OpenStack Cloud Management

The OpenStack module (/openstack) under Clouds provides centralized enterprise cloud orchestration, infrastructure lifecycle management, and full-stack observability for OpenStack environments within PixelView.

PixelView seamlessly integrates with core OpenStack services to deliver a unified operational interface: * Telemetry & Quotas (Gnocchi / Ceilometer): Real-time resource utilization, core/RAM/storage capacity tracking, and regional quota telemetry. * Nova (Compute): Virtual machine provisioning, live state management, sizing flavors, SSH key pairs, and anti-affinity placement policies. * Glance (Image Service): OS image catalogs, public and private template lifecycle, and distribution management. * Cinder & Swift (Storage Services): Persistent block volume lifecycle, NVMe/Standard storage tiers, point-in-time volume snapshots, durable volume backups, and distributed Swift object storage containers. * Neutron (Software-Defined Networking): Multi-tenant virtual networks, subnets, routers, distributed firewall security groups, public floating elastic IPs, virtual network ports, and QoS bandwidth policies. * Octavia (Load Balancing): Enterprise layer 4/7 load balancers, listener pools, and active health monitoring. * Keystone (Identity & Governance): Multi-tenant project boundaries, user authentication, role-based access control (RBAC), and automation application credentials.

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Accessing OpenStack & Multi-Region Management

Navigating to OpenStack

To access the OpenStack module: * In the primary left navigation sidebar, expand Clouds. * Click OpenStack:

Multi-Region Architecture & Switcher

PixelView natively supports multi-region OpenStack deployments from a single unified pane. When entering OpenStack, PixelView automatically detects and displays all available regions:

Region Control	Description
Region Navigation Tabs	Located in the top header bar (e.g., GNOCCHI, regionOne). Clicking any tab instantly switches the active operational region without re-authenticating.
Scope Search Area	Dropdown filter allowing operators to search specifically within Instances, Volumes, Networks, or All Resources.
Search Field Selector	Targeted query criteria selector (ID, Name, IP Address, or Status).
Global Search Input	Real-time full-text search with instant cross-region filtering.
Secondary Region Sidebar	Dedicated service navigation tree on the left containing Utilization, Compute, Storage, Network, and Identity.

Note

All subsequent actions, resource tables, and provisioning wizards are scoped to the currently selected region displayed in the top header bar.

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Regional Utilization & Quota Telemetry

The Utilization dashboard (/openstack/:regionName) is the initial landing view for each OpenStack region, presenting an aggregated summary of infrastructure consumption against regional quota thresholds.

Utilization Dashboard Overview

Navigate to Utilization in the secondary sidebar:

Quota Categories & Resource Metrics

Category	Metric	Description
Compute Utilization	Instances	Total active virtual machines provisioned against the tenant quota limit (e.g., 5 used / Limit: 50).
	Cores	Total vCPU cores allocated across active instances (e.g., 26 used / Limit: 400).
	RAM (MB)	Aggregated system memory assigned to running virtual machines (e.g., 63488 MB used / Limit: 262144 MB).
	Key Pairs	Number of registered SSH public key pairs (e.g., 0 used / Limit: 100).
	Server Groups	Active anti-affinity and affinity placement group allocations (e.g., 0 used / Limit: 10).
Network Utilization	Networks	Number of virtual Layer 2 networks provisioned (e.g., 4 used / Limit: 100).
	Subnets	Configured IPv4/IPv6 IP subnets (e.g., 4 used / Limit: 100).
	Ports	Bound virtual network interfaces across VMs, routers, and load balancers (e.g., 14 used / Limit: 500).
	Routers	Virtual Layer 3 routing gateways active in the region (e.g., 4 used / Limit: 10).
	Floating IPs	Allocated public elastic IP addresses (e.g., 5 used / Limit: 50).
	Security Groups	Distributed firewall rulesets defined (e.g., 7 used / Limit: 10).
Block Storage Utilization	Volumes	Persistent Cinder storage volumes created (e.g., 5 used / Limit: 100).
	Snapshots	Point-in-time volume snapshot copies retained (e.g., 1 used / Limit: 50).
	Backups	Durable volume backup archives stored in object storage (e.g., 0 used / Limit: 10).
	Total Storage (GiB)	Cumulative disk space allocated across all block volumes (e.g., 295 GiB used / Limit: 1000 GiB).

Hypervisor Overcommit Ratios & Capacity Sizing

When operating private enterprise clouds, hypervisor resources are managed according to deliberate allocation ratios configured in nova.conf. PixelView tracks the physical allocation footprint against these overcommit policies:

• CPU Allocation Ratio (cpu_allocation_ratio):
  • Development / Staging Clusters (16.0): 16 virtual vCPUs per physical host core. Suitable for bursty development environments, CI/CD runners, and microservices with low average CPU utilization.
  • General Enterprise Workloads (4.0 - 8.0): 4 to 8 virtual vCPUs per physical core. Provides high density while avoiding CPU "noisy neighbor" latency spikes.
  • High-Performance & Database Clusters (1.0 - 2.0): Dedicated or near-dedicated physical cores. Prevents context switching overhead for latency-sensitive transactional databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis).
• RAM Allocation Ratio (ram_allocation_ratio):
  • Production Standard (1.0): PixelView recommends a strict 1:1 physical memory allocation ratio for production hypervisors. Unlike CPU cores, memory cannot be transparently compressed on Linux KVM hosts without triggering kernel swap thrashing or the Out-of-Memory (oom-killer) daemon terminating active hypervisor processes.
• Disk Allocation Ratio (disk_allocation_ratio):
  • Ceph RBD & Thin-Provisioned SAN (1.5 - 2.0): Enables safe overprovisioning when volume backends utilize thin provisioning, copy-on-write, and deduplication.
  • Local Ephemeral Disks (1.0): Dedicated disk space allocation to prevent hypervisor local /var/lib/nova/instances storage from running out of disk during snapshot operations.

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Compute Infrastructure (Nova & Glance)

The Compute submenu provides complete management over virtual machines, hardware profiles, image catalogs, SSH credentials, and server affinity placement.

