Cleura Cloud Management Panel vs. OpenStack API

You can do many tasks in Cleura Cloud via the Cleura Cloud Management Panel or via the OpenStack API, e.g., with the help of the OpenStack CLI tool. For some tasks, though, you will need the OpenStack API.

But when does it make sense to prefer a particular way of working? What are the reasons, if any, for choosing one method over the other?

The case for Cleura Cloud Management Panel

Ease of use is probably the main reason for choosing the Cleura Cloud Management Panel over the OpenStack API. Provided you have an account in Cleura Cloud, you can simply log in and then follow step-by-step guides to create entities such as networks, servers, or even Kubernetes clusters. You can just as easily perform administrative tasks like creating security groups, setting up region-to-region VPN connections, deleting networks, modifying billing data, or managing invoices.

All in all, there are many instances when the Cleura Cloud Management Panel is all you want and, at the same time, is more than enough for what you want.

The case for OpenStack API

There will be times when working from the terminal of your laptop is preferable to using the Cleura Cloud Management Panel. In cases like this, you will use the OpenStack API via a tool like the OpenStack CLI. Although openstack usually requires some reading before doing a specific task, it doesn’t take much time to get used to its logic for constructing commands to achieve what you want. Plus, there is hardly a thing you can’t do with openstack or a CLI tool that talks to the OpenStack API.

We should also point out that specific tasks can be performed only via the OpenStack API, for there is no counterpart tool in the Cleura Cloud Management Panel toolbox.

For instance, whenever you need to move servers between regions, then openstack is your only option. Another instance where you work with the OpenStack API and various CLI tools, is when you have to interact with the S3 API or the Swift API.

Even though the command syntax of openstack may sometimes look overly complicated, the potential for scripting can speed up many operations considerably. In addition to that, the OpenStack API is employed by configuration management systems and automation platforms like Ansible, and infrastructure as code systems like Terraform and Pulumi.