Machines Quickstart

Machines are Linux and Windows virtual machines with persistent storage, GPU options, and free unlimited bandwidth. They’re designed for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.

Create Machines

When creating a new machine, you can configure the hardware that runs your machine, the storage it uses, and features attached to it, such as a private network or a public IP address.

To create a machine:

1. In the Paperspace console, go to the Machines page, then click CREATE A MACHINE to open the Create a new machine window.

2. Choose a machine type. You can select between CPU, GPU, and multi-GPU options, each offering different specs and pricing.

3. Choose an OS template. You can pick from Paperspace’s machine images, including ML-in-a-Box, a pre-built data science stack.

4. Choose a disk size, which is the size of your machine’s storage in GB.

5. Name your machine.

6. Choose a datacenter region. We recommend selecting the region closest to you or your users.

7. Assign a public IP address. You can choose between a dynamic (temporary) or static (persistent) IP address.

8. Optionally, attach a private network for restricted access within the same network.

9. Add an SSH key to authenticate users using your machine. If needed, create an SSH key.

10. Optionally, set up automatic snapshots for system backups.

11. Choose the starting state of your machine after creation.

12. Review the price summary for running and maintaining your machine.

13. After configuring your machine and reviewing your machine’s prices, click CREATE MACHINE. If set to turn on, the machine state goes from Provisioning to On/Ready. Otherwise, it remains Off.

Afterwards, you are redirected back to the Machines tab where you can see your new machine and an overview of its specs.

Alternatively, you can create a machine using the Paperspace API or Paperspace CLI.

Connect to Machines

You can connect to both Linux and Windows-based machines using an SSH connection.

Note

As of 1 July 2024, Windows-based templates are retired and unavailable to new Paperspace users. If you joined Paperspace prior to this date, you can still start, manage, and create Windows-based template machines.

To connect to a machine using SSH:

1. In the Paperspace console, go to the Machines page, then find your machine and click START to change the state from Off to Starting up.

2. Once the machine is On/Ready, click CONNECT to open the Access your machine window with the SSH command.

3. Copy the SSH command like below, open a terminal on your local machine, paste, and run the command.

   The authenticity of host '203.0.113.0 (203.0.113.0)' can't be established.
   ...
   Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? 
   

4. Type “yes” and press ENTER to add the machine’s IP address as a known host.

5. Re-run the SSH command to connect to your machine. If you encounter issues, contact Paperspace support.

Alternatively, you can connect to your machine using desktop streaming. However, desktop streaming is only available for Windows-based machines.

Shut Down or Restart Machines

Once you’re connected to your machine, you may want to shut down your machine temporarily or restart the connection if the connection is unstable or needs to update.

To shut down or restart a machine:

1. In the Paperspace console, go to the Machines page, then find the machine you want to shut down or restart.

2. Click the machine to open its overview page, then click SHUTDOWN to turn your machine off or RESTART to restart it.

Shutdown changes the machine state from On/Ready to Off, replacing the SHUTDOWN and RESTART buttons with START. Restart goes from On/Ready to Restarting, and back to On/Ready, during which the machine is temporarily unusable.

Deactivate Machines

Deactivating a machine permanently removes access to it, along with its files and snapshots.

To deactivate a machine:

1. Before attempting to deactivate your machine, if your machine is on, turn it off. If you need to keep any files, transfer them using FileZilla, Windows’ RDP, scp, or wget to another machine or your local machine, as deactivation permanently removes access to the machine and its snapshots.

2. In the Machines page, click the machine you want to deactivate to open its overview page.

3. In the top-right corner, click the Settings tab. At the bottom of the page, in the Deactivate machine section, click DEACTIVATE.

4. In the Deactivate machine window, click DEACTIVATE to proceed.

Alternatively, you can deactivate a machine using the Paperspace API or Paperspace CLI.