Instances (Virtual Machines)

Instances Table Overview

Navigate to Compute → Instances in the secondary sidebar:

The Instances table provides comprehensive details for every virtual machine deployed in the active region:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Virtual machine display name, system UUID, and quick-copy button. Clicking the instance name navigates to the detailed drill-down view.
Status	Real-time lifecycle state badge: ACTIVE (running), SHUTOFF (powered off), PAUSED, SUSPENDED, BUILDING, or ERROR.
Flavor	Allocated hardware profile (e.g., gp.5.4.8, gp.5.8.16, mo.6.2.16) defining vCPU, memory, and root disk allocations.
IP Address	Assigned IP endpoints categorized by type: Fixed (internal tenant network IP) and Floating (publicly routable elastic IP).
Created At	Timestamp indicating initial provisioning time (YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss).
Actions (...)	Contextual action menu providing operations such as Start, Shutoff, Reboot, Attach Volume, and Terminate.

Launching a New Instance

To provision a new virtual machine:

• Click the orange + (Launch Instance) button located in the top-right toolbar above the table:

• The multi-step Launch Instance modal wizard opens:

Launch Wizard Step Reference

Step	Parameter	Type	Description
Details	Instance Name	Required Text	Hostname for the virtual machine instance.
	Description	Optional Text	Operational notes, purpose, or ownership tags.
	Availability Zone	Dropdown	Target physical zone for compute placement (e.g., nova).
	Count	Number	Number of identical instances to spin up concurrently (default: 1).
	Tags	Comma-delimited	Searchable organizational metadata labels.
Source	Boot Source	Dropdown	Select boot volume source: Image, Volume, or Volume Snapshot.
	Delete Volume on Termination	Toggle	Automatically purge root storage upon VM deletion to avoid orphan volumes.
Flavor	Compute Flavor	Selection	Select resource profile matching CPU, RAM, and storage requirements.
Networks	NIC Attachment	Selection	Bind virtual network interfaces (e.g., tenant private subnet).
Security Groups	Firewall Profile	Multi-select	Attach distributed security groups controlling ingress and egress traffic.
Key Pair	SSH Public Key	Dropdown	Select injected SSH key pair for passwordless administrative access.
Server Groups	Affinity Policy	Optional Selection	Assign to an anti-affinity group to guarantee high availability across hypervisors.

Instance Details & Drill-Down

Clicking on any instance name or ID in the table navigates directly to the comprehensive Instance Details page (/openstack/:regionName/instances/:uuid):

The Instance Details page provides specialized observability across multiple functional tabs: - DETAILS: Core system metadata including UUID, display name, project ID, status (active), creation timestamp, lock status, host placement, network address bindings, flavor parameters (RAM, vCPUs), image template details, assigned security groups, tags, and an interactive Instance Architecture diagram. - VOLUMES: Inventory of all persistent block storage volumes attached to this VM, with mount points (e.g., /dev/vda, /dev/vdb), size, and detachment controls. - FLOATING IPS: Public IP bindings associated with the instance's virtual interfaces. - INTERFACES: Virtual network interface cards (vNICs), MAC addresses, internal IP allocations, and subnet bindings. - SECURITY GROUPS: Real-time firewall rulesets enforced on the instance's network ports. - METRICS: Real-time telemetry monitoring for CPU, memory, and disk utilization. - CONSOLE: In-browser interactive terminal console access. - LOGS: Serial console boot logs and kernel ring buffer output. - ACTION LOGS: Audit history of lifecycle events performed on this instance.

Instance Lifecycle & Actions Menu

In the top-right corner of the Instance Details page, the OPEN MENU button exposes the full suite of instance management operations:

Operation	Description
Instance Status	Power cycle controls: Start, Shutoff, Soft Reboot, Hard Reboot, Pause, Resume, Suspend, or Lock.
Migrate	Cold migration of the instance to another physical hypervisor in the availability zone.
Live Migrate	Zero-downtime live migration preserving memory state and active network connections.
Create Snapshot	Point-in-time snapshot of the instance root disk saved as an image template in Glance.
Update Instance	Modify instance metadata, display name, or attached security group profiles.
Associate Floating IP	Bind a publicly routable elastic IP to the virtual machine.
Attach Interface	Hot-plug a new virtual network interface card (vNIC) into a tenant network.
Detach Interface	Remove an attached network interface from the virtual machine.
Attach Volume	Mount an existing persistent Cinder block volume to the instance.
Detach Volume	Unmount an attached block storage volume.
Delete Instance	Terminate the virtual machine and clean up associated ephemeral resources.

In-Browser Interactive Console (noVNC)

Click the CONSOLE tab on the Instance Details page to open a direct out-of-band graphical/text console session to the virtual machine:

• Send CtrlAltDel: Dedicated top-right button to inject the Ctrl+Alt+Delete key combination directly to the guest operating system for administrative login or rebooting.
• Full Keyboard Redirection: Seamless key capture enabling direct interaction with the bootloader (GRUB), maintenance mode, or system login prompt.

Telemetry & Performance Metrics

Click the METRICS tab on the Instance Details page to inspect live time-series telemetry collected via OpenStack Gnocchi:

• Time Range Selector: Specify custom start and stop timestamps or preset observation windows.
• Aggregation & Granularity: Select statistical aggregation (mean, max, min) and measurement granularity in seconds (e.g., 300s).
• Telemetry Charts:
• cpu_util: Percentage CPU consumption over time.
• vcpus: Active core allocation count.
• memory.usage: Total guest operating system memory footprint.
• memory.resident: Physical resident memory in hypervisor RAM.
• memory.swap.out & memory.swap.in: Virtual memory paging statistics.

System Console Boot Logs

Click the LOGS tab to inspect the instance console log output directly from the hypervisor:

• Log Length (lines): Configurable line limit (e.g., 35, 100, 500) to retrieve recent boot progress or diagnose kernel panics and cloud-init execution.
• View Full Logs: Button to retrieve the entire historical serial console buffer.

