The next generation Cloud Control Panel lets you manage your Rackspace Cloud infrastructure through a simple, intuitive graphical interface. This article introduces you to some of the cool features we've put in place that will make your daily administration tasks seem effortless.

New Server and Control Panel Names

At Rackspace, we're continually evolving and growing to provide you with nothing less than an extraordinary experience. As part of our effort, we've made many improvements to our products and how you interact with them. We need a way to let you know where you are and what you're working with, so here are the new names for our Cloud Control Panels and Cloud Servers:

• The new Cloud Control Panel is named next generation Cloud Control Panel, or simply, the Cloud Control Panel.
• The existing Cloud Control Panel is now called classic Control Panel.
• Our new Cloud Servers are called next generation Cloud Servers Powered by OpenStack, or just next generation Cloud Servers.
• Existing Cloud Servers are now called first generation Cloud Servers. In the next generation Cloud Control Panel, a blue asterisk follows the name of each of your first generation Cloud Servers. 

You'll see these new names throughout this article and as soon as you log into the next generation Cloud Control Panel.

Quick Access to Rackspace Products

You can work with the any of the supported Rackspace products by clicking the product name located at the top of the next generation Cloud Control Panel. The product names run along the top of the page and look like this:

One click and you'll be in the product workspace where you can begin managing your cloud resources. By popular demand, you'll notice that DNS now has its own dedicated workspace where you can manage DNS settings for all of our products. 

Organizing and Finding Your Cloud Resources

Several exciting new features help you organize, find, and efficiently manage your resources no matter the size or shape of your cloud inventory.

Tags

Tags let you add customized labels to any of the assets that make up your cloud infrastructure. They're completely flexible, so there's no limit to how many tags you create or how you assign them. For example, you could distinguish your servers by their functional role, a certain website association, a specific technology, or even by geographical location. The following screenshot shows several first generation Cloud Servers (denoted by the blue asterisk) that have tags assigned:

If you hover your mouse over a first generation Cloud Server, you'll also see the first feneration Cloud Server tooltip.

Filters

Our new filters help you find all assets that share these common properties: Type, Tag, Size, Image, and Status. When you create and tag assets, the filters are automatically populated. When you click a check box next to a filter, the list of assets shows only the matching assets.

Here's an example of what the filters might look like for Cloud Servers:

You'll notice that tags are also included in the list of filters. This gives you a powerful yet simple way to find only the specific assets you want to work with. For example, you could filter your list of servers to show all 2 GB Cloud Servers that you've tagged as production. Using the Status filter, you can drill down even further and find the servers that are currently Running, Offline, or have a different status. 

Search

With a convenient and fast new search field in the upper right corner of each asset listing (servers, files, and load balancers) you have yet another method for locating any asset, merely by entering part of the asset name, tag, or IP address in the search field. 

Using tags, filters, and search, your cloud inventory can grow to any size and you'll still be able to promptly locate and manage any asset.

Performing Administrative Actions

We've added a variety of new ways to perform administrative tasks. It doesn't matter if you're currently looking at a list of assets or a detailed view of a single asset. There's no need to switch screens or leave your current location to perform a task; every task you might want to perform is right where you need it.

The Actions Cog, Actions Menu, and the Edit Pencil

• When viewing resouces in a list, click the actions cog to the left of the asset name and you'll find a drop-down menu with all available actions for that asset. The actions cog is always part of every list, whether it's a list of servers, files, or load balancers. The following screenshot shows the Actions cog drop-down menu for a first generation Cloud Server named HurryUpandGo:

• If you're looking at the details of a specific asset, you'll find the Actions drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the page. Again, all the actions you can perform on the asset are easily accessible. 

• You'll also see that you can edit an existing setting for a resource by clicking the edit pencil that appears next to the asset description. For example, you could resize this server or change the image by clicking the edit pencil that appears after the description for each setting:

Pop-overs

Whenever you perform an administrative action on an resource, you'll instantly see a pop-over that lets you modify the settings or perform an action without taking you to another screen. This makes modifying an asset much faster since you don't have to wait for the page to reload. Here's an example of the Reboot Server pop-over accessed from the server list for a first generation Cloud Server called WindowsTEST:

Accessing the Classic Control Panel

You can reach the classic Control Panel from the user account drop-down menu located in the upper right corner of the page. The user account menu is labeled with your Rackspace Cloud account user name. From this menu you can open a ticket, access billing information, or your API Key. It looks like this:

Additional Enhancements

Our goal is to make using the Rackspace Cloud as easy as possible by providing a full-featured Control Panel that lets you do your job, and never gets in your way. In the near future you'll see additional enhancements and new features in the next generation Control Panel, so check back frequently for more information.

As always, we'd love for you to send us your feedback!