At this time there is no way to build a non-RackConnected Cloud Server on a RackConnect v2.0 enabled Cloud account.
Presently, the only officially supported method is to sign up for a second Cloud account. The drawback of doing this is that you will not be able to access any custom server images between accounts.
With RackConnect, all Cloud Servers bandwidth will leave via the dedicated firewall device. The traffic between the Cloud Servers and the RackConnect device travels over the internal, unmetered Cloud ServiceNet. Any traffic between the Cloud Servers and dedicated networks will similarly be unmetered and not incur bandwidth charges.
The bandwidth usage costs for Internet related traffic entering and leaving the RackConnect device is charged using Dedicated Hosting bandwidth pricing plans. Our Sales representatives will discuss this in more detail with you when you inquire about RackConnect.
You may RackConnect an existing Cloud account, but any existing servers will not be RackConnected. If existing servers need to be RackConnected, they will need to be rebuilt after the RackConnect implementation has been completed. This may be done by first saving a Cloud Server image, and then using the image to rebuild the existing server a a new RackConnected server - or to simply build a new server.
Please be aware that this process for RackConnecting an existing server will result in a new IP being assigned to the server. Since you are essentially creating a new server, unfortunately this cannot be avoided.
Presently RackConnect may be used with both Managed Cloud and Cloud Core, unmanaged accounts.
Please be aware that the usual service level limitations still apply for RackConnected Cloud accounts, and the appropriate account type should be chosen for the implementation based on your support requirements. It is possible to RackConnect more than one cloud account, so you can have a mix of both if you prefer!
Most areas of our data centers have access to our “ServiceNet” in which a customer can connect privately to our Cloud Files infrastructure without traversing the public network (provided the cloud files are in the same DC as the dedicated server making the connection). The older areas of our DFW DC that do not have ServiceNet will need RackConnect to connect to the cloud ServiceNet, which will allow for a private connection to Cloud Files.
Yes - RackConnect connects your Cloud private network as an additional interface on your firewall; therefore it will allow you to connect to a firewall that has multiple segments set up provided that there are enough available ports. Our data center can perform a visual inspection of the firewall to ensure that there is an available port to connect to RackConnect.
Customer-owned Active Directory domains can be extended over RackConnect. This includes Active Directory Domain Controllers in your Dedicated environment or in your Cloud environment.
If you are planning to deploy Domain Controllers in the Cloud, and you promote a Cloud Server to a Domain Controller, please make sure to create a ticket and inform the RackConnect team about this change. You will need to manually create a “rackconnect” user account on the Domain and add this account to the “Domain Admins” Global Group. We will add the “DOMAIN\rackconnect” account to the RackConnect system instead of “rackconnect” in order to get RackConnect to work with your Domain Controller cloud server(s).
Additionally, Active Directory requires a large number of open ports to function properly, so we highly recommended that you create RackConnect Network Policies that allow full access between your Cloud and Dedicated environments.
IMPORTANT: RackConnect Network Policies are limited to Port Ranges of 100. Please view the Managing RackConnect Network Policies article for further details.
NOTE: Connecting Cloud Servers to the Intensive Active Directory Domains is not currently supported.
It is not currently possible to use next generation Images (snapshots) created in one region to spin up Cloud Servers in a different region. We expect this functionality to be available in Q1 2013.
Due to the limitation above, if you would like to use generation Cloud Server Images with RackConnect, please follow this process:
Note: If you have existing next generation Images that were created in a different region than where your RackConnect configuration is located, then it will not be possible to use them with RackConnect until Q1 2013 (expected timeframe).
Unfortunately our Cloud does not allow for additional IP addresses on the private interface. The best work-around for hosting multiple SSL sites would be to host each site on a separate Cloud Server, or utilize PAT (Port Address Translation).
Please view the following article for further details on PAT: Multiple SSL Certificates on a Single RackConnected Cloud Server (PAT)
Utilizing CLB can be a great solution. The key is to clearly understand the use cases for this configuration. CLB works best when all servers to be load balanced reside in the Cloud. If dedicated servers need to be load balanced, or Cloud and Dedicated are to be load balanced together, you should deploy RackConnect with an F5 load balancer. The firewall used with RackConnect serves to further isolate and protect the
customers dedicated servers.
Also note that when using CLB with RackConnect, all internet traffic comes and goes through the Cloud, and the customer will pay for all outbound bandwidth at the standard CLB rate. This bandwidth is not included in the “included” bandwidth that comes with each dedicated server.