Contextual Row Actions Menu

Within the main Instances table, clicking the three-dot (...) action button on any instance row opens the contextual row actions menu:

Updating an Instance

Selecting Update Instance from the contextual row actions menu opens the configuration modal to rename the instance without rebooting:

Parameter	Type	Description
Instance Name	Required Text	Updated human-readable identifier for the compute virtual machine.

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Flavors (Hardware Sizing Profiles)

Flavors define virtual hardware sizing specifications, setting vCPU count, memory allocation, and ephemeral disk space.

Flavors Table Overview

Navigate to Compute → Flavors in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Unique flavor profile identifier (e.g., gp.5.4.8, gp.5.8.16, mo.6.2.16).
VCPUs	Allocated virtual processor cores.
RAM	Memory allocation displayed in Megabytes (MB).
Root Disk	Primary operating system disk capacity in Gigabytes (GiB).
Ephemeral Disk	Temporary scratch disk capacity automatically wiped upon termination.
Swap	Swap partition size in Megabytes.
Public	Indicates whether the flavor is visible to all projects or restricted.

Creating a Custom Flavor

• Click the orange + (Create Flavor) button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Flavor modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Flavor Name	Required Text	Name for the flavor (e.g., c2.large, m1.xlarge).
VCPUs	Required Number	Number of virtual cores assigned to the guest VM.
RAM (MB)	Required Number	Total memory allocated to the instance.
Root Disk (GiB)	Required Number	Size of the root filesystem disk.
Ephemeral Disk (GiB)	Optional Number	High-speed temporary scratch space.
Swap Disk (MB)	Optional Number	Swap space allocation.
Is Public	Checkbox	Enable to make this flavor available across all tenant accounts.

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Images (Glance)

The Images catalog (/openstack/:regionName/images) provides centralized management of base operating system images, cloud-init templates, and custom system snapshots.

Images Table Overview

Navigate to Compute → Images in the secondary sidebar:

The table organizes images across scope tabs (Public, Private, Community, Shared):

Column	Description
ID / Name	Operating system release name (e.g., Windows Server 2022, flatcar-stable) and system UUID.
Status	Image readiness state: Active, Saving, Queued, or Killed.
Visibility	Access scope: Public (available across all projects) or Private (restricted to current project).
Format	Disk container format (RAW, QCOW2, ISO, VMDK).
Size	Storage consumption of the image payload.
Actions	Context actions to launch instance directly, download image metadata, or delete obsolete builds.

Creating / Uploading an Image

• Click the orange + (Create Image) button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Image modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Image Name	Required Text	Descriptive display name for the template.
Image Description	Optional Text	Build notes, OS patch level, and kernel version.
Source Type	Dropdown	File (direct binary upload) or URL (remote HTTP/S download).
Format	Dropdown	File type specification (RAW, QCOW2, ISO).
Minimum Disk (GiB)	Number	Minimum root disk capacity required by the guest OS.
Minimum RAM (MB)	Number	Minimum memory required to boot.
Visibility	Selection	Set to Public, Private, or Shared.
Architecture	Text	Target CPU architecture (x86_64, aarch64).

Images Contextual Row Actions

In the Images catalog, clicking the three-dot (...) button reveals row-level image actions:

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Key Pairs (SSH Credentials)

Key pairs provide cryptographic SSH public key injection into virtual machines at launch time, ensuring passwordless root/admin login without hardcoded secrets.

Key Pairs Table Overview

Navigate to Compute → Key Pairs in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
Name	Display name for the SSH key pair.
Fingerprint	Cryptographic SHA256 or MD5 hash fingerprint verifying key authenticity.
Type	Key algorithm (ssh-rsa, ssh-ed25519).
Actions	Download public key or delete key pair.

Creating / Importing a Key Pair

• Click the orange + (Create Keypair) button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Keypair modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Keypair Name	Required Text	Label identifying the keypair (e.g., devops-admin-key).
Key Type	Selection	SSH Key (Standard) or X509 Certificate.
Public Key	Textarea (Optional)	Paste an existing public key (ssh-ed25519 AAA...) to import. Leave blank to have OpenStack generate a new private key for immediate download.

Key Pairs Contextual Row Actions

Clicking the three-dot (...) button on a key pair row displays contextual actions:

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Server Groups (Placement & Anti-Affinity)

Server Groups enforce hardware-level placement policies, ensuring redundant instances reside on distinct physical hypervisors for fault tolerance.

Server Groups Table Overview

Navigate to Compute → Server Groups in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Server group name and UUID.
Policy	Placement rule: anti-affinity, soft-anti-affinity, affinity, or soft-affinity.
Members	List of instance UUIDs currently assigned to the server group.
Actions	Delete server group or modify policy rules.

Creating a Server Group

• Click the orange + button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Server Group modal dialog opens:

Policy Type	Behavior	Best Use Case
Anti-Affinity	Guarantees instances are scheduled on completely separate physical hypervisors. Scheduling fails if insufficient hosts exist.	High-availability database clusters, Kubernetes control-plane nodes.
Soft Anti-Affinity	Attempts to schedule instances across different physical hosts, but permits collocation if capacity is exhausted.	Web worker tiers, stateless microservices.
Affinity	Forces all member instances to reside on the same physical hypervisor.	Ultra-low latency inter-node communication.

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Storage Services (Cinder & Swift)

PixelView provides full enterprise block storage and distributed object storage operations across the OpenStack region.

Volumes (Block Storage)

Volumes are durable block storage devices that can be attached to running instances, formatted with filesystems, and preserved across VM lifecycles.

Volumes Table Overview

Navigate to Storage → Volumes in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Volume label and system UUID.
Status	Lifecycle state: available (unattached), in-use (attached to a VM), creating, or error.
Size	Total disk allocation in Gigabytes (GiB).
Type	Backend storage tier (e.g., standard-nvme, standard-ssd, ceph-rbd).
Attached To	Shows target VM hostname and device mount point (e.g., /dev/vdb).
Bootable	Indicates if the volume contains a bootable OS image.
Actions	Contextual menu: Attach/Detach Volume, Create Snapshot, Extend Volume, or Delete.

