Virtual Machines

Introduction

The Virtual Machines page is where you create and manage compute instances on Hippius. Every VM runs inside an AMD SEV-SNP enclave, a hardware encrypted memory boundary that keeps your workloads private even from the host infrastructure.

From this page you can launch new VMs, start, stop, reboot, and delete existing ones, connect via SSH, and manage the SSH keys tied to your account.

Reach Virtual Machines from the sidebar at

Confidential Computing

→

Virtual Machines

.

Beta Access Required

Virtual Machines is currently only available to beta users. To request access, contact the Hippius team. If your account doesn't have access yet, the page shows a waiting list state instead of the create flow.

For the technical details on how AMD SEV-SNP enclaves work, see Confidential Computing.

Navigating the Page

The page has three tabs:

• Instances: all the VMs you've created, with their status, Nebula IP, and actions.
• Templates: a read only grid of available VM sizes and their per hour credit costs. Browse this to choose a size before creating a VM.
• SSH Keys: the public keys registered to your account. You'll need at least one before you can create a VM.

Choosing a VM Size

Before creating a VM, check the Templates tab to find the size that fits your workload. Templates are grouped into tiers:

Tier	Templates
Starter	Spark, Pulse
Standard	Cipher, Vault
High capacity	Fortress, Titan, Sovereign

Each template card shows CPU cores, RAM, storage, and the hourly credit cost.

Creating a VM

Minimum credit balance required

You need at least 10 credits in your account before you can launch a VM. Top up from Billing if needed.

1. Click + New VM in the top right corner.
2. Click Set Up Virtual Machine on the template card you want, or browse the Templates tab first and pick one from there.

Step 1: Configure

1. Enter a name for your instance.
2. Select an Operating System.
3. Select an Image for the OS you picked.
4. (Optional) Pick an Application to pre install, such as Docker.
5. Select an SSH Key for access. If you don't have one yet, click Create New SSH Key (see Managing SSH Keys below).
6. Click Next.

Step 2: Review and Launch

Confirm the template, OS, image, application, and the hourly cost. Click Create Virtual Machine to launch, or Go Back to adjust anything.

The VM appears in the Instances tab in the Pending state and transitions through Starting → Running over the next minute or two. Click the refresh icon to check for status updates.

Managing Instances

Each VM row in the Instances tab has an action menu (three dots):

• Start: available when the instance is stopped. The VM begins booting.
• Stop: gracefully shuts down the VM. Stopped VMs don't accrue runtime charges, but storage charges still apply.
• Reboot: restarts the VM without deleting it.
• Delete: permanently removes the VM and all its data. This cannot be undone.

Each action opens a confirmation dialog before doing anything.

Access Console

Direct in browser console access is coming soon. For now, use SSH to connect to your VM.

Connecting via SSH

Once your VM status shows Running, you can connect from your terminal.

Find the Nebula IP in the Instances table. That's the address you SSH into. The default username for every Hippius VM is hippius.

macOS / Linux:

ssh hippius@nebula_ip

Windows (PowerShell):

ssh hippius@nebula_ip

If your SSH key is in a non default location, add the -i flag:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 hippius@nebula_ip

SSH Troubleshooting

Permission denied (publickey): Check that you added the correct public key to Hippius and that you're connecting with the matching private key. Ensure private key permissions are tight: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.

Connection timeout: Verify the VM status is Running and the Nebula IP is copied directly from the instance row. Check that your firewall isn't blocking outbound port 22.

Wrong username: The default user is hippius, not root, ubuntu, or your own username.

Managing SSH Keys

SSH keys are managed in the SSH Keys tab. You need at least one registered key before you can create a VM.

note

Only OpenSSH public keys are accepted (ssh-rsa, ssh-ed25519, etc.). Never paste your private key.

Adding a Key

1. Open the SSH Keys tab.
2. Click + New SSH Key.
3. Enter a Key Name and paste your OpenSSH public key.
4. Click Create Key.

Generating a New Key Pair

If you don't have an SSH key yet, generate one on your computer:

macOS / Linux: open Terminal and run:

ssh-keygen

Accept the default file location (~/.ssh/id_ed25519) and optionally set a passphrase. To see your public key afterwards:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Windows: open PowerShell and run:

ssh-keygen

Accept the default location (C:\Users\username\.ssh\id_ed25519). To see your public key:

type C:\Users\username\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub

Copy the entire output. That's what you paste into Hippius.

Deleting a Key

Open the action menu on any key row and select Delete SSH Key, then confirm. You cannot delete a key that is currently attached to a running VM.

Where to next

• Billing: top up credits to launch and run VMs.
• Confidential Computing: how AMD SEV-SNP enclaves work.
• Wallet: fund your account with hAlpha.