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Getting Started

Equinix Metal™ is an automated, API-driven platform that allows you to manage and deploy single tenant, physical bare Metal servers and storage appliances. Bare Metal as a service is available in over 25+ metros globally.

With Equinix Metal, you can:

  • Select from standard server line-up for general purpose use across all locations, or select from our Workload Optimized servers that support extra RAM, CPU, storage, or GPUs for specialized use-cases.

  • Use open-source Linux operating system images that are provisionable on our servers through the console or API, including: AlmaLinux, Alpine Linux, Debian, Flatcar Linux, Ubuntu, and more. We also offer some licensed and bring your own license operating systems.

  • Configure BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) for custom IPv4 and IPv6 routing.

  • Enable Layer 2 networking on Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) as well as connect with other public cloud providers and network service providers. To enable these interconnections, you can use Fabric Virtual Connections (Metal Billed or Fabric Billed), or Dedicated Ports.

Learn more about Equinix Metal and its capabilities on our Product Marketing FAQ.

Create a New User Account

New Equinix Metal users must first create an account in the Equinix Metal console.

New Users

  1. To create an account, go to sign up.
  2. Enter your personal information and create a new password in the fields provided.
  3. Check the box to agree to the Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Policy terms.
  4. Click Create account.
  5. You will receive an email with an account verification link. Click that link. Once your account is verified, you can sign in to your new account.
  6. Go to Equinix Metal Portal and enter your credentials to sign in to the portal.

Existing Users

If you already have an Equinix Metal account, go to Equinix Metal Portal and click Login to sign in with your user credentials.

If you have forgotten your password and you need to create a new password, click Reset Password.

Create an Organization

Setting up an organization is the container for all the management of:

  • collaboration and user access
  • billing account and payment methods
  • all Equinix Metal infrastructure, subdivided into Projects.

Tasks such as inviting collaborators, viewing invoices, deploying servers, connecting networks, or using advanced networking features is done inside of an organization.

Creating an Organization is a part of the process for signing up for a new account.

  1. Enter a name for the organization in the Name your organization field.
  2. Check the box to agree to the Digital Services Agreement (DSA) and click, Next.
  3. Enter your billing information in the Company Billing Account Details section, and click Next.
  4. Select your preferred payment type: Credit Card or Paypal.
  5. Enter your credit card or Paypal information in the fields provided.
  6. Click Let's Get Started.

You are taken to the Project Settings page to continue getting set up. We have created your first project for you.

Create a Project

Once you have created an Organization and setup Billing Account information, you are taken to the Project Settings page. To help you get started, we created a project with the name, First project. A Project is the container for all your Equinix Metal infrastructure, such as servers, storage appliances, and networking configuration.

On the Project Setting’s General tab, you can change the project's name. Do the following:

  1. In the Name field, enter a new project name.
  2. In the Description (optional) field, enter a description for your project.
  3. To save your changes, click Save Changes.
  4. The Project will appear in the Your Projects table; click on its name to enter the Project.

You now have a place to request and provision servers and storage appliances on Equinix Metal.

Note: Before you deploy, we recommend that you add an SSH Key so you can securely access and manage deployed servers.

Add an SSH Key

Equinix Metal servers can be accessed and managed through SSH. When you provision servers, we add the SSH public keys associated with your user account to the servers. After creating a Project, add an SSH Key to your account.

  1. Click on your User icon, and select My Profile.
  2. On the SSH Keys tab, there is a table of Personal SSH Keys. Click + Add New Key.
  3. Give your key a name.
  4. Paste your public key (typically named .pub) in to the Public Key field. If you are unfamiliar with SSH keys, see our SSH Keys documentation.
  5. Click Add SSH Key.

Your SSH key will appear in the Personal SSH Keys table. This SSH key will now be added to the servers that you provision so you can access it securely.

Next Steps

You now have all the basic account, Organization, Project, and access management pieces to get started using Equinix Metal. To get started using the console, we have the Introduction to the Equinix Metal Console and an accompanying demo video. To start automating your deployments, see the API Reference documentation, or the Equinix Terraform Provider documentation.

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