Creating a Volume

• Click the orange + (Create Volume) button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Volume modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Volume Name	Required Text	Human-readable label for the volume.
Description	Optional Text	Storage purpose and mount instructions.
Size (GiB)	Required Number	Capacity to allocate.
Volume Type	Dropdown	Storage backend profile defining performance SLA (e.g., NVMe vs SSD).
Source	Dropdown	Empty Volume (blank raw device), Image (clone from OS image), or Snapshot (restore from snapshot).

Volume Details & Drill-Down

Clicking on any volume name in the table navigates to the Volume Details view (/openstack/:regionName/volumes/:uuid):

The Volume Details view organizes storage properties across three dedicated tabs: - DETAILS: Complete block device specifications including UUID, Name, Tenant ID, Status (available or in-use), Type (Standard), Description, Shared status, Size (20GiB), Encryption status (Yes/No), and an Attachment Info panel showing target instance connections. - BACKUPS: Durable backups associated with this volume. - SNAPSHOTS: Point-in-time snapshot tree generated from this volume.

Volume Operations Menu

Clicking the OPEN MENU button in the top-right corner of the Volume Details view exposes granular block device operations:

Operation	Description
Attach Volume	Mount the block volume to an active compute instance in the same availability zone.
Detach Volume	Safely unmount the volume from its attached virtual machine.
Extend Volume	Increase volume storage capacity on-the-fly without data loss.
Update Volume	Modify the volume's display name, description, or bootable flag.
Create Snapshot	Generate an immediate point-in-time snapshot of the volume data.
Change Volume Type	Migrate the volume backend between storage tiers (e.g., standard SSD to NVMe).

Volumes Contextual Row Actions

From the main Volumes table, clicking the three-dot (...) button on any volume row opens the row actions menu:

Updating a Volume

Selecting Update Volume from the row actions menu or the volume details page opens the volume metadata update modal:

Parameter	Type	Description
Name	Required Text	Updated human-readable label for the block storage volume.
Description	Optional Text	Contextual notes detailing volume workload, mount purpose, or retention requirements.

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Volume Backups

Volume backups provide durable, off-site secondary storage for entire block volumes. Backups are stored independently in secondary object storage clusters, protecting workloads against catastrophic storage pool outages.

Backups Table Overview

Navigate to Storage → Backups in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Backup identifier and timestamped catalog label.
Size	Data size preserved in object storage.
Status	Backup lifecycle state: Available, Restoring, or Error.
Source Volume	Originating volume UUID.
Container	Target object storage container holding the backup chunks.
Actions	Restore backup to a new or existing volume, or purge backup record.

• Creation Workflow: Volume backups do not provide an independent toolbar + button because they are point-in-time copies generated directly from an existing volume. To initiate a backup, navigate to the Volumes table, click the contextual row actions menu (...) on the source volume, and select Create Backup.

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Volume Snapshots

Snapshots capture instantaneous, point-in-time read-only copies of a Cinder volume, allowing instant rollbacks or rapid provisioning of identical volumes.

Snapshots Table Overview

Navigate to Storage → Snapshots in the secondary sidebar:

• Creation Workflow: Volume snapshots do not provide an independent toolbar + button. They are instantaneous delta snapshots initiated directly from the source volume's row actions menu (...) → Create Snapshot in the Volumes table.

Column	Description
ID / Name	Snapshot display name and UUID.
Source Volume	Name and UUID of the parent block volume.
Size	Capacity preserved from the source volume (GiB).
Status	Readiness state: available, creating, or error.
Created At	Timestamp recording snapshot creation.
Actions	Shortcuts to Create Volume from Snapshot, Reset State, or Delete.

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Object Storage (Swift Containers)

The Object Storage catalog (/openstack/:regionName/object-storage) allows operators to manage highly available, distributed OpenStack Swift object storage containers and multi-gigabyte blob storage.

Object Storage Table Overview

Navigate to Storage → Object Storage in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
Container	Swift container name and quick-access prefix link.
Objects	Total number of individual data objects, blobs, and file chunks stored within the container.
Bytes Used	Aggregated storage consumption (e.g., 20 MiB, 4.2 GiB, 5.1 GiB).
Created At	Timestamp indicating the container creation date and time.
Actions	Contextual options menu allowing operators to upload files, configure container ACLs, or delete empty containers.

Creating a Container

To create a new Swift storage container: * Click the orange + button located in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Container modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Container Name	Required Text	A globally unique, alphanumeric identifier for the object storage container.
Metadata (Optional)	Key-Value Pairs	Custom user-defined key-value attributes attached to the container headers for categorization, lifecycle policy tagging, or application integration. Click + ADD to specify additional metadata entries.

Container Details & Drill-Down

Clicking any container name navigates into the container file explorer, listing individual stored objects, size allocations, and direct download links:

Uploading Objects to Swift Containers

To upload a new file or object into the active container: * Click the orange + (Upload Object) button in the upper right corner of the container file list:

• The Upload Object modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Object Name	Required Text	Path or filename identifying the payload inside the container (e.g., images/diagram.png, archive.tar.gz).
Select File	File Picker	Select and attach the binary payload or document from the local filesystem.
Content Type	Text Input	MIME type descriptor (e.g., image/jpeg, application/octet-stream).
Metadata (Optional)	Key-Value Pairs	Custom user-defined key-value attributes stored in object headers.

Object Storage Contextual Row Actions

Clicking the three-dot (...) button on any container row exposes container-level actions:

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Software-Defined Networking (Neutron & Octavia)

The Network submenu provides comprehensive control over software-defined networks, visual topologies, interfaces, routing, firewalls, elastic IPs, bandwidth QoS policies, and load balancers.

Networks & Subnets

Networks Table Overview

Navigate to Network → Networks in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Network label (e.g., PUBLICNET, internal tenant networks) and UUID.
Subnets Associated	List of CIDR subnets bound to the network with DHCP pool ranges.
Shared	Flag indicating if other tenant projects can attach interfaces to this network.
External Network	Indicates whether this network routes directly to the upstream internet/WAN.
Status	Network state: ACTIVE or DOWN.
Admin State	Administrative status: UP or DOWN.
Actions	Context menu shortcuts to Edit Network, Add Subnet, or Delete.

