Personal virtual machine

Shared server or your own VM: plans, how the VM is created, several projects on one VM, empty VM and deleting it.

A project runs either on a shared server together with other projects, or on your own personal virtual machine (VM).

Shared server or personal VM

  • Shared server — the default. The first deployment takes about a minute. The project gets the limits of the shared server (see Quotas and service limits). Good for trying things out and for demos.
  • Personal VM — resources of the chosen plan are yours alone: CPU, RAM and disk. Service quotas are not applied inside your VM. The first deployment also creates the VM, which usually takes a few extra minutes.

Choose the placement on the project page, card Where to run, before the first deployment. A deployed project keeps its place: to move it from the shared server, use Move to a personal VM (see below).

Who can have a personal VM

Personal VMs are enabled per account: the administrator sets how many VMs you may have. If the option is greyed out, personal VMs are not enabled for you yet — write to support. What each plan gives is on the Plans page.

How the VM is created

On the first deployment with a new personal VM the Create personal VM step expands into its own steps: clone → resize → start → configure → verify. Then the usual deployment steps run.

If there is no room on the servers or the VM could not be created, the deployment stops with an explanation. Nothing is charged for a VM that was not created; deploy again later or choose the shared server.

Moving from the shared server

On the card Where to run of a deployed project press Move to a personal VM, choose a plan or one of your VMs and confirm. A new deployment starts right away.

  • Data in Docker volumes is not moved: databases and uploaded files on the personal VM start empty. Back up your data first.
  • The project keeps running on the shared server until the new deployment succeeds; then its place there is freed.
  • If the deployment fails, the project stays on the shared server. A personal VM that was already created stays in My VMs — choose it to try again.

Several projects on one VM

When you already have a personal VM, the card Where to run offers it too: deploy as many projects into it as fit.

Empty VM and deleting it

Deleting a project does not delete its VM: the VM stays reserved for you. While it has no projects, we email you right away and then every 10 days.

Delete a VM on the My VMs page: only an empty VM can be deleted, and you confirm by typing its name. Delete or move the projects of the VM first.