n8n Virtual Machine is a pre-configured cloud server with a business process automation platform using AI tools. The tool allows you to integrate AI tools into workflows and automate processes without writing code or with minimal use of it.
The image from which the server is deployed contains:
n8n — a platform for business process automation using AI tools;
Ollama — a platform for downloading and running LLMs locally. Ollama is automatically installed only when creating a server with a GPU. Learn more in the Minimum resource requirements;
Docker — a platform for running containerized applications;
Docker Compose — a tool for running multi-container applications in Docker;
automating business processes between services, for example: CRM, ERP, email, chats;
automating marketing scenarios: mailing lists, reactions to user actions, audience segmentation by behavior or data;
processing and transforming data between sources (ETL-like workflows);
creating workflows using a visual editor — no coding required.
Minimum resource requirements
Number of vCPUs
2
RAM
4 GB
Boot volume
25 GB
GPU
Optional *
* Ollama is installed automatically only when creating a server with a GPU. You can use Ollama to download a local LLM and integrate it with n8n. On a server without a GPU, you can only connect to external LLMs, such as those running on other servers or via an API.
Start working with n8n
For n8n to work, the cloud server must be accessible from the internet. To do this, when creating a server, you need to create a private subnet and attach a public floating IP address.
Enter the server name. It will be set as the hostname in the operating system.
Select the location where the server will be created. The available server configurations and resource costs depend on the location. You cannot change the location after the server is created.
Source
Откройте вкладку Приложения.
Select n8n VM.
Optional: if you need a different current or archived application version, select the required version in the Version field.
Configuration
Select a configuration from the GPU range starting from 2 vCPU, RAM от 4 ГБ and размером загрузочного диска от 25 ГБ. Two types of server configurations are available for this range:
prebuilt configurations — configurations in the range with different specifications, in which the resource ratio is fixed;
custom configurations — configurations in which you can specify any resource ratio.
В конфигурациях используются разные процессоры in зависимости от линейки and сегмента пула. Вы можете настроить выбранную конфигурацию. После создания сервера можно будет изменить конфигурацию.
Prebuilt configuration
Custom configuration
Open the tab with the GPU range.
Click Prebuilt.
Optional: you can adjust the configuration if you are creating a server in a multi-zone pool segment ru-6 or pool segments ru-3b, ru-7a, and ru-7b:
3.1. Разверните блок with описанием настроек конфигурации.
3.2. Optional: выберите производителя процессора. Выбор производителя доступен не во всех пулах.
3.3. Optional: если вы хотите, чтобы за vCPU облачного сервера не закреплялись ядра физического процессора, снимите чекбокс Выделенные ядра. Подробнее in инструкции Выделенные ядра.
3.4. Optional: если для сервера with выделенными ядрами вы хотите выключить Hyper-Threading, снимите чекбокс Hyper-Threading (SMT).
3.5. Optional: если вы создаете сервер with выделенными ядрами and хотите разместить многопроцессорный сервер on одной NUMA-ноде, отметьте чекбокс Обязательное размещение on одной NUMA-ноде. Разместить on одной NUMA-ноде можно сервер with 4 vCPU and больше. Если ресурсы облачного сервера не получится разместить on одной ноде, он не создаcтся. Подробнее in подразделе Размещение on одной NUMA-ноде инструкции Выделенные ядра.
If both local and network volumes are available in the selected configuration, select the volume to be used as the boot volume:
локальный диск — отметьте чекбокс Локальный SSD NVMe диск. Сервер with локальным диском можно создать только из образов and приложений;
сетевой диск — не отмечайте чекбокс Локальный SSD NVMe диск.
Объем оперативной памяти, который выделяется серверу, может быть меньше указанного in конфигурации — ядро операционной системы резервирует часть оперативной памяти in зависимости от версии ядра and дистрибутива. Выделенный объем on сервере можно проверить with помощью команды sudo dmesg | grep Memory.
Open the tab with the GPU range.
Click Custom.
Optional: вы можете настроить конфигурацию, если создаете сервер in сегменте мультизонального пула ru-6 or сегментах пулов ru-3b, ru-7a and ru-7b:
3.1. Разверните блок with описанием настроек конфигурации.
