How to add a floating IP to an instance

In this guide, we explain how to assign a Floating IP to an OpenStack instance in the OpenStack dashboard (‘Horizon’). A Floating IP is a flexible public IP address that allows traffic to be routed to and from your private network. Where useful, we link to background articles so you know exactly what you’re doing.

Requirements

• An internal/private network in OpenStack
• An active instance

Assigning a Floating IP in Horizon

Step 1

Log in to the OpenStack Dashboard ‘Horizon’.

Step 2

Don’t have an instance yet? First follow the steps in OpenStack getting started: creating an instance.

Step 3

Create a router to route traffic between your internal network and the external network. Go to ‘Network’ > ‘Routers’ and click ‘+ CREATE ROUTER’.

Step 4

Fill in the fields as shown in the example and click ‘CREATE ROUTER’.

• Router Name: internal-router (choose a name of your choice)
• External Network: NET-FLOAT
• Availability-zone Hint: AMS2-EQ3, AMS2-EU4, AMS2-GS5

Step 5

You’ll return to the routers overview. Click the router you just created (‘internal-router’).

Step 6

Attach the router to your subnet: open the ‘Interfaces’ tab and click ‘+ADD INTERFACE’.

Step 7

Under ‘Subnet’, select your internal network. Leave ‘IP Address’ blank and confirm.

Step 8

Go to ‘Compute’ > ‘Instances’. In the ‘Actions’ dropdown on the right of your instance, click ‘ASSOCIATE FLOATING IP’.

Step 9

Select the Floating IP address and the instance’s internal IP address, then click ‘ASSOCIATE’.

Step 10

Horizon shows a green notification in the top right confirming the Floating IP has been associated. In the overview, verify that your instance now has a public IP address.

All done! You’ve assigned a Floating IP to your instance via Horizon. In this guide you (optionally) created a router, attached the internal subnet and associated a public IP address. Check the related links above if you want to extend or automate your setup.

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