Creating a Network & Subnet

• Click the orange + (Create Network) button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Network modal dialog opens:

Network and Subnet Parameter Reference

Step	Parameter	Description
Network	Network Name	Identifier for the L2 broadcast domain.
	Enable Admin State	Flag setting administrative operational state to UP.
	Shared	Allow other tenant projects to attach virtual interfaces.
	Create Subnet	Checkbox to immediately configure an IP subnet.
Subnet	Subnet Name	Descriptive label for the IP range.
	Network Address	CIDR notation subnet (e.g., 192.168.10.0/24, 10.0.0.0/16).
	IP Version	IPv4 or IPv6.
	Gateway IP	Default gateway address for the subnet (e.g., 192.168.10.1).
Subnet Details	Enable DHCP	Automatically run Neutron dnsmasq DHCP agents on the subnet.
	Allocation Pools	Explicit IP ranges reserved for dynamic lease assignment.
	DNS Name Servers	Upstream DNS resolver IPs (e.g., 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8).

Network Details & Drill-Down

Clicking on any network name navigates to the Network Details page (/openstack/:regionName/networks/:uuid):

The Network Details page provides granular parameters across three tabs: - DETAIL: Core L2 attributes including Availability Zone (az1), MTU (3942), External Router status, Provider Network Type, and Port Security enforcement (Yes). - SUBNETS: Detailed list of all IP subnets attached to this network. - PORTS: Inventory of all virtual ports bound to this broadcast domain.

Network Subnets Tab

Clicking the SUBNETS tab displays every active CIDR block, DHCP pool range, and gateway address allocated to the network:

Creating Subnets within a Network

To configure a new subnet on an existing network: * On the network details page, navigate to the SUBNETS tab. * Click the orange + (Add Subnet) button located on the subnets table toolbar:

• The Create Subnet modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Subnet Name	Required Text	Label identifying the subnet (e.g., app-subnet-1, dmz-v4).
CIDR	Required Text	IP address range formatted in CIDR block notation (e.g., 10.0.10.0/24, 192.168.1.0/24).
Gateway IP	Optional Text	Specific default router gateway IP for workloads (defaults to .1 if omitted).
DNS Name servers	Optional Text	Comma-separated list of resolver IPs (e.g., 8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1).
Description	Optional Text	Contextual notes regarding routing scope or security zone.
Select Subnet	Dropdown	IP version specification (IPv4 or IPv6).
Admin State Up	Toggle Switch	Administrative flag enabling or disabling packet forwarding across this subnet.

Networks Contextual Row Actions

In the Networks table, clicking the three-dot (...) button exposes row-level network actions:

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Interactive Visual Network Topology

The Topology view (/openstack/:regionName/topology) delivers a dynamic, interactive visual map representing the complete multi-tenant network fabric in real time.

Navigate to Network → Topology in the secondary sidebar:

Topology Visual Elements

• External Networks: Rendered as orange cloud nodes representing WAN gateway uplinks.
• Virtual Routers: Central routing icons depicting gateway forwarding points.
• Tenant Networks: Dedicated color-coded horizontal conduits showing isolated L2 segments.
• Compute Instances: Virtual machine nodes connected to their respective network wires with real-time status badges.
• Interactive Canvas Controls:
• Zoom In / Zoom Out: Pan and inspect complex topologies with hundreds of endpoints.
• Fit-to-Screen: Center and scale the entire regional topology in one click.
• Element Selection: Clicking any instance, router, or network node displays an instant side drawer showing live IP bindings and traffic stats.

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Network Ports (Interfaces & Virtual Bindings)

The Ports inventory (/openstack/:regionName/ports) provides granular visibility and operational control over every virtual network interface (VIF) created across tenant networks, routers, compute instances, and Octavia load balancers.

Ports Table Overview

Navigate to Network → Ports in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Port identifier, optional display name, and system UUID.
Project	Owning project boundary UUID.
Bind Resource	The attached OpenStack entity consuming the interface (e.g., compute:az1 for VMs, Octavia for load balancer amphorae, or network:router_interface for router gateways).
Owned Network	The underlying Neutron network UUID hosting the subnet.
Fixed IPs	The assigned private IP address bound to the interface (e.g., 10.0.0.14, 192.168.1.117).
Mac Address	Unique virtual hardware MAC address assigned by Neutron (e.g., fa:16:3e:26:54:82).
Status	Real-time port link status: ACTIVE (connected and passing traffic) or DOWN (unbound or idle).
Actions	Context menu shortcuts to update port attributes, associate security groups, or delete interfaces.

• Creation Workflow: Virtual network ports do not have a manual toolbar + button in this view because they are automatically provisioned and managed by Nova when attaching network interfaces to virtual instances, or by Octavia when configuring load balancer VIPs.

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Virtual Routers

Virtual routers provide Layer 3 packet forwarding between private tenant subnets and upstream external networks, enabling SNAT/DNAT internet routing.

Routers Table Overview

Navigate to Network → Routers in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Router name and UUID.
Status	Operational state: ACTIVE or DOWN.
External Network	Upstream external gateway network providing WAN connectivity.
SNAT	Indicates if Source Network Address Translation is enabled.
Admin State	Administrative state (UP/DOWN).
Actions	Shortcuts to Add Interface, Manage Static Routes, or Delete Router.

Creating a Router

• Click the orange + (Create Router) button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Router modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Description
Router Name	Display identifier for the L3 gateway router.
Admin State	Initial operational status (UP/DOWN).
External Network	Select the upstream external gateway network (e.g., PUBLICNET) to enable SNAT for outbound traffic.
Enable SNAT	Checkbox to automatically translate private tenant IPs to the router's external gateway IP.

Router Details & Drill-Down

Clicking on any router name in the table navigates to the Router Details page (/openstack/:regionName/routers/:uuid):

The Router Details page features multiple dedicated tabs: - DETAIL: Displays Availability Zone parameters, External Network Gateway details, SNAT status (Yes), and assigned External Fixed IP endpoint. - PORTS: Inventory of all virtual ports bound to this router. - INTERFACES: Connected internal subnet interfaces and gateway ports. - STATIC ROUTES: User-configured explicit Layer 3 static routing tables.