3.2. Optional: выберите производителя процессора. Выбор производителя доступен не во всех пулах.
3.3. Optional: если вы хотите, чтобы за vCPU облачного сервера не закреплялись ядра физического процессора, снимите чекбокс Выделенные ядра. Подробнее in инструкции Выделенные ядра.
3.4. Optional: если для облачного сервера with выделенными ядрами вы хотите выключить Hyper-Threading, снимите чекбокс Hyper-Threading (SMT).
3.5. Optional: если вы создаете облачный сервер with выделенными ядрами and хотите разместить многопроцессорный сервер on одной NUMA-ноде, отметьте чекбокс Обязательное размещение on одной NUMA-ноде. Разместить on одной NUMA-ноде можно облачный сервер with 4 vCPU and больше. Если ресурсы облачного сервера не получится разместить on одной ноде, он не создаcтся. Подробнее in подразделе Размещение on одной NUMA-ноде инструкции Выделенные ядра.
If both local and network volumes are available in the selected configuration, select the volume to be used as the boot volume:
локальный диск — отметьте чекбокс Локальный SSD NVMe диск. Сервер with локальным диском можно создать только из образов and приложений;
сетевой диск — не отмечайте чекбокс Локальный SSD NVMe диск.
Объем оперативной памяти, который выделяется серверу, может быть меньше указанного in конфигурации — ядро операционной системы резервирует часть оперативной памяти in зависимости от версии ядра and дистрибутива. Выделенный объем on сервере можно проверить with помощью команды sudo dmesg | grep Memory.
Volumes
Если при настройке конфигурации вы не отметили чекбокс Локальный SSD NVMe диск, in качестве загрузочного диска сервера будет использоваться первый указанный сетевой диск. Чтобы настроить его:
1.2. Укажите размер сетевого загрузочного диска in ГБ or ТБ. Учитывайте лимиты сетевых дисков on максимальный размер.
1.3. Если вы выбрали тип диска Универсальный v2 or SSD Быстрый v2, укажите общее количество операций чтения and записи in IOPS. После создания диска вы можете изменить количество IOPS — уменьшить or увеличить. Количество изменений IOPS не ограничено.
Optional: add an additional network volume of the server :
2.3. Specify the size of the network disk in GB or TB. Учитывайте лимиты сетевых дисков on максимальный размер.
2.4. Если вы выбрали тип диска Универсальный v2 or SSD Быстрый v2, укажите общее количество операций чтения and записи in IOPS. После создания диска вы можете изменить количество IOPS — уменьшить or увеличить. Количество изменений IOPS не ограничено.
The cloud server will be added to a private subnet, which is connected to a cloud router with 1:1 NAT and internet access. Internet access will be provided through the cloud router. The server will be accessible from the internet via a public floating IP address.
В поле Подключение из интернета выберите тип доступа Публичный плавающий IP-адрес.
The cloud server can be added to an existing or new private subnet.
Existing private subnet
New private subnet
In the Subnet field, select a private subnet.
Optional: in the IP address field, change the default IP address.
В поле Роутер выберите существующий роутер or создайте новый.
If the router is not connected to the internet, it will be automatically connected after the server is created.
In the Subnet field, select New private subnet.
В поле Сеть выберите существующую сеть or создайте новую.
Optional: change the subnet CIDR.
Optional: in поле IP-адрес измените IP-адрес по умолчанию.
В поле Роутер выберите существующий роутер or создайте новый.
If the router is not connected to the internet, it will be automatically connected after the server is created.
Security
Select security groups to filter traffic on the server ports. Without security groups, traffic will be blocked. If this block is missing, traffic filtering (port security) is disabled in the server network. With traffic filtering disabled, all traffic is allowed.
1.1. Если SSH-ключ для проекта не добавлен in облачную платформу, нажмите Добавить SSH-ключ, введите имя ключа, вставьте публичный ключ in формате OpenSSH and нажмите Добавить.
1.2. Если SSH-ключ для проекта добавлен in облачную платформу, in поле SSH-ключ выберите существующий ключ. SSH-ключ доступен только in том пуле, in котором он размещен.
Optional: in поле Пароль для «root»:
2.1. Скопируйте пароль пользователя root — пользователя with неограниченными правами on все действия над системой.
2.2. Сохраните пароль in безопасном месте and не передавайте in открытом виде.
Additional settings
If you are planning to create multiple servers and want to increase infrastructure fault tolerance, add the server to a placement group:
1.1. Чтобы создать новую группу, in поле Группа размещения нажмите Создать.
