Previous section: Managing RackConnect v2.0 network policies

Applies to: RackConnect v3.0 and RackConnect v2.0

You can use several methods to access your RackConnect cloud servers. This article provides an overview of some of these methods.

Direct access to RackConnect cloud servers via their public IP address#

With RackConnect v2.0, if the automation feature to provision public IP addresses is enabled on your RackConnect Cloud account, then the RackConnect automation systems automatically assign new public IP addresses to your newly built cloud servers.

With RackConnect v3.0, automation features are no longer available, but you can still provision public IP addresses to your cloud servers by using the RackConnect v3.0 API. In either case, the public IP addresses assigned to your cloud servers are allocated out of one of your dedicated public IP address blocks. A network address translation (NAT) entry is then configured on your RackConnect edge network device, which is a one-to-one association from the allocated dedicated public IP address to the cloud server’s ServiceNet IP address, in the case of RackConnect v2.0, or to its cloud network IP address, in the case of RackConnect v3.0.

You can use these dedicated public IP addresses to use Secure Shell (SSH) or Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to directly access your cloud servers, as long as access is allowed. Access might be allowed via network policies with RackConnect v2.0. With RackConnect v3.0, access might be allowed via firewall access list entries created by the Network Security Team or via the Firewall Manager feature available within the MyRackspace portal.

You can view the IP addresses assigned to your cloud servers by querying the Cloud Servers API or by using one of the following methods.

RackConnect v2.0 customers can use the following instructions to look up the cloud server’s details in the MyRackspace Portal:

  1. Log in to the MyRackspace Portal.

  2. In the top navigation bar, click Select a Product > Dedicated Hosting.

  3. Click Products > Devices.

  4. Click the name of the server for which you want to view the details.

    In the Details tab, the IP Details section lists the public IPv4 address.

RackConnect v2.0 and v3.0 customers can use the following instructions to look up the cloud server’s details in the Cloud Control Panel:

  1. Log in to the Cloud Control Panel.

  2. In the top navigation bar, click Select a Product > Rackspace Cloud.

  3. Click Servers > Cloud Servers.

  4. Click the name of the server for which you want to view the details.

    On the Server Details page, the Networks and Security Groups section lists the public addresses.

Note: Disregard the initial public IP address assigned to your cloud servers when they are built. With RackConnect v2.0, the automation processes deactivate the initial public IP address.

Alternative methods of connecting to your RackConnect cloud servers#

If you have not provisioned dedicated public IP addresses to your RackConnect cloud servers, you might be able to use one of these alternative methods for connecting to these cloud servers:

  • You can connect to one of your dedicated servers, and then from that dedicated server, you can connect to one of your RackConnect cloud servers by using its ServiceNet IP address with RackConnect v2.0 cloud servers, or by using its cloud network’s IP address with RackConnect v3.0 cloud servers. With RackConnect v2.0, this method requires that you have an appropriate Dedicated to Cloud Servers network policy deployed. With RackConnect v3.0, this method requires that you have an appropriate access list entry that allows this access.

  • Both RackConnect v2.0 and v3.0 customers connect directly to the console of the cloud server by using the console option available within the Cloud Control Panel.

  • If you are using a Cisco ASA as your RackConnect edge network device, it might be feasible to use a site-to-site VPN or client VPN solution to allow direct access to your cloud servers. With RackConnect v2.0, this option also requires that you have an appropriate Dedicated to Cloud Servers network policy deployed to allow your VPN network to access your cloud servers. With RackConnect v3.0, this option requires access list entries be created to allow your VPN network to access your cloud servers. If you are interested in setting up a VPN solution with your RackConnect environment, contact support.

Important: When connecting between cloud and dedicated environments with RackConnect, always use the private IP addresses of the dedicated and cloud servers to avoid bandwidth charges.