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# OS images

> Pick an operating system template for your Cloud VM, or boot from an ISO, snapshot, or backup.

When you deploy a Cloud VM, the **Operating System** picker lets you choose where the boot disk comes from. There are four sources.

## Sources

| Tab           | Use it for                                                                           |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Templates** | Curated, official OS images maintained by IBEE. The fastest path to a clean install. |
| **ISOs**      | Boot from an ISO image — public ISOs in the IBEE catalog, or your own uploaded ISO.  |
| **Snapshots** | Restore a manual recovery point captured from another VM.                            |
| **Backups**   | Restore a scheduled backup recovery point.                                           |

The default is **Templates**. The available images are automatically filtered based on the VM type — Cloud VM templates only appear on the Cloud VM deploy page, and GPU VM templates on the GPU VM deploy page.

## Available templates

The following operating system families are offered as templates:

#### Ubuntu

#### Debian

#### AlmaLinux

#### Rocky Linux

#### Fedora

#### Windows

#### Windows Standard

Pick the family card, then choose a version from the **OS Version** dropdown — for example `Ubuntu 24.04`. The selection is confirmed with a **Selected: \<version>** chip below the dropdown.

## How templates are built

IBEE templates are derived from upstream cloud images and hardened with:

* `cloud-init` for first-boot configuration (hostname, SSH keys, networking).
* `qemu-guest-agent` pre-installed for [Storage Utilization metrics](/docs/infrastructure/cloud-vms/monitoring#storage-and-disk-metrics) and graceful shutdown.
* The official package repositories for the distribution.
* Security updates current to the image release date.

Each template has a stable name like `golden-ubuntu-24-04-base-v1`. The `vN` suffix increments when IBEE refreshes the base image.

## Default credentials

| OS family                  | Default user                         | Login method                                    |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Ubuntu                     | `ubuntu`                             | SSH key                                         |
| Debian                     | `debian`                             | SSH key                                         |
| AlmaLinux / Rocky / Fedora | `cloud-user` (or `rocky` / `fedora`) | SSH key                                         |
| Windows                    | `Administrator`                      | Auto-generated password (delivered via console) |

For Linux, password login is disabled by default — provide an SSH key during deploy ([Create a VM](/docs/infrastructure/cloud-vms/create-a-vm)). For Windows, retrieve the initial password from the **Console** in the IBEE Solutions portal, then change it on first login.

## Switching OS

You can change the OS of an existing VM under **Settings → Change OS**. This rebuilds the root disk from the selected template.

> **Warning**
>
> **Change OS wipes the root disk.** Anything on the root disk is destroyed. Snapshot first, or move important data to a [block storage volume](/docs/infrastructure/block-storage) which survives the rebuild.

## ISOs, snapshots, and backups

For non-template installs:

* **ISOs** — see [ISOs](/docs/tools/isos) for uploading and booting from an ISO.
* **Snapshots** — see [Restore a snapshot](/docs/tools/snapshots/restore-a-snapshot).
* **Backups** — see [Restore from backup](/docs/tools/backups/restore-from-backup).

## Related pages

* [Create a VM](/docs/infrastructure/cloud-vms/create-a-vm)
* [Custom images](/docs/infrastructure/cloud-vms/custom-images)
* [SSH keys](/docs/tools/ssh-keys)