1.2. Выберите Новая группа and введите имя группы.
1.3. Выберите политику размещения on разных хостах:
soft-anti-affinity — the system will try to place servers on different hosts. If there is no suitable host when creating the server, it will be created on the same host;
anti-affinity — servers in the group must be located on different hosts. If there is no suitable host when creating the server, the server will not be created.
1.4. Если группа создана, in поле Группа размещения выберите группу размещения.
Чтобы добавить дополнительную информацию or фильтровать серверы in списке, добавьте теги сервера. Автоматически добавляются теги операционной системы and конфигурации. Чтобы добавить новый тег, in поле Теги введите тег.
Чтобы добавить скрипт, который выполнится with помощью агента cloud-init при первом запуске операционной системы, in блоке Автоматизация in поле User data:
откройте вкладку Текст and вставьте скрипт текстом;
or откройте вкладку Файл and загрузите файл со скриптом.
In the Control panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Cloud Servers.
Enter a server name. It will be set as the hostname in the operating system.
Select a location where the server will be created. The available server configurations and resource costs depend on the location. You cannot change the location after the server has been created.
Source
Open the Applications tab.
Select n8n VM.
Optional: if you need a different current or archived application version, select the required version in the Version field.
Configuration
Select a configuration from 2 vCPU, RAM от 4 ГБ and размером загрузочного диска от 25 ГБ. For all lines, except Shared and Dedicated, two types of server configurations are available:
fixed configurations — configurations of lines with different technical specifications where the resource ratio is fixed;
custom configurations — configurations in which you can specify any resource ratio.
Configurations use different processors depending on the line and pool segment. You can customize the selected configuration. After the server is created, you will be able to change the configuration.
Fixed configuration
Custom configuration
Open the tab with a line.
Click Fixed.
Optional: you can customize the configuration if you are creating a server in a multi-AZ pool ru-6 segment or ru-3b, ru-7a, and ru-7b pool segments:
3.1. Expand the block with the configuration settings description.
3.2. Optional: select a processor manufacturer. Choosing a manufacturer is not available in all pools.
3.3. Optional: if you do not want physical processor cores to be pinned to the vCPUs of the cloud server, uncheck the Dedicated cores checkbox. For more information, see the Dedicated cores instruction.
3.4. Optional: if you want to disable Hyper-Threading for a server with dedicated cores, uncheck the Hyper-Threading (SMT) checkbox.
3.5. Optional: if you are creating a cloud server with dedicated cores and want to place a multiprocessor server on a single NUMA node, check the Mandatory placement on a single NUMA node checkbox. You can place a server with 4 vCPUs or more on one NUMA node. If the cloud server resources cannot be placed on one node, it will not be created. For more information, see the Placement on a single NUMA node section of the Dedicated Cores instruction.
If both local and network volumes are available in the selected configuration, select the volume to be used as the boot disk:
local disk — check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox. A server with a local disk can only be created from images and applications;
network volume — do not check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox.
The amount of RAM allocated to the server may be less than specified in the configuration — the operating system kernel reserves part of the memory depending on the kernel version and distribution. You can check the allocated volume on the server using the sudo dmesg | grep Memory command.
Open the tab with a line.
Click Custom.
Optional: you can customize the configuration if you are creating a server in a multi-AZ pool ru-6 segment or ru-3b, ru-7a, and ru-7b pool segments:
3.1. Expand the block with the configuration settings description.
3.2. Optional: select a processor manufacturer. Choosing a manufacturer is not available in all pools.
3.3. Optional: if you do not want physical processor cores to be pinned to the vCPUs of the cloud server, uncheck the Dedicated cores checkbox. For more information, see the Dedicated Cores instruction.
3.4. Optional: if you want to disable Hyper-Threading for a cloud server with dedicated cores, uncheck the Hyper-Threading (SMT) checkbox.
3.5. Optional: if you are creating a cloud server with dedicated cores and want to place a multiprocessor server on a single NUMA node, check the Mandatory placement on a single NUMA node checkbox. You can place a cloud server with 4 vCPUs or more on one NUMA node. If the cloud server resources cannot be placed on one node, it will not be created. For more information, see the Placement on a single NUMA node section of the Dedicated Cores instruction.
