Launching Your First Instance

Create the VM

1. Sign in at console (change the region to your home region first — free-tier resources live there).
2. Open Compute → Instances → Create instance.
3. Name: e.g. my-vps.
4. Image: keep Oracle Linux or choose Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Canonical).
5. Shape: pick VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro — the always-free AMD option.
6. Networking: let OCI create a VCN + public subnet automatically, and tick Assign a public IPv4 address.
7. Add SSH keys: paste your id_rsa.pub contents — you can never add a password later, only keys, so paste carefully and keep the matching private key.

Get the public IP

Once Running, the instance page shows its Public IP, e.g. 150.136.11.42. Connect from your machine:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/oci_vps ubuntu@150.136.11.42
# first boot housekeeping:
sudo apt update && sudo apt -y upgrade
sudo apt -y install openjdk-17-jre-headless

Keep a record

Save the instance OCID and the compartment OCID — every CLI command needs them. Note that the public IP is ephemeral; the next lesson reserves a static one so a reboot never changes your URL.