Manage the cloud¶

System administrators can use the openstack to manage their clouds.

The openstack client can be used by all users, though specific commands might be restricted by the Identity service.

Managing the cloud with the openstack client

1. The python-openstackclient package provides an openstack shell that enables Compute API interactions from the command line. Install the client, and provide your user name and password (which can be set as environment variables for convenience), for the ability to administer the cloud from the command line.

   To install python-openstackclient, follow the instructions in the OpenStack User Guide.

2. Confirm the installation was successful:

   $ openstack help
   usage: openstack [--version] [-v | -q] [--log-file LOG_FILE] [-h] [--debug]
              [--os-cloud <cloud-config-name>]
              [--os-region-name <auth-region-name>]
              [--os-cacert <ca-bundle-file>] [--verify | --insecure]
              [--os-default-domain <auth-domain>]
              ...
   

   Running openstack help returns a list of openstack commands and parameters. To get help for a subcommand, run:

   $ openstack help SUBCOMMAND
   

   For a complete list of openstack commands and parameters, see the OpenStack Command-Line Reference.

3. Set the required parameters as environment variables to make running commands easier. For example, you can add --os-username as an openstack option, or set it as an environment variable. To set the user name, password, and project as environment variables, use:

   $ export OS_USERNAME=joecool
   $ export OS_PASSWORD=coolword
   $ export OS_TENANT_NAME=coolu
   

4. The Identity service gives you an authentication endpoint, which Compute recognizes as OS_AUTH_URL:

   $ export OS_AUTH_URL=http://hostname:5000/v2.0