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Let’s say that you have fully configured a Cloud Server running on GoGrid. You’re so proud of your achievement that you want to share your configuration with your team or perhaps even with the GoGrid community. And let’s imagine that you or your company has developed a software solution that you’d like to monetize within a Public Cloud. Well, the process of creating and sharing a GoGrid Cloud Server Image (GSI) is easy and literally takes just a few minutes.
Similar to our previous “How To” article and video (“How to Select, Configure, & Deploy a GoGrid Cloud Server in Minutes”), the process of creating a GSI is straightforward and can be simplified into 3 easy steps:
1. Select
2. Save
3. Share
Before I show you how easy it is to create a GoGrid Cloud Server Image, here are some ways you might use it:
- To reduce setup and configuration times for new servers
- To enable rapid horizontal scaling of servers
- To create a back-up repository of your GoGrid servers
- To share your server configuration with your team for future cloud deployments
- To monetize a software solution
There are three types of GoGrid Server Images (GSIs):
- MyGSI – Personal Server Image (private to your GoGrid account)
- CGSI – Community Server Image (shared with all GoGrid users)
- PGSI – Partner Server Image (public solution provided by a GoGrid Partner)
As with any of our cloud services, the best way to understand how it works is to try it out yourself. If you’re new to GoGrid, be sure to contact one of our Cloud Experts and tell them that you read this blog post and you want to test out our GSI functionality.
A Video is Worth a Thousand Words
Before I get into the written how-to portion of this post, we’ve also compiled a short 5-minute video that walks you 
through the process, so grab some popcorn (they look like mini-clouds, don’t they?) and see how easy it is to create a GSI.
In this video tutorial, you’ll learn:
- How to create a GSI from an active Cloud Server
- What to expect while the GSI is being created
- How to deploy a server from a newly created GSI
- How to change the sharing of a GSI (private and public)
The video below is also directly available on YouTube.
If you find it easier to follow written instructions, read on for a step-by-step tutorial.
Steps to Create a GoGrid Server Image
Going back to those 3 easy steps—select, save and share—let’s walk through this process.
Once you’ve identified a GoGrid Cloud Server you’d like to save for cloning or sharing (remember, your GSIs are saved to GoGrid Cloud Storage for just pennies a day—only if you go over your 10 GB/month free storage), the steps are simple.
First, log into the management console and select the server that will be the basis for your GSI. Note that the “actions” toolbar appears on the left:
To start the process, click on the “Save” icon. From there, you’ll be asked to name your GSI, provide a description, and then designate what type of server it is (web or database). Do note the information in the “Save Server Image” screen because there are some restrictions on the amount of data that can be in your server before it is saved as a GSI.
Once you click Save, the GSI creation process pretty much goes into auto-pilot and you can sit back and watch. Here’s what to expect. First, your active server (the one from which you’re making the GSI) will go offline for a few minutes while it is saved. It will NOT be offline the entire time, but only during a small portion of the GSI-creation process. The server will either be in a yellow or a red state, and eventually will come fully back online (green light).
Within the Jobs tab, you can see the status of your GSI being created, including the amount of time before the GSI is available for use (once the system has determined it).
You can also check the status of the GSI process within the Server Images tab. Note that our GSI is still being created so it is listed as being in a “Saving” state.
Once the process is complete, your GSI will be listed as “Available.” From there, you can create a new Cloud Server based on that server image or you can share your GSI.
First, click on the globe+ icon of the GSI you want to use:
Then choose “Cloud Server”…
Configure your Cloud Server by filling in the Name, Description, Public IP, and RAM allocation, and then click Save:
From there, a new GoGrid Cloud Server will be deployed based on your GSI.
Creating a CGSI (Community GSI)
Now let’s say you have a particular GoGrid Server Image you’d like to share with others in the GoGrid community. Sharing your GSI takes just a few clicks as well. From the Server Images library (tab), click on the single user icon:
Enter the Name you’d like to give your shared server image, a Description of what the server image is made of (be detailed if you can), the MINIMUM amount of RAM the server should have based on your image, and the Sharing status (Public or Private).
Once you click Submit, your image will be made Public (unless you clicked Private, in which case it won’t be shared anymore). If you made your GSI Public (into a Community GSI [CGSI]), the icon on the Server Images tab will now show a group of people instead of a single user.
So, you can see how we continue down the path of “Complex Infrastructure Made Easy.” Select, Save, and Share.
Creating a PGSI
Remember: If your business has a server software solution you’d like to monetize, you can make it available on the GoGrid Exchange, where server solutions are shared and sold to the GoGrid community. You can find all the details in our Partner section.
Let us know if you create and share a GSI!
Michael Sheehan
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