Configure network interfaces and security groups

This interface provides complete control over your virtual machines, from initial deployment through ongoing maintenance and monitoring. Users can easily scale resources, manage configurations, and ensure optimal performance of their cloud instances.

Images

The Images section provides a centralized repository for managing virtual machine images and snapshots in OpenStack. Key features include:

  • Image Management: Upload, modify and delete OS images
  • Snapshot Control: Create and manage instance snapshots
  • Image Properties: Configure metadata, minimum requirements, and visibility settings
  • Format Support: Handles multiple image formats (QCOW2, ISO, AMI, etc.)
  • Version Control: Track image versions and updates

This interface allows users to maintain a library of standardized images for consistent instance deployment across the cloud infrastructure. Images can be public or private, enabling both shared resources and custom configurations.

Keypairs

The Keypairs section manages SSH key authentication for secure instance access. Key features include:

  • Key Generation: Create new SSH key pairs directly in the interface
  • Key Import: Import existing public keys from your local system
  • Key Management: View, download, and delete stored keypairs
  • Instance Association: Assign keys during instance creation
  • Access Control: Manage secure access to multiple instances

This interface simplifies secure access management by providing centralized control over SSH authentication credentials. Keys are essential for secure instance access and automated deployments in OpenStack environments.

Volumes

The Volumes section provides block storage management capabilities in OpenStack. Key features include:

  • Volume Operations: Create, delete, and modify block storage volumes
  • Snapshot Management: Create and restore volume snapshots
  • Instance Attachment: Attach/detach volumes to running instances
  • Volume Types: Select different storage backends and performance tiers
  • Backup Control: Create and manage volume backups

This interface enables users to manage persistent storage resources independently of instances. Volumes can be moved between instances and survive instance termination, making them ideal for storing critical data and applications.

Network

The Network section provides comprehensive network management capabilities in OpenStack. Key features include:

  • Network Creation: Design and implement virtual networks
  • Subnet Management: Configure IP ranges and DHCP settings
  • Router Configuration: Set up network routing and external connectivity
  • Security Groups: Define network access rules and firewall policies
  • Topology View: Visualize network connections and relationships

This interface enables users to create and manage complex network architectures, ensuring secure and efficient communication between instances and external networks. The visual topology viewer helps understand and troubleshoot network configurations.

Stacks

The Stacks section manages Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments through OpenStack Heat. Key features include:

  • Template Management: Create and modify Heat templates
  • Stack Deployment: Launch and manage infrastructure stacks
  • Resource Tracking: Monitor stack resources and their states
  • Version Control: Track changes and updates to stack templates
  • Automated Scaling: Configure auto-scaling policies and groups

This interface enables users to deploy and manage complex infrastructure environments using declarative templates. Stacks provide automated, repeatable deployments of multi-resource cloud environments while maintaining consistency and version control.

API Access

The API Access section provides essential information for programmatic interaction with OpenStack. Key features include:

  • API Endpoints: View and manage service endpoint URLs
  • Authentication: Access credentials and authentication tokens
  • CLI Downloads: Download OpenStack command-line tools
  • API Documentation: Access to REST API documentation
  • Application Credentials: Create and manage API-specific credentials

This interface enables developers and automation tools to interact with OpenStack programmatically. It provides the necessary information and credentials for building custom applications, scripts, and integrations with the OpenStack infrastructure.

OpenStack RC File

The OpenStack RC (Runtime Configuration) file is a shell script that sets environment variables needed to interact with OpenStack APIs. It can be downloaded from the API Access section of the dashboard. This file is used for:

  • Purpose: Sets up authentication credentials and endpoint URLs
  • Format: Shell script containing environment variables
  • Location: Downloaded from API Access > Download OpenStack RC File

Example RC file structure:

#!/bin/bash
export OS_AUTH_URL="https://your-openstack-endpoint:5000/v3"
export OS_PROJECT_ID="your-project-id"
export OS_PROJECT_NAME="your-project"
export OS_USER_DOMAIN_NAME="Default"
export OS_USERNAME="your-username"
export OS_PASSWORD="your-password"
export OS_REGION_NAME="your-region"
export OS_INTERFACE=public
export OS_IDENTITY_API_VERSION=3

To use the RC file:

  1. Download from API Access section
  2. Source it in your terminal:
source project-openrc.sh

After sourcing, you can use OpenStack CLI commands or APIs without additional authentication parameters.

Security Note: The RC file contains sensitive credentials. Keep it secure and never commit it to version control.

View Credentials in API Access

The View Credentials button in OpenStack's API Access section provides essential authentication information for your current project. When clicked, it displays:

  • Project Details:

    • Project ID
    • Project Name
    • Project Domain
    • User Domain

  • Authentication Endpoints:

    • Identity Service (Keystone) URL
    • Available API versions
    • Region information

  • Current User Context:

    • Username
    • User Role(s)
    • Authentication token status

Important Security Notes:

  • Credentials are only displayed temporarily
  • The authentication token is session-specific
  • Never share or screenshot this information
  • Tokens expire after a set period for security

This information is particularly useful when:

  • Configuring CLI tools
  • Setting up automation scripts
  • Troubleshooting API authentication issues
  • Verifying project access permissions

Each section of the UI is designed for intuitive operation, making cloud resource management accessible to users of all experience levels. The graphical interface simplifies complex operations while providing full access to OpenStack's capabilities.