Frequently asked questions
Short answers to common questions about instances, networking, projects, billing, Kubernetes, and backups on Akasha.
Common questions from new Akasha tenants, with links to the pages that go deeper.
Should I use a container or a virtual machine?
Use a container when you want a fast-starting Linux environment that shares the host kernel — ideal for services, build environments, and general Linux workloads. Use a VM when you need a full kernel of your own: custom kernel modules, non-Linux-standard OSes, installation from an ISO, or stronger isolation. VMs also unlock the graphical console. Application images from OCI registries run as containers (shown as Container (App)). See About instances and Create instances.
Are my instances reachable from the internet?
No, not by default. Instances get private IPs on your project's networks and are unreachable from the internet; outbound traffic works via NAT. To expose something deliberately you can: add a network forward or an OVN network load balancer on your network, use Kubernetes External IPs and routes for cluster workloads, or ask your administrator to map a public IP to one of your addresses (mappings are deployment-specific).
Who creates projects?
Your administrator. Projects are the isolation unit for everything you own, and creating them — along with setting their resource limits — is an administrator action. You can see and manage what's inside your projects; see Manage projects.
How is my usage measured?
Usage is allocation-based: what you have reserved, multiplied by time. The units are core-minutes (allocated vCPUs), RAM GB-minutes, and disk/storage GB-minutes for instances and volumes, with equivalent measures for managed databases and a per-cluster managed-cluster-minutes fee for Kubernetes. Your project's Summary → Billing tab shows quantities per resource and lets you download a PDF report. The console shows usage quantities, not prices — pricing is set by your administrator. See Usage and billing.
Can I choose a Kubernetes version?
No. Akasha provisions clusters at a fixed, platform-managed Kubernetes version, and there is currently no self-service upgrade flow. See Create a cluster.
I've hit a project limit. How do I get more resources?
Project limits (CPU, memory, disk, instance counts, and so on) are set per project by your administrator. Check your current usage against limits on the project Summary page, then ask your administrator to raise the limit. See Usage and billing.
How do I add a teammate to my project?
Ask your administrator. Access is granted through your organization's SSO groups — your teammate needs an SSO account and membership in the group mapped to your project. There is no user management in the tenant console. See Access control.
Is there an API?
Yes. Everything the console does goes through the Akasha API — an HTTP API authenticated with a bearer token. See About the API and Authentication.
Where do backups live, and how do I restore?
It depends on the resource:
- Instance snapshots and volume snapshots are stored on the platform and can be restored from the console. See Instance snapshots and Volume snapshots.
- Instance and volume exports create a backup archive that downloads to your machine.
- Kubernetes etcd backups, managed database backups, and cluster VM backup exports are written to an S3 bucket you configure — for example an Akasha storage bucket. You can schedule, trigger, list, and delete these from the console, but there is no console restore flow — contact your administrator to restore. See etcd backups and Databases.
What happens when I delete an instance?
The instance and its data are permanently deleted — the console warns that this cannot be undone and can result in data loss. Instances can only be deleted when they are stopped (or in Error state), and the delete requires confirmation. Take a snapshot or export first if you might need the data.
What happens when I delete a Kubernetes cluster?
All of the cluster's machines and workloads are destroyed — including anything running on it, such as managed databases and cluster VMs. The console requires you to type the cluster name to confirm. Backups you exported to S3 (etcd, database, VM) are not deleted, but restoring from them requires your administrator.
Why can't I open a Terminal on my VM?
The instance Terminal tab requires a guest agent inside the VM. Immutable operating systems (such as Talos Linux, which Akasha uses for Kubernetes nodes) do not support the agent. Use the Console tab instead. See Access instances.