A node is a machine you deploy and manage from ORC8R. Each node has a set amount of CPU, memory, and disk, runs an operating system, and can have apps installed on it. This page explains the states a node moves through, what the agent is, and the everyday actions you can take.
Where to find your nodes
Click Nodes in the top navigation. This is your main dashboard. Nodes are grouped into cards called pools (see Pools), and each card lists the individual nodes inside it along with a colored status dot and a state label.
You can narrow the list down using the controls at the top of the page:
- Filter by Project... shows only nodes from a chosen project.
- Search pool or node name... finds a node or pool by name.
- The Pools and Nodes dropdowns filter by status (for example, show only online nodes).
What a node's state means
A node moves through several states from the moment you request it to the moment it is gone. The colored dot next to each node and the small label tell you where it is. Hover over the dot to see a short description.
| State you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| baking | The node is preparing a reusable pool image (see Pools). |
| starting | The node has been created and is booting up, waiting for its agent to connect. |
| online | The node is up and reachable. This is the healthy, running state. |
| offline | The node is not currently reachable. |
| terminating | The node is being shut down and removed. |
| destroying | The node's underlying machine is being deleted. |
| destroy-blocked | Deleting the machine failed and ORC8R is retrying. |
| ended | The node has been fully removed. |
You do not need to memorise these. In everyday use you mostly care about three: a node is online when it is ready, offline if something is wrong, and moves through terminating and ended when you remove it.
What the agent is
The agent is a small program ORC8R installs on every node; it connects the machine back to ORC8R so the node can report its status and receive apps. When a node shows starting, it is waiting for its agent to connect; once the agent is up the node becomes online.
Creating nodes
You do not create nodes one at a time. Instead you make a request that defines a pool, and ORC8R creates the nodes for you. To start, click New Request on the Nodes page (or Request first node if you have none yet). The full walkthrough is in the Quickstart, and pools are explained in Pools.
Everyday actions
Open a node's details
Click a node's name to open its detail view. There are three tabs:
- Logs shows the node's recent activity. This is the first place to look if a node is not behaving as expected.
- Terminal opens a command-line session to the node directly in your browser. Use it for troubleshooting only. Any changes you make by hand are lost if the node is rebuilt, so do not rely on it for permanent configuration.
- Audit lists the history of events for that node.
Terminate or rebuild a node
Each node row has an action in its Actions column:
- For most pools, this rebuilds the node: ORC8R replaces it with a fresh one so the pool keeps the size you asked for.
- For self-hosted or one-off pools, this terminates the node: it is shut down and removed for good.
Terminating is only available once a node has reached a stable state (online, offline, or terminating).
Connect a self-hosted node
If a pool accepts your own machines (a self-hosted pool), its card shows a Connect button. Clicking it gives you a one-time install command to run on the machine you want to add. See Providers for how self-hosted pools work.
Export your node list
Click Export on the Nodes page to download a nodes.csv file of the nodes currently shown, including any filters you have applied. This is handy for reporting or sharing a snapshot.
Related pages
- Pools — how nodes are grouped and scaled.
- Projects — the workspace your pools live in.
- Quickstart — request your first node step by step.