Licensed Operating Systems¶
You can deploy the following licensed Operating Systems on various standard server plans and workload optimized plans on Equinix Metal.
If you would like to check whether an operating system is currently available on a specific standard or legacy server plan, use the Operating System Compatibility page.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Equinix Metal¶
Equinix Metal offers Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
Licensing charges for Red Hat Enterprise Linux are a fixed rate of $0.15/hr regardless of server type, core count, or socket count. Fees are added to your invoice on the 1st of each month.
Default user: root
Operating System | Slug |
---|---|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | rhel_9 |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | rhel_8 |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | rhel_7 |
Windows Server on Equinix Metal¶
Equinix Metal offers Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022.
Equinix Metal charges a flat $0.01/hr per core on single-socket systems and $0.02/hr per core on dual-socket systems for all the versions of Windows Server. Fees are added to your invoice on the 1st of each month. Since servers have a different number of cores based upon their processor(s), the additional licensing costs will vary.
Default user: Admin
Note: The default user login for our Windows image is for a local administrator, not a domain login or administrator.
Operating System | Slug |
---|---|
Windows 2022 Standard | windows_2022 |
Windows 2019 Standard | windows_2019 |
For an example Windows environment, see the Setting Up a Windows Server guide.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Access¶
You can access your Windows Server using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services at its assigned public IPv4 address. Our Windows image utilizes the default RDP port 3389. The credentials are visible on the server's Overview page for the first 24hrs after the server is provisioned. After the first 24 hrs, the root password will no longer be visible for security reasons, so save it or change it to maintain access to your server.
Using User Data with Windows¶
PowerShell is a supported executable target for cloud-init, allowing you to configure a host at provisioning time. More about User Data on Equinix Metal can be found here.
VyOS¶
Equinix Metal offers a licensed LTS VyOS image.
Licensing charges are a fixed rate of $1.00/hr for compatible servers regardless of server type, core count, or socket count. Fees are added to your invoice on the 1st of each month.
Default user: vyos
Operating System | Slug |
---|---|
VyOS 1.3 LTS | vyos_1_3 |
Nutanix Cloud Platform on Equinix Metal¶
Equinix Metal offers the ability to provision Nutanix products on select workload optimized servers.
In order to provision and use Nutanix products on Equinix Metal, you will need to bring your own Nutanix license. More information is available on the Nutanix Ecosystem Partners page and in the solution brief.
Default user: root
Operating System | Slug |
---|---|
Nutanix LTS 6.5 | nutanix_lts_6_5 |
For an example environment, see the Deploying a multi-node Nutanix cluster on Metal guide.
Nutanix Networking Configuration¶
Nutanix does not support public IP addresses at provision.
If provisioning from the console, you must uncheck Public IPv4 and Public IPv6 from the Optional Settings.
If provisioning from the API, you must include the "ip_addresses"
object in the body of the /projects/{id}/devices
request, specifying to provision with only a private IPv4 address.
curl -X POST \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-Auth-Token: <API_TOKEN>" \
"https://api.equinix.com/metal/v1/projects/{id}/devices" \
-d '{
"metro": "<metro_code>",
"plan": "<server_type>",
"operating_system": "nutanix_lts_6_5",
"ip_addresses": [
{
"address_family": 4,
"public": false
}
]
}'
When provisioning is complete, the server is only assigned a /31
private IP block with one useable IP address. This IP address is assigned to the Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV). The Controller VM (CVM) will use a link-local address.
Accessing Your Nutanix Server¶
Since your Nutanix server is deployed without public IP addresses it is not possible to access it by SSH from a remote host. Use the SOS/OOB Console to access your Nutanix server for initial AHV configuration and further setup.
VMware on Equinix Metal¶
Equinix Metal offers VMware Cloud Foundation on select Workload Optimized servers.
Default user: root
Operating System | Slug |
---|---|
VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 | vmware_vcf_5_1 |
In order to provision and run a server with ESXi or any other VMware product, you are responsible for bringing your own valid VMware license(s), and for complying with all of VMware’s applicable licensing and product terms.
Default user: root
Operating System | Slug |
---|---|
VMware ESXi 8.0 | vmware_esxi_8_0 |
VMware ESXi 7.0U2a | vmware_esxi_7_0U2a |
VMware ESXi 7.0 | vmware_esxi_7_0 |
VMware ESXi 6.7 | vmware_esxi_6_7 |
VMware ESXi 6.5 | vmware_esxi_6_5 |
Equinix Metal also offers ESXi images configured in a hypervisor mode for those deployments require the server's networking interfaces to be presented as separate Layer 2 interfaces. These images can be made available to you on an organization-basis by your TAM or sales representative.
Default user: root
Operating System | Slug |
---|---|
VMware ESXi 8.0 L2 Hypervisor Mode | vmware_esxi_8_0_vcf |
VMware ESXi 7.0 L2 Hypervisor Mode | vmware_esxi_7_0_vcf |
VMware ESXi 6.7 L2 Hypervisor Mode | vmware_esxi_6_7_vcf |
Alternative VMware Options¶
There are several managed services companies that are part of the VMware Cloud Provider Program (VCPP) that can offer managed VMware on Equinix Metal, including Equinix Managed Services.