> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://datum-4926dda5-docs-compute-and-vpc-guides.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Compute quickstart
> Deploy a public container image to Dallas and reach it through Datum's ALB, then clean up.
In this quickstart, you deploy a small web server from a public container image to the Dallas location, reach it through Datum's Application Load Balancer (ALB), and then delete it.
The quickstart uses the `general-purpose` runtime class, which runs standard container images without changes, and the public `docker.io/traefik/whoami` image, which replies to each request with details about the request.
Compute is in preview, and the `v1alpha` API can change. Your project needs approved access to Compute before you can deploy, and Datum reviews access requests manually.
## Before you begin
* Create a Datum Cloud account, an organization, and a project. For more information, see [Account setup](/platform/setup).
* Install `datumctl` and run `datumctl login`. For more information, see the [datumctl quickstart](/datumctl/quickstart).
* Make sure that you have permission to create compute and networking resources in the project, for example, through the **Compute Admin** and **Network Admin** roles.
* Install `curl` to test the URL.
## Set up your project
Complete these steps once for each project that runs Compute workloads. Other Compute guides assume that you've completed them.
Compute commands run against a project. To make your project the active context, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl ctx use ORG_ID/PROJECT_ID
```
Replace the following:
* `ORG_ID`: the ID of your organization.
* `PROJECT_ID`: the ID of your project.
To pick a project from a list instead, run `datumctl ctx use` with no arguments.
The `compute` commands come from a plugin in the official Datum catalog. To install the plugin, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl plugin install compute
```
For more information about plugins, see [Using plugins](/datumctl/plugins/using-plugins).
To request access for your project and wait for a decision, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl compute access request --wait
```
Datum approves requests manually, so the wait can outlast the command's default 30-minute timeout. If the command times out, run `datumctl compute access` to check the state of your request. Continue when the status is `Active`.
## Deploy and publish a workload
To deploy the image to Dallas (`us-central-1`) and publish it on a public URL, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl compute deploy hello \
--image=docker.io/traefik/whoami:v1.11 \
--runtime-class=general-purpose \
--location=us-central-1 \
--http-port=80
```
The flags do the following:
* `--image`: the container image to run. Compute requires the registry host in the image reference, such as `docker.io`.
* `--runtime-class=general-purpose`: runs the image as a standard container in a lightweight virtual machine. Without this flag, Datum uses the `unikernel` class, which needs a specially packaged image.
* `--location=us-central-1`: runs one Instance in Dallas.
* `--http-port=80`: attaches Datum's [ALB](/alb/overview) to the workload and publishes port `80` of the container on it.
The command asks you two questions:
1. The first time you deploy in a project, the command asks whether to create a network named `default`. Enter `y`.
2. The command prints a plan and asks `Apply? (Y/n)`. Enter `y`.
The command then creates the workload, waits for the Instance to start, and publishes the URL. The first deploy can take a few minutes. The output is similar to the following:
```text theme={null}
Resolving workload "hello" in project PROJECT_ID...
Network "default" does not exist in project PROJECT_ID.
Create it now? (Y/n): y
network/default created
Placement "default": locations=[us-central-1], min=1
Runtime class: general-purpose
Network: default
HTTP service: port 80 → Datum-managed URL
Datum terminates TLS; serve plain HTTP on this port.
Apply? (Y/n): y
workload/hello created
Saved workload.yaml
Waiting for rollout. Ctrl-C to detach (rollout continues in background).
PLACEMENT LOCATION UPDATED READY OLD PHASE
default us-central-1 0 0 0 Pending
default us-central-1 1 0 0 Updating
default us-central-1 1 1 0 Done
Rollout complete in DURATION.
Publishing...
Backends 1 healthy across us-central-1
Edge programmed
Certificate issued
https://stark-raven-b7k2m.datumproxy.net
```
The rollout table adds a row each time the location's progress changes, so your rows can differ. `DURATION` is how long the rollout took.
The last line is the hostname of the ALB that `--http-port` attached to the workload. Your hostname is different. The command also saves the workload definition to `workload.yaml` in the current directory.
To call your workload, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
curl WORKLOAD_URL
```
Replace `WORKLOAD_URL` with the URL from the last line of the deploy output, such as `https://stark-raven-b7k2m.datumproxy.net`.
The response lists the Instance's hostname and IP addresses, followed by the request that the Instance received. The request section is similar to the following:
```text theme={null}
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: stark-raven-b7k2m.datumproxy.net
User-