Router Interfaces Tab

Clicking the INTERFACES tab displays the internal network interfaces attached to the router, showing subnet IP allocations, interface IDs, and admin states:

Attaching Interfaces to a Router

To connect an internal tenant network subnet to the virtual router: * On the router details page, navigate to the INTERFACES tab. * Click the orange + (Add Interface) button on the interfaces table toolbar:

• The Create Interface modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Subnet ID	Required Dropdown / Text	The internal tenant network subnet to connect to this router gateway.
IP Address (Optional)	Optional Text	Explicit IP address assignment for the router interface on the subnet (defaults to subnet gateway).

Router Operations Menu

In the top-right corner of the Router Details page, the OPEN MENU button exposes operational router tasks:

Routers Contextual Row Actions

In the Routers table, clicking the three-dot (...) button on any router row opens the contextual row actions menu:

Editing a Router

Selecting Edit Router from the row actions menu or the router details menu opens the router configuration modal:

Parameter	Type	Description
Router Name	Required Text	Updated administrative identifier for the virtual router.
Admin State Up	Toggle Switch	Administrative status controlling whether the virtual router processes transit packets (Up / Down).
Availability Zone Hints	Optional Text	Comma-separated availability zones for localized high-availability router placement (e.g., az1).

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Security Groups (Distributed Firewalls)

Security groups act as virtual distributed firewalls applied at the port level to govern ingress and egress traffic for compute instances.

Security Groups Table Overview

Navigate to Network → Security Groups in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Security group display name (e.g., default, k8s-cluster-sg) and UUID.
Description	Operational notes describing the rule baseline and permitted traffic.
Rules Count	Total number of active ingress and egress filtering rules configured.
Actions	Context shortcuts to Manage Rules, Edit, or Delete.

Creating a Security Group

• Click the orange + button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Security Group modal dialog opens:

Security Group Details & Rules Management

Clicking on any security group name navigates to the Security Group Details page (/openstack/:regionName/security-groups/:uuid), displaying the full active firewall rules table:

Rule Field	Options	Description
Direction	Ingress, Egress	Specifies inbound or outbound packet filtering.
Ether Type	IPv4, IPv6	Network protocol family.
Protocol	TCP, UDP, ICMP, Any	Transport layer protocol filter.
Port Range	Single Port or Range	Target destination port(s) (e.g., 22 for SSH, 80/443 for Web, 6443 for Kubernetes API).
Remote IP Prefix	CIDR Range	Restrict traffic to specific source/destination CIDR blocks (e.g., 0.0.0.0/0, 10.0.0.0/16).
Remote Group ID	Security Group UUID	Permit traffic originating from or destined to member instances of another security group.

Security Groups Contextual Row Actions

From the main table, clicking the three-dot (...) button on any security group row opens the contextual row actions menu:

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Load Balancers (Octavia)

PixelView provides full enterprise lifecycle management for Octavia load balancers, distributing application traffic across redundant backend compute instances.

Load Balancers Table Overview

Navigate to Network → Load Balancers in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Load balancer name and system UUID.
Operating Status	Real-time health status: ONLINE, OFFLINE, or DEGRADED.
Provisioning Status	Octavia orchestration state: ACTIVE, PENDING_CREATE, or PENDING_UPDATE.
VIP Address	Virtual IP endpoint exposed to clients.
Provider	Underlying driver (amphora or ovn).
Actions	Shortcuts to Manage Listeners, Configure Pools & Members, Attach Health Monitors, or Delete.

Creating a Load Balancer

• Click the orange + button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Load Balancer modal dialog opens:

Configuration Section	Parameters	Description
Load Balancer Details	Name, Description, Admin State	Display naming and operational state.
Virtual IP (VIP)	VIP Subnet, IP Address	Choose the tenant subnet to allocate the VIP address from. Optionally specify a fixed IP.
Listener Configuration	Protocol, Port, Connection Limit	Define frontend listening parameters (HTTP/80, HTTPS/443, TCP/6443).
Backend Pool	Algorithm, Members	Select load distribution algorithm (ROUND_ROBIN, LEAST_CONNECTIONS, SOURCE_IP) and add member instance IPs with weights.
Health Monitor	Type, Interval, Timeout, Max Retries	Configure automated health checks (HTTP, TCP, PING) to remove unhealthy instances automatically.

Load Balancer Details & Listeners

Clicking on any load balancer name navigates to the Load Balancer Details page (/openstack/:regionName/load-balancers/:uuid):

The Listeners tab provides comprehensive operational monitoring: * Name & Protocol: Listener identifier and protocol (TCP, HTTP, HTTPS). * Port: Target listening port (e.g., 6443 for Kubernetes API, 80, 443). * Operating Status: Live health status badge (ONLINE, OFFLINE). * Provisioning Status: Orchestration state (ACTIVE). * Admin State Up: Administrative operational state (UP).

Adding a Listener

• Click the orange + button in the Listeners tab toolbar:

• The Create Listener modal opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Name	Required Text	Descriptive identifier for the listener.
Description	Optional Text	Contextual notes detailing listening traffic purpose or upstream routing targets.
Protocol	Required Dropdown	Traffic protocol to terminate: HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, or UDP.
Port	Required Number	Port number between 1 and 65535 to receive traffic (e.g., 80, 443, 6443).
Client Data Timeout (s)	Optional Number	Maximum time in seconds frontend connections remain idle waiting for client data.
TCP Inspect Timeout (s)	Optional Number	Time in seconds allowed for inspecting TCP payload content.
Member Connect Timeout (s)	Optional Number	Maximum timeout in seconds to establish connections to backend member instances.
Member Data Timeout (s)	Optional Number	Inactivity timeout in seconds waiting for backend responses.
Connection Limit	Number	Maximum concurrent connections allowed (-1 for unlimited).
Allowed CIDRs	Optional Text	Comma-separated list of IP prefixes authorized to reach this listener frontend.
Tags	Optional Text	Comma-separated organizational labels.
Insert Headers	Checkboxes	Optional HTTP request header injection: X-Forwarded-For, X-Forwarded-Port, X-Forwarded-Proto.
Admin State Up	Toggle Switch	Administrative status enabling or disabling traffic processing.

