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Part I — Build the OCI network and VM

1. Open Virtual Cloud Networks

From the OCI Home page, enter Networking → Virtual Cloud Networks. The image below is the original Picture 1 from the field-deployment Word guide; it is used without conversion or downscaling. Picture 1. OCI Home - enter Networking / Instances

2. Create the VCN, Internet Gateway, route, subnet, and ingress rules

Use these values:

2-1. Create the VCN

Open Virtual Cloud Networks → Create VCN. Picture 2. Select Create VCN in Virtual Cloud Networks Set the VCN name to data-relay-vcn and the IPv4 CIDR to 10.0.0.0/16. Picture 3. Configure the VCN name and IPv4 CIDR

2-2. Create the Internet Gateway

In the new data-relay-vcn, open the Gateways tab and create an Internet Gateway. Picture 4. Create an Internet Gateway from the VCN Gateways tab Use data-relay-internet-gateway as the example gateway name. Picture 5. Internet Gateway name example: data-relay-internet-gateway

2-3. Add the Internet route to the default route table

Open the Routing tab and select Default Route Table for data-relay-vcn. Picture 6. Select the default route table from the VCN Routing tab Choose Route Rules → Add Route Rules. Picture 7. Add a route rule Add the following route:
Picture 8. Add the 0.0.0.0/0 route through the Internet Gateway Confirm that the route rule is present after saving. Picture 9. Confirm the applied route rule

2-4. Start creating the public subnet

Open the Subnets tab and select Create Subnet. Picture 10. Start creating the public subnet

2-5. Configure the public subnet

Create the public subnet with the following values:
Picture 11. Configure the public subnet

2-6. Configure the Security List

Open the VCN’s Security Lists page. Picture 12. Open the VCN Security Lists page Review the ingress rules on the Default Security List. Picture 13. Review the Default Security List ingress rules For DataRelay Link in single-443 mode, add TCP 443 and the Remote Service endpoint pool TCP 6000-6098. Keep SSH 22 for administration, preferably restricted to your administrator public IP /32. Picture 14. Add ingress rules for TCP 443 and TCP 6000-6098 Confirm that the ingress rules were applied. Picture 15. Confirm the applied ingress rules
In single-443 mode, do not create public OCI ingress or DNAT for 6099 or 7000. They are internal loopback backends. Also do not blindly copy a broad All Protocols rule from a generic OCI tutorial.
If you do not want the whole 6000-6098 range exposed, allow only the service ports that are actually assigned, and constrain source CIDRs where possible.

3. Create the Ubuntu compute instance

Recommended values for this walkthrough:
Before creating the Compute Instance, confirm that the VCN, Internet Gateway, route, public subnet, and Security List created above are ready, then open Compute → Instances. Picture 16. Confirm the network resources and open Compute

3-1. Enter the basic Compute Instance settings

Start on Create compute instance and confirm the instance name and placement. Picture 17. Compute Instance basic settings

3-2. Select Canonical Ubuntu 24.04

Choose Change image and select Canonical Ubuntu 24.04. Treat the image/version currently shown in OCI Console as authoritative. Picture 18. Select the Ubuntu image Unless your environment requires something different, keep the Security settings at their defaults. Picture 19. Security settings - use the defaults unless required otherwise

3-3. Select the VCN and public subnet

Under Primary VNIC, select the data-relay-vcn and data-relay-public-subnet created earlier. Picture 20. Select the existing data-relay-vcn and data-relay-public-subnet

3-4. Disable automatic public IPv4 and configure the SSH key

Because this guide attaches a Reserved Public IP later, turn off Automatically assign public IPv4 address. Then upload an existing SSH public key or let OCI generate a new key pair, and store the private key securely. Picture 21. Disable automatic public IPv4 and create/download the SSH key

3-5. Review the boot volume

Unless you have a separate storage requirement, keep the boot-volume settings at their defaults. Picture 22. Boot Volume settings - keep the defaults unless required otherwise

3-6. Review before creating the instance

Confirm that the image is Ubuntu 24.04 and that the shape, VCN/subnet, and SSH key match the intended configuration before creating the instance. Picture 23. Review the Ubuntu 24.04 and VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro configuration

3-7. Confirm the created instance and Free/Eligible indicator

Confirm the instance state in the Compute Instances list. Picture 24. Confirm the created instance in the instance list The Always Free indicator shown in the original screenshot reflects the OCI Console at the time of the field deployment. Current Free Tier/Eligible status can vary by region and tenancy, so use the current Console’s eligibility and cost display as the final authority. Picture 25. Confirm the Always Free indicator and select the created instance Important points from the original deployment:
  • choose the existing data-relay-vcn
  • choose data-relay-public-subnet
  • allow OCI to assign the private IPv4 automatically
  • turn off Automatically assign public IPv4 address for the final persistent-IP design
  • generate/download or upload an SSH public key
  • if OCI generated the key pair, store the private key securely; do not assume it can be downloaded again later
  • keep the boot volume simple unless you have another storage requirement
VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro availability and Free Tier treatment are tenancy/region dependent. If the Console does not show it as eligible at creation time, do not assume this guide makes it free.

4. Attach a Reserved Public IPv4

From the instance details page, open Networking → Primary VNIC. Picture 26. Open the instance Networking page and Primary VNIC In the VNIC, open IP administration → Primary Private IP. Picture 27. Open VNIC IP administration and the Primary Private IP If an ephemeral public IP is currently attached, edit the private IP and select No public IP first. Picture 28. Select No public IP in Edit Private IP Address Confirm that no public IP is currently assigned. Picture 29. Confirm that the public IP is unassigned Edit the private IP again and choose:
Picture 30. Create and attach a new Reserved Public IP A Reserved Public IP is the address you should treat as the persistent public entry point for DataRelay Link. OCI performs the public/private mapping outside the Ubuntu guest, so ip addr on the VM normally shows the private 10.x.x.x address rather than the public address. Confirm that the Reserved Public IP is attached to the Primary Private IP. The public IP value in this screenshot has been masked before publication. Picture 31. Confirm the Reserved Public IP is attached
Picture 32 (successful SSH session) from the original Word guide is still not published because it contains field connection details. The SSH procedure below uses the <RESERVED-PUBLIC-IP> placeholder instead.

5. Test SSH access

For OCI Ubuntu images the default account is normally ubuntu:
Then verify the host:
Expected for this guide:
Last modified on September 24, 2026