How to Deploy Elastic Cloud Servers with Huawei Cloud API – A Complete Walkthrough

I was initially reluctant to use cloud servers for a new project, preferring local virtual machines, but after an intern demonstrated a quick cloud deployment, I decided to learn the process.

The intern handed me a document titled Creating Elastic Cloud Server Process Details , which contained the full API workflow and code examples.

Step 1: Determine the Availability Zone

1. Query available zones.

{
   "availabilityZoneInfo":[
    {
       "hosts":null,
       "zoneState":{"available":true},
       "zoneName":"zone_01"
    },
    {
       "hosts":null,
       "zoneState":{"available":true},
       "zoneName":"zone_01"
    }
  ]
}

2. Choose a zone and record its zoneName.

Step 2: Determine the Server Flavor

1. Query flavor details.

{
   "flavors":[
     {
       "name":"c1.2xlarge",
       "links":[
         {"href":"https://xxx/v2.1/74610f3a5ad941998e91f076297ecf27/flavors/c1.2xlarge","rel":"self"},
         {"href":"https://xxx/74610f3a5ad941998e91f076297ecf27/flavors/c1.2xlarge","rel":"bookmark"}
       ],
       "ram":8192,
       "OS-FLV-DISABLED:disabled":false,
       "vcpus":8,
       "swap":"",
       "os-flavor-access:is_public":true,
       "rxtx_factor":1,
       "OS-FLV-EXT-DATA:ephemeral":0,
       "disk":0,
       "id":"c1.2xlarge"
     }
   ]
}

2. Choose a flavor and record its ID.

Step 3: Determine the Image

1. Query images.

{
   "images":[
     {
       "OS-EXT-IMG-SIZE:size":0,
       "metadata":{
         "__os_type":"Linux",
         "hw_vif_multiqueue_enabled":"true",
         "__imagetype":"gold",
         "__quick_start":"true",
         "virtual_env_type":"FusionCompute",
         "__support_xen":"true",
         "__support_kvm":"true",
         "__image_source_type":"uds",
         "__platform":"EulerOS",
         "__os_version":"EulerOS 2.2 64bit",
         "__os_bit":"64",
         "__isregistered":"false"
       },
       "created":"2018-05-14T06:13:50Z",
       "minRam":0,
       "name":"DBS-MySQL-Image_2.1.3.3",
       "progress":100,
       "links":[
         {"rel":"self","href":"https://None/v2.1/74610f3a5ad941998e91f076297ecf27/images/11e8f727-d439-4ed1-b3b8-33f46c0379c4"},
         {"rel":"bookmark","href":"https://None/74610f3a5ad941998e91f076297ecf27/images/11e8f727-d439-4ed1-b3b8-33f46c0379c4"},
         {"rel":"alternate","href":"https://None/images/11e8f727-d439-4ed1-b3b8-33f46c0379c4","type":"application/vnd.openstack.image"}
       ],
       "id":"11e8f727-d439-4ed1-b3b8-33f46c0379c4",
       "updated":"2018-05-14T06:13:52Z",
       "minDisk":40,
       "status":"ACTIVE"
     }
   ]
}

2. Choose an image and record its ID.

Step 4: Determine Network Information

1. Query networks.

{
   "networks":[
     {
       "id":"07a9557d-4256-48ae-847c-415a9c8f7ff6",
       "label":"b_tt3_td1b",
       "broadcast":null,
       "cidr":null,
       "dns1":null,
       "dns2":null,
       "gateway":null,
       "netmask":null,
       "cidr_v6":null,
       "gateway_v6":null,
       "netmask_v6":null
     }
   ]
}

2. Choose a network and record its ID.

Step 5: Set Up Key Pair Login

If you prefer password login, skip to Step 7.

1. Create a key pair.

{
   "keypair":{
       "type":"ssh",
       "name":"demo1",
       "user_id":"fake"
   }
}

Response example:

{
   "keypair":{
       "public_key":"ssh-rsa AAAAB3...Generated-by-Nova",
       "private_key":"-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
MIIEogIBAAKCAQEA...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
",
       "user_id":"f79791beca3c48159ac2553fff22e166",
       "name":"demo1",
       "fingerprint":"57:a7:a2:ed:5f:aa:e7:54:62:2e:bb:e7:92:22:cb:40"
   }
}

2. Import the key pair (same API endpoint, different request body).

{
   "keypair":{
       "public_key":"ssh-rsa AAAAB3...Generated-by-Nova",
       "type":"ssh",
       "name":"demo2",
       "user_id":"fake"
   }
}

Response example:

{
   "keypair":{
       "public_key":"ssh-rsa AAAAB3...Generated-by-Nova",
       "user_id":"f79791beca3c48159ac2553fff22e166",
       "name":"demo2",
       "fingerprint":"dd:44:45:49:d9:f6:4f:c0:24:2d:81:aa:c4:4b:83:c2"
   }
}

Step 6: Create Server with Key‑Pair Authentication

POST /v2.1/{project_id}/servers with body:

{
   "server":{
       "flavorRef":"c1.large",
       "name":"zttestvm1",
       "block_device_mapping_v2.1":[{
           "source_type":"image",
           "destination_type":"volume",
           "volume_type":"SATA",
           "volume_size":"40",
           "delete_on_termination":"true",
           "uuid":"11e8f727-d439-4ed1-b3b8-33f46c0379c4",
           "boot_index":"0"
       }],
       "networks":[{"uuid":"fb68519f-a7c0-476e-98d4-2e4cf6de6def"}],
       "key_name":"demo2",
       "availability_zone":"az_test_01"
   }
}

Response example includes id and adminPass.

Step 7: Set Password Login

For non‑cloud‑init images, include adminPass in the server creation request. For cloud‑init images, use user_data (Base64‑encoded) for Linux or admin_pass metadata for Windows.

Step 8: Create Server with Password Authentication

Example request for password login:

{
   "server":{
       "flavorRef":"c1.large",
       "name":"zttestvm1",
       "adminPass":"NOVAGLANCEI@123",
       "block_device_mapping_v2.1":[{...same as above...}],
       "networks":[{"uuid":"fb68519f-a7c0-476e-98d4-2e4cf6de6def"}],
       "availability_zone":"az_test_01"
   }
}

Step 9: Confirm Server Creation

GET /v2.1/{project_id}/servers/{server_id} to retrieve server details and verify status is ACTIVE.

Response includes server metadata, addresses, flavor, image, and status.

After following these steps, I successfully launched the cloud server and discovered Huawei Cloud API Explorer, which provides a ready‑to‑use environment for testing APIs, greatly simplifying future development.