Load Balancer Pools Tab

Clicking the POOLS tab reveals backend server pools, balancing algorithms, and member health states:

Adding a Backend Pool

• Click the orange + button in the Pools tab toolbar:

• The Create Pool modal opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Name	Required Text	Identifying label for the backend server pool.
Description	Optional Text	Descriptive operational summary for the pool.
Algorithm	Required Dropdown	Traffic distribution method: ROUND_ROBIN, LEAST_CONNECTIONS, or SOURCE_IP.
Protocol	Required Dropdown	Communication protocol used to talk to backend pool members: http, https, tcp, udp.
Session Persistence	Optional Dropdown	Method used to stick client sessions to specific members (SOURCE_IP, HTTP_COOKIE, APP_COOKIE).
TLS Enabled	Toggle Switch	Enables backend re-encryption between the load balancer amphora and backend servers.
Tags	Optional Text	Comma-separated organizational tags.
Admin State Up	Toggle Switch	Administrative enablement state for the backend pool.

Load Balancers Contextual Row Actions

From the Load Balancers table, clicking the three-dot (...) button on any row reveals contextual management actions:

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Floating IPs (Elastic Public IPs)

Floating IPs are static, publicly routable IP addresses allocated from an external pool that can be dynamically bound to any internal instance port to allow internet connectivity.

Floating IPs Table Overview

Navigate to Network → Floating IPs in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Public IP address (e.g., 50.56.159.194, 50.56.158.139) and UUID.
Project	Owning project boundary.
Description	Operational annotation (e.g., Floating IP for Kubernetes external service).
Status	Allocation state: ACTIVE (mapped to a live port) or DOWN (unassociated pool address).
Created At	Timestamp indicating allocation date and time.
Actions	Shortcuts to Associate to a VM interface, Disassociate, or Release back to the pool.

Allocating a Floating IP

• Click the + (Allocate Floating IP) button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Allocate Floating IP modal dialog opens:

Field	Description
Pool	Dropdown selecting the upstream public external network provider (e.g., PUBLICNET).
Floating IP Name	Optional DNS or descriptive alias for the IP endpoint.
Description	Workload reference notes.

Floating IP Details & Drill-Down

Clicking on any floating IP address navigates to the Floating IP Details page (/openstack/:regionName/floating-ips/:uuid):

The Details view summarizes: - Base Info: Public IP address, operational status (ACTIVE), and project ownership. - Fixed IP: Internal private IP endpoint (10.0.0.234) currently receiving forwarded packets. - Network Line: Associated L2 broadcast segment. - Fixed Router: Upstream Layer 3 router UUID performing NAT translation.

Floating IPs Contextual Row Actions

In the Floating IPs table, clicking the three-dot (...) button opens the row actions menu:

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Network QoS Policies (Traffic Shaping & Bandwidth Limits)

The Network QoS module (/openstack/:regionName/network-qos) provides quality-of-service governance, allowing administrators to define bandwidth enforcement rules, egress rate limits, and DSCP traffic marking across tenant ports and networks.

Network QoS Table Overview

Navigate to Network → Network QoS in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	QoS policy name and system UUID.
Description	Operational documentation detailing rate limit parameters and target workloads.
Shared	Boolean indicator showing whether the QoS policy is shareable across multiple tenant projects.
Actions	Options menu to edit policy rules, attach bandwidth limit rules, or delete the policy.

Creating a Network QoS Policy

To create a new Quality of Service policy: * Click the orange + button in the top-right toolbar:

• The Create Network QoS Policy modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Policy Name	Required Text	A descriptive, unique name identifying the policy (e.g., high-priority-egress, limit-100mbps).
Description	Optional Text	Contextual notes detailing bandwidth constraints, DSCP markings, or burst rates.
Shared Policy	Toggle Switch	When enabled, permits this QoS policy to be bound to networks and ports belonging to other tenant projects within the region.

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Identity & Governance (Keystone)

The Identity submenu manages Keystone multi-tenancy, project boundaries, user directory records, access groups, and automation credentials.

Projects (Tenants)

Projects Table Overview

Navigate to Identity → Projects in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Project display label (e.g., admin, service, production-app) and unique UUID.
Domain	Keystone authentication domain (default: Default).
Description	Business unit, environment, or billing cost-center notes.
Enabled	Status badge indicating whether project workloads are authorized.
Actions	Context shortcuts to manage project quotas, assign user memberships, or delete.

Creating a Project

To establish a new tenant project boundary: * Click the orange + (Create Project) button in the upper right toolbar:

• The Create Project modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Project Name	Required Text	Unique tenant identifier label (e.g., devops-cluster, staging-env).
Description	Optional Text	Contextual notes regarding business unit, cost center, or owner.
Enabled	Toggle Switch	Activates immediate workload provisioning inside this project when turned on.
Tags (comma separated)	Optional Text	Metadata classification tags for grouping and governance queries.

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Users

Users Table Overview

Navigate to Identity → Users in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	User login handle, username, and UUID.
Email	User contact email address.
Domain	Keystone domain holding user credentials.
Primary Project	Default tenant scope assigned upon authentication.
Enabled	Account status (true / false).
Actions	Reset user password, modify role bindings, or disable login.

Creating a User

To provision a new user account: * Click the orange + (Create User) button in the upper right toolbar:

• The Create User modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
User Name	Required Text	Unique username for dashboard login and API authentication.
Password	Required Password	Initial password (minimum 8 characters with mixed case, numbers, and symbols).
Email	Optional Email	Valid email address for notifications and account verification.
Description	Optional Text	Organizational title, role, or team affiliation notes.
Domain	Dropdown	Keystone domain holding user credentials (default: Default).
Default Project (Optional)	Dropdown	Initial tenant project context selected upon login.
Role	Dropdown	Global RBAC role assigned to the user (e.g., admin, member, reader).
Enable User	Toggle Switch	Activates or temporarily deactivates login privileges.
Lock Password	Toggle Switch	Prevents user from altering password without administrator elevation.