Specify the number of vCPUs.
Specify the RAM size.
If you need to add GPUs to the server, click Add GPU, select the GPU type, and specify the number of GPUs. The selected line will change to the GPU line. If in the Source block you chose an image without GPU optimization and have the Auto-select GPU image toggle enabled, the selected image will automatically change to an image with GPU optimization.
If both local and network volumes are available in the selected configuration, select the volume to be used as the boot disk:
local disk — check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox. A server with a local disk can only be created from images and applications;
network volume — do not check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox.
The amount of RAM allocated to the server may be less than specified in the configuration — the operating system kernel reserves part of the memory depending on the kernel version and distribution. You can check the allocated volume on the server using the sudo dmesg | grep Memory command.
Volumes
If you did not check the Local SSD NVMe disk checkbox during configuration, the first specified network volume will be used as the server's boot disk. To configure it:
1.2. Specify the network boot disk size in GB or TB. Mind the network volume limits on the maximum size.
1.3. If you selected the Universal v2 or SSD Fast v2 disk type, specify the total number of read and write operations in IOPS. After the disk is created, you can change the IOPS amount — reduce or increase it. The number of IOPS changes is unlimited.
2.3. Specify the size of the network disk in GB or TB. Keep in mind the network volume limits on the maximum size.
2.4. If you selected the Universal v2 or SSD Fast v2 volume type, specify the total IOPS. You can change the number of IOPS after creating the volume — increase or decrease it. The number of IOPS changes is unlimited.
The cloud server will be added to a private subnet that is connected to a cloud router with 1:1 NAT mapping and internet access. Access to and from the internet will be provided through the cloud router. The server will be accessible from the internet via a public floating IP address.
In the Internet connection field, select the Public floating IP address access type.
Optional: in the IP address field, change the default IP address.
In the Router field, select an existing router or create a new one.
If the router is not connected to the internet, it will be automatically connected to the internet after the server is created.
In the Subnet field, select New private subnet.
In the Network field, select an existing network or create a new one.
Optional: change the subnet CIDR.
Optional: in the IP address field, change the default IP address.
In the Router field, select an existing router or create a new one.
If the router is not connected to the internet, it will be automatically connected to the internet after the server is created.
Security
Select security groups to filter traffic on server ports. Traffic will be blocked without security groups. If the block is missing, traffic filtering (port security) is disabled in the server network. With traffic filtering disabled, all traffic will be allowed.
1.1. If an SSH key for the project has not been added to the cloud platform, click Add SSH key, enter the key name, paste the OpenSSH public key, and click Add.
1.2. If an SSH key for the project has been added to the cloud platform, select an existing key in the SSH key field. The SSH key is only available in the pool where it is located.
Optional: in the Root password field:
2.1. Copy the root user password — the user with unrestricted privileges for all system actions.
2.2. Save the password in a secure place and do not share it in plain text.
Additional settings
If you plan to create multiple servers and want to improve infrastructure fault tolerance, add the server to a placement group:
1.1. To create a new group, in the Placement group field, click Create.
1.2. Select New group and enter the group name.
1.3. Select a placement policy on different hosts:
preferred — soft-anti-affinity. The system will try to place servers on different hosts. If no suitable host is available when creating the server, it will be placed on the host where it fits;
required — anti-affinity. Servers in the group must be located on different hosts. If no suitable host is available when creating the server, the server will not be created.
1.4. If the group has been created, select it in the Placement group field.
To add additional information or filter servers in the list, add server tags. Operating system and configuration tags are added automatically. To add a new tag, enter it in the Tags field.
To add a script that will be executed using the cloud-init agent when the operating system starts for the first time, in the Automation block, in the User data:
open the Text tab and paste the script as text;
or open the File tab and upload the file with the script.
3. Create an account
Open the http://<ip_address> page in your browser;.
Specify <ip_address> — the public floating IP address of the cloud server. You can copy it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Cloud Servers → in the server card, click next to the public floating IP address.
In the Email field, enter your email address.
In the First Name field, enter your first name.
In the Last Name field, enter your last name.
In the Password field, enter your password.
Click Next.
4. Run n8n
Open the http://<ip_address> page in your browser;.
Specify <ip_address> — the public floating IP address of the cloud server. You can copy it in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Cloud Servers → in the server card, click next to the public floating IP address.