Overview
DreamCompute is DreamHost's cloud computing service. There are many things you can use DreamCompute for from creating simple cloud servers to advanced network configurations.
This article lists many common terms you'll encounter when working with DreamCompute.
Common DreamCompute terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Block Storage | The shared storage space that exists alongside your DreamCompute instances. Your block storage quota is used when creating volumes, which can then be attached to your instances. |
| Dashboard | This is the web browser interface you use to interact with your DreamCompute service. It can be viewed at the following address: |
| Default user | The user automatically created with your new instance. You can use this user to log in and manage your instance. |
| Floating IP address | The public IP address assigned to an instance on a private network. This public floating IP address is used to communicate with the Internet. Floating IP addresses are also only used with Private Networks. |
| Image | A template to create a new instance. You can choose several pre-configured images when creating an instance such as 'Ubuntu', 'Debian', and 'CentOS'. You could also load your own image to create the instance. |
| Instance | Instances are virtual servers in the DreamCompute Cloud. |
| Launching an instance | The process of creating a virtual server in the DreamCompute Cloud. |
| openrc file | A small bash script that sets environment variables so OpenStack command line tools know how to communicate with DreamCompute. |
| OpenStack CLI | A command line tool to help you manage your DreamCompute instance. |
| Private Networking | Type of network where several instances are able to talk to each other and reach the internet through a router. These instances are not accessible to the rest of the Internet making it a secure environment. |
| Project | A project is a group of zero or more users. In DreamCompute, customers are granted access to a single user and a single project. |
| Quota | Each DreamCompute project comes with a set of operational limits. These limits restrict such things as the number of instances you can have and how much volume block storage you can use. |
| Security Groups | Sets of IP filter rules that define networking access. For example, you can create a Security Group to allow specific ports access to your instance. |
| SSH Keys | DreamCompute utilizes SSH Keys to access your instance. This Key Pair is injected into the instance when it is originally launched. This is a more secure method of accessing your instance as opposed to regular SSH user and passwords. |