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Groups

Groups Table Overview

Navigate to Identity → Groups in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Group name (e.g., administrators, devops, auditors) and UUID.
Description	Functional purpose and security scope.
Domain	Owning Keystone domain.
Actions	Add/remove users from group, assign group-level project roles, or delete.

Creating a Group

To configure a user permission group: * Click the orange + (Create Group) button in the upper right toolbar:

• The Create Group modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Group Name	Required Text	Name identifying the security group (e.g., platform-engineers, security-auditors).
Description	Optional Text	Functional purpose and scope of permissions granted to members.

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Application Credentials

Application credentials allow automated systems, CI/CD pipelines, and SDK scripts to authenticate against OpenStack APIs without exposing user passwords.

Application Credentials Table Overview

Navigate to Identity → Application Credentials in the secondary sidebar:

Column	Description
ID / Name	Credential label (e.g., terraform-provisioner, k8s-cloud-provider) and UUID.
Project	Scoped project boundary for API authorization.
Description	System purpose and expiration tracking.
Expiration	Expiry date/time or Unrestricted.
Roles	Whitelist of RBAC permissions granted to the API token (member, reader).
Actions	Download clouds.yaml configuration or revoke credential token.

Creating an Application Credential

To generate an automated API authentication token: * Click the orange + (Create Application Credential) button in the upper right toolbar:

• The Create Application Credential modal dialog opens:

Parameter	Type	Description
Name	Required Text	Unique label for the credential (e.g., terraform-runner, k8s-ccm).
Description	Optional Text	Pipeline or system daemon explanation.
Secret (Optional)	Password Text	Custom API secret token (leave blank to auto-generate a secure random secret).
Unrestricted Access	Toggle Switch	When disabled, restricts the credential to explicitly listed role boundaries.
Expiration Date (Optional)	Date Picker	Specific calendar expiration cutoff or indefinite access.
Roles	Multi-Select Dropdown	Whitelist of RBAC permissions authorized for this credential token.
Access Rules (Optional)	JSON / Manual Editor	Fine-grained API path and method limitations (e.g., allow GET /v2.0/networks only).

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Operational Best Practices & Troubleshooting

Common Operational Patterns

• Cross-Zone High Availability: When spinning up redundant database or application clusters, always assign instances to an Anti-Affinity Server Group to ensure physical hardware separation across hypervisors.
• Floating IP Lifecycle: Disassociate and release unused floating IPs back to public pools promptly to prevent IPv4 exhaustion and avoid unnecessary billing costs.
• Storage Sizing: Use high-performance NVMe volume types for I/O-intensive workloads (e.g., PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch) and standard volumes for general storage.
• Monitor Network Topology: Periodically inspect the Interactive Network Topology to identify disconnected ports, orphaned floating IPs, and router bottlenecks.

Troubleshooting Common States

State / Symptom	Probable Cause	Recommended Resolution
Instance in ERROR State	Hypervisor out of compute capacity, flavor sizing exceeds quota, or host scheduling failure.	Review instance console logs via Actions → Open Web Console. Verify quota limits under regional settings.
Volume in error_extending	Backend Cinder Ceph pool out of physical storage capacity.	Check storage backend pool health. Ensure target storage volume size is supported.
Cannot Reach Instance via Floating IP	Security Group lacks inbound rule, or instance guest OS firewall is active.	Verify security group has an Ingress rule permitting TCP port 22 (SSH) or 3389 (RDP) from client CIDR. Verify instance default gateway routes through router interface.
Load Balancer OFFLINE	Backend pool members failed health monitor probes or listener port misconfigured.	Inspect Health Monitor timeout and interval settings. Verify member compute instances are answering HTTP/TCP checks on target port.

Diagnostic Workflow for NoValidHost Scheduling Failures

When an instance provisioning or resize operation fails with NoValidHost (HTTP 500 / No valid host was found): * Identify Active Scheduler Filters: * Nova scheduler filters candidate hypervisors sequentially. Review which filter eliminated the hosts: * AvailabilityZoneFilter: Verify that active compute nodes exist in the selected Availability Zone. * RamFilter & DiskFilter: Inspect hypervisor free memory and local storage. If memory overcommit ceiling is reached, the host is excluded. * ComputeFilter: Ensure compute services (nova-compute) are in enabled and up state. * ImagePropertiesFilter: Check if the image specifies architecture constraints (e.g., hw_machine_type=q35, hw_cpu_policy=dedicated) that hypervisors do not advertise. * Inspect Placement API Allocation State: * In the PixelView console, check regional quota utilization under Utilization to ensure vCPU, RAM, and instance counts have not exceeded the project ceiling.

Diagnostic Workflow for Storage Volumes Stuck in Attaching or Detaching State

When a Cinder volume becomes stuck in an intermediate state (attaching or detaching): * Identify Stale Attachment Records: * In Storage → Volumes, select the volume and inspect the Attached To field to identify the hypervisor host and instance ID. * Inspect Nova and Cinder Attachment Mismatch: * If the volume is detached in Nova but still marked in-use or detaching in Cinder, use the instance Actions menu to trigger an attachment state refresh. * If necessary, use PixelView automation or the OpenStack CLI to reset the volume state to available once confirmed unmounted from the guest OS:

openstack volume set --state available <volume_id>

Hypervisor Maintenance & Live Evacuation Runbook

When performing physical host hardware maintenance, kernel upgrades, or RAM replacement: * Disable Compute Scheduling: * Prevent new workloads from landing on the hypervisor by disabling the compute service:

openstack compute service set --disable --disable-reason "Hardware Maintenance" <hypervisor_hostname> nova-compute

* Execute Live Migration: * Select active instances running on the hypervisor and initiate live migration to target hypervisors with shared storage (live_migration_block_migration=auto). * Evacuate Remaining Compute Workloads: * If the hypervisor suffered an unexpected hardware failure, execute instance evacuation to restore instances on healthy hypervisors from remote Cinder boot volumes.