For further details, please view the article: Using Cloud Load Balancers with RackConnect
Snapshots taken of a server before the Cloud Account was RackConnected should not pose a significant problem once the account is RackConnected. The exception to this rule would be if the network stack has been modified or IP tables has been set to block out all access (which will block the RackConnect system from connecting).
On Friday Nov 2nd, 2012 Rackspace enabled our final set of images allowing 88% to 90% of our first generation servers to be eligible for a snapshot migration to a Next Gen Server. Approximately 130,000 to 135,000 first generation Cloud Servers can now easily make the transition over to our next generation platform powered by OpenStack.
The snapshot migration feature allows a Rackspace customer to take a snapshot of their eligible first generation cloud server, and create a new next generation cloud server from that snapshot. Within a few trivial button clicks a new next generation cloud server is up and running that is an exact copy data wise of their first generation server. With this option customers will get a new next gen cloud server with a new IP address, but will experience no downtime.
There will not be an automated migration process available upon launch, but we anticipate that one will be made available in the coming months.
You can view the correct IP of your RackConnect Cloud Server in 2 places:
Note: You should query for Server Details, and the field that contains the RackConnect Public IP address is called accessIPv4. http://docs.rackspace.com/servers/api/v2/cs-devguide/content/Get_Server_...
The Open Cloud Control Panel is NOT currently displaying the correct value, this will be fixed soon.
Increased Cloud Server build performance, API responsiveness, and access to a future suite of Cloud products are all key benefits of Next Generation Cloud Servers.
RackConnect is a solution to connect dedicated servers with cloud-based systems. RackConnect can be implemented on either a Cisco ASA series, or a F5 BIG-IP load balancer that is used to interconnect dedicated physical servers with cloud-based servers on an internal, local network. It allows you to build up a hybrid hosting solution using the best of both traditional hosting, and cloud hosting as part of a single hybrid solution.
If you need help with RackConnect please contact us via any of our usual Support channels, and our team will help you with your issue or direct you on to the relevant support group. We are available via phone, chat, or tickets 24x7x365.
If you believe your issue is Cloud Server specific, please raise the appropriate query with the Cloud team via the Cloud Control Panel, otherwise please raise other requests via the my.rackspace.com portal.
Unmanaged cloud customers wishing to build RackConnected Windows servers will need to build from one of the following images:
Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 RC
Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 - MSSQL2K8R2 RC
Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 - SQL Web RC
No other variant of Windows which supports RackConnect is offered to unmanaged Core Cloud customers at this time. Managed Cloud customers may build a RackConnected Windows server using any of the currently offered standard images.
Building new Cloud Servers from the http://my.rackspace.com portal will automatically choose the correct RackConnect Windows image, otherwise it is also possible to select the images directly using the API. Please refer to the RackConnect user guide available from within the my.rackspace.com portal for more information.
Existing dedicated customers should speak to their Account Manager for further information on what's involved, and how best to proceed. Please be aware that RackConnect is only supported where our Cloud infrastructure exists. At this time, the Rackspace Cloud is available from our Chicago, Dallas, and London datacenters only.
If you are an existing Cloud customer, you will need to speak to a member of our Sales team. They can take you through the process of acquiring a device that may be used in a RackConnected environment.
Please check the current RackConnect Network Policies in place to ensure that the relevant access rules will permit the required connectivity. For example creating an Internet-to-Cloud rule to permit traffic originating from the Internet to reach your Cloud Servers.
If adjusting the Network Policies does not resolve the issue, please contact Support via phone, chat, or ticket so that we can help investigate this further with you.
RackConnect Network Policies are the equivalent of firewall rules that are applied via the RackConnect web interface. These policies are then applied to the firewall device and any Cloud Servers referenced.
The Network Policies are a useful means of centralising all your firewall rules for the RackConnect device, any dedicated networks and any RackConnected Cloud servers.
Yes, you can.
By default the Cloud Servers are directly exposed to the Internet and only the internal OS firewall is available for protection. RackConnect may be deployed as a front-end dedicated firewall to provide a single entry point for public traffic to all your cloud servers. In addition it allows a single point to consolidate your firewall rules for all cloud servers through the use of RackConnect Network Policies.
No, since RackConnect is intended to interconnect devices on a local network, any involved servers need to be within the same datacenter.
If you have existing dedicated hardware, please ensure that your Cloud account is provisioned to build your Cloud Servers to the same datacenter. Please contact our Cloud support team for help with this. Presently Rackspace has Cloud infrastructure in Chicago and Dallas in the US and London in the UK.
Yes, since RackConnect is a dedicated firewall, it is possible to also terminate a site-to-site VPN on the device. This can enable secure VPN communication between your office or home into the Cloud environment.