Merge branch 'main' of github.com:nerc-project/nerc-docs into openshift_virtualization_contents

Author: Milstein

docs/get-started/cost-billing/how-pricing-works.md

@@ -227,4 +227,137 @@ and a transparent relationship with us.
 If you have any some common questions or need further information, see our
 [Billing FAQs](billing-faqs.md) for comprehensive answers.
 
+## SU Conservation - How to Save Cost?
+
+With SUs being the primary metric for resource consumption, it's crucial to actively
+manage your workloads when they're not in use.
+
+Below are practical ways to conserve SUs across different NERC services:
+
+### NERC OpenStack
+
+Once you're logged in to [NERC's Horizon dashboard](https://stack.nerc.mghpcc.org).
+
+Navigate: Project -> Compute -> Instances.
+
+After launching an instance (On the left side bar, click on
+_Project -> Compute -> Instances_), several options are available under the
+Actions menu located on the right hand side of your screen as shown here:
+
+![Instance Management Actions](images/instance_actions.png)
+
+**Shelve your VM when not in use**:
+
+In [NERC OpenStack](../../openstack/index.md), if your VM does not need to run
+continuously, you can **shelve** it to free up consumed resources such as vCPUs,
+RAM, and disk. This action releases all allocated resources while preserving the
+VM's state.
+
+- Click _Action -> Shelve Instance_.
+
+- Releases all computing resources (i.e., vCPU, RAM, and disk).
+
+- We strongly recommend detaching volumes before shelving.
+
+- Status will change to `Shelved Offloaded`.
+
+You can later **unshelve** the VM without needing to recreate it - allowing you
+to reduce costs without losing any progress.
+
+- To unshelve the instance, click _Action -> Unshelve Instance_.
+
+For more details on *shelving a VM*, see the explanation [here](../../openstack/management/vm-management.md#instance-management-actions).
+
+### NERC OpenShift
+
+**Scale your pods to 0 replicas**:
+
+In [NERC OpenShift](../../openshift/index.md), if your application or job is idle,
+you can scale its pod replica count to **0**. This effectively frees up compute
+resources (CPU, GPU, and RAM) while retaining the configuration, environment settings,
+and persistent volume claims (PVCs) for future use.
+
+#### Using Web Console
+
+1. Go to the [NERC's OpenShift Web Console](https://console.apps.shift.nerc.mghpcc.org).
+
+2. Click on the **Perspective Switcher** drop-down menu and select **Developer**.
+
+3. Click the pod or application you want to scale to see the _Overview_ panel to
+    the right.
+
+4. In the **Details** tab (usually the *default* tab when you open the deployment):
+
+5. Look for the Pod count or Replicas section.
+
+6. Use the up/down arrows next to the number to adjust the replica count.
+
+7. Set it to **0** by clicking down arrow as shown below:
+
+    ![Scaling Pod to 0](images/scale-0-pod.png)
+
+8. OpenShift will automatically scale down the pods to 0.
+
+When you need to run your application again, you can scale up the pod count or
+replicas to reclaim the necessary resources.
+
+#### Using the OpenShift `oc` CLI
+
+##### Prerequisite
+
+-   Install and configure the **OpenShift CLI (oc)**, see [How to Setup the
+    OpenShift CLI Tools](../../openshift/logging-in/setup-the-openshift-cli.md)
+    for more information.
+
+    !!! info "Information"
+
+        Some users may have access to multiple projects. Run the following command to
+        switch to a specific project space: `oc project <your-project-namespace>`.
+
+    Please confirm the correct project is being selected by running `oc project`,
+    as shown below:
+
+        oc project
+        Using project "<your_openshift_project_where_pod_deployed>" on server "https://api.shift.nerc.mghpcc.org:6443".
+
+If your application or job is idle, you can scale your pod's replica count to
+**0** by running the following `oc` command:
+
+```sh
+oc scale deployment <your-deployment> --replicas=0
+```
+
+When you need to run your application again, you can scale up the pod count or
+replicas to reclaim the necessary resources by running:
+
+```sh
+oc scale deployment <your-deployment> --replicas=1
+```
+
+### NERC RHOAI
+
+**Toggle the Workbench to "Stopped"**:
+
+In [NERC Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)](../../openshift-ai/index.md), workbench
+environments can be toggled between **Running** and **Stopped** states.
+
+1. Go to the [NERC's OpenShift Web Console](https://console.apps.shift.nerc.mghpcc.org).
+
+2. After logging in to the NERC OpenShift console, access the NERC's Red Hat OpenShift
+AI dashboard by clicking the application launcher icon (the black-and-white
+icon that looks like a grid), located on the header.
+
+3. When you've completed a workload such as model development or experimentation
+using the [Data Science Project (DSP)](../../openshift-ai/data-science-project/using-projects-the-rhoai.md)
+**Workbench**, you can stop the compute resources by toggling the status from
+**Running** to **Stopped**, as shown below:
+
+    ![Toggle Workbench](images/toggle-workbench.png)
+
+    This action immediately releases the compute resources allocated to the notebook
+    environment within the Workbench setup.
+
+    When you need to run your workbench again, just toggle its status back from
+    **Stopped** to **Running**.
+
 ---

docs/get-started/cost-billing/images/instance_actions.png

@@ -97,9 +97,9 @@ openstack server rebuild --image my-snapshot test-nerc-0
 
 #### Using Horizon dashboard
 
-Once you're logged in to NERC's Horizon dashboard, you can create a snapshot via
-the "Compute -> Instances" page by clicking on the "Create snapshot" action button
-on desired instance as shown below:
+Once you're logged in to [NERC's Horizon dashboard](https://stack.nerc.mghpcc.org),
+you can create a snapshot via the "Compute -> Instances" page by clicking on the
+"Create snapshot" action button on desired instance as shown below:
 
 ![Create Instance Snapshot](images/create-instance-snapshot.png)
 
@@ -237,9 +237,9 @@ openstack volume snapshot delete my-volume-snapshot
 
 #### Using NERC's Horizon dashboard
 
-Once you're logged in to NERC's Horizon dashboard, you can create a snapshot via
-the "Volumes" menu by clicking on the "Create Snapshot" action button
-on desired volume as shown below:
+Once you're logged in to [NERC's Horizon dashboard](https://stack.nerc.mghpcc.org),
+you can create a snapshot via the "Volumes" menu by clicking on the "Create Snapshot"
+action button on desired volume as shown below:
 
 ![Create Volume Snapshot](images/volume-create-snapshot.png)
 

docs/get-started/cost-billing/images/scale-0-pod.png

@@ -13,16 +13,45 @@ from an external volume:
 
 !!! note "Recommendations"
 
-    - The recommended method to create a Windows desktop virtual machine is `boot
-    from volume`, although you can also launch a Windows-based instance following
-    the normal process using `boot from image` as [described here](launch-a-VM.md).
+    - The recommended method for creating a Windows desktop virtual machine is to
+    **boot from volume**. However, you can also launch a Windows-based instance
+    using the standard **boot from image** method, as [described here](launch-a-VM.md).
+    When launching a Windows VM using **boot from image**, please ensure that you
+    have configured a **Security Group** that allows **RDP (port 3389)**, as shown
+    below:
+
+        ![Launch Instance Security Group for RDP](images/security_group_for_rdp.png)
+
+    To access the Windows VM, you must log in via **Remote Desktop**, as
+    [described here](#how-to-add-remote-desktop-login-to-your-windows-instance).
+
+    To configure a password for the **Administrator** user account:
+
+    1. Go to the **Configuration** section during instance launch.
+
+    2. Enter the following PowerShell-based custom script:
+
+        ```powershell
+        #ps1
+
+        net user Administrator '<Your_Own_Admin_Password>'
+        ```
+
+    3. Replace `<Your_Own_Admin_Password>` with your desired password.
+
+    **Note**: Ensure that your script in the "Configuration" section resembles
+    the format shown below:
+
+    ![Setting Administrator Password Custom Script](images/set_windows_administrator_password.png)
+
+    This enables Remote Desktop login for the **Administrator** user account.
 
     - To ensure smooth upgrade and maintenance of the system, select at least
     100 GiB for the size of the volume.
 
     - Make sure your project has sufficient [storage quotas](../../get-started/allocation/allocation-details.md#general-user-view).
 
-### Create a volume from image
+### Create a Bootable Volume from the Existing Windows Image
 
 ### 1. Using NERC's Horizon dashboard
 
@@ -106,14 +135,14 @@ service to the volume service
 "available" means the volume can now be used for booting. A set of volume_image
 meta data is also copied from the image service.
 
-### Launch instance from existing bootable volume
+### Launch instance from existing Bootable Volume
 
 ### 1. Using Horizon dashboard
 
 Navigate: Project -> Volumes -> Volumes.
 
-Once successfully Volume is created, we can use the Volume to launch an instance
-as shown below:
+Once successfully Volume is created by [following this](#create-a-bootable-volume-from-the-existing-windows-image),
+we can use the Bootable Volume to launch an Windows instance as shown below:
 
 ![Launch Instance from Volume](images/launch_instance_from_volume.png)
 
@@ -143,7 +172,7 @@ shown below:
     Make sure to substitute `<Your_Own_Admin_Password>` with your preferred password,
     which will enable Remote Desktop login to the Windows VM.
 
-    ```sh
+    ```powershell
     #ps1
 
     net user Administrator '<Your_Own_Admin_Password>'

docs/get-started/cost-billing/images/toggle-workbench.png

@@ -263,8 +263,8 @@ Our team will review your request and reach out to you to discuss further.
 
 ### Using Horizon dashboard
 
-Once you're logged in to NERC's Horizon dashboard, you can navigate to
-_Project -> Compute -> Instances_.
+Once you're logged in to [NERC's Horizon dashboard](https://stack.nerc.mghpcc.org),
+you can navigate to _Project -> Compute -> Instances_.
 
 You can select the instance you wish to extend or change the flavor. Here, you
 will see several options available under the Actions menu located on the right-hand

docs/openstack/backup/backup-with-snapshots.md

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ up new instances.
 
 ## NERC Images List
 
-Once you're logged in to NERC's Horizon dashboard.
+Once you're logged in to [NERC's Horizon dashboard](https://stack.nerc.mghpcc.org).
 
 Navigate to _Project -> Compute -> Images_.
 

docs/openstack/create-and-connect-to-the-VM/create-a-Windows-VM.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 ## Using Horizon dashboard
 
-Once you're logged in to NERC's Horizon dashboard.
+Once you're logged in to [NERC's Horizon dashboard](https://stack.nerc.mghpcc.org).
 
 Navigate: Project -> Compute -> Instances.
 

docs/openstack/create-and-connect-to-the-VM/flavors.md

@@ -88,9 +88,7 @@ actions are executed through the openstack command with the relevant parameters.
 
     - Click _Action -> Shelve Instance_.
 
-    - When shelved it stops all computing, stores a snapshot of the instance. The
-      shelved instances are already imaged as part of the shelving process and appear
-      in _Project -> Compute -> Images_ as "<Instance_Name>\_shelved".
+    - Releases all computing resources (i.e., vCPU, RAM, and disk).
 
     - We strongly recommend detaching volumes before shelving.