Create a Vultr Compute, Bare Metal, or GPU Fabric Cluster with a plan, region, and pool size using the Console or API.
A cluster is a logical container that organizes compute resources under a single definition with shared networking. Creating a Compute Cluster or Bare Metal Cluster provisions the container and deploys instances to match desired_pool_count. Raising desired_pool_count later provisions additional instances automatically, but lowering it does not remove any. Remove instances manually to reduce the pool size. A GPU Fabric Cluster does not auto-provision. See How to Use a GPU Fabric Cluster for that workflow.
A cluster is one of three kinds, set through the type field in its response:
Compute Cluster (vps): Cloud Compute instances available across multiple plan categories, including Shared CPU, Dedicated CPU, CPU Optimized, and General Purpose, suitable for a wide range of workloads, from web applications to compute-intensive services.
Bare Metal Cluster (bare-metal): Single-tenant Bare Metal instances dedicated to one customer, offering maximum performance and direct hardware access without a hypervisor layer.
GPU Fabric Cluster (gpu-fabric): Cloud GPU instances interconnected with automated high-performance fabric networking (RoCE or InfiniBand), designed for AI/ML training, distributed inference, and HPC workloads that require low-latency, high-bandwidth communication between nodes.
Follow this guide to create a cluster directly using a plan via the Vultr Console or the Vultr API. To create a cluster using a reusable instance template, see How to Create a Cluster Using an Instance Template.
In the left-hand menu, click Compute, then click Clusters.
Click Create Cluster.
Under Cluster Basics, select CPU Cluster or GPU Cluster, then enter a Name.
For a GPU Cluster, set GPU Fabric to Yes to create a GPU Fabric Cluster.
Set Cluster Workload Manager to Custom.
Under Nodes, select a node type, a Plan Variant, and a plan from Plan Selection.
To use an existing template for the nodes instead, click Use Instance Template, select a template, then click Use Template.
Under Cluster Location, select a location.
Under Cluster Size, set Minimum Number of Nodes and Desired Number of Nodes. The minimum is 1 node.
Under Image Type / Source, select the Operating System, Snapshot, or Marketplace App tab, then select an image.
Under Head Node, select a node type, a Plan Variant, and a plan for the head node.
To use an existing template for the head node instead, click Use Instance Template, select a template, then click Use Template.
Under Connectivity and Network, select Public Instance(s), Public Instance(s) with VPC network, or Private Instance(s) behind NAT Gateway.
If you selected a VPC option, select one or more VPC networks from the list. For Private Instance(s) behind NAT Gateway, the list shows only VPC networks that have a NAT Gateway in the selected location.
To create a new VPC network, click Create VPC Network, then complete the Create VPC Network panel:
Enter a Name.
Optionally, turn on Custom IP Range, enter an IPv4 Network Address, and select a Network Prefix of 16, 20, 24, 28, or Custom for any value from 16 to 28.
Click Create VPC Network. A VPC network with a NAT Gateway is billed monthly.
(Optional) To attach existing file systems, turn on File Systems under Advanced Configuration, then select one or more file systems from the list.
(Optional) To attach a new file system, turn on File Systems under Advanced Configuration, then:
Click Create File System.
Enter a VFS Label and the size in gigabytes, then click Create File System.
Select the new file system from the list.
(Optional) To add existing SSH keys, turn on SSH Keys under Advanced Configuration, then select one or more keys from the list.
(Optional) To add a new SSH key, turn on SSH Keys under Advanced Configuration, then:
Click Add SSH Key.
Enter a Key Name and paste your public key into Public SSH Key Contents, then click Add SSH Key.
Select the new key from the list.
Click Create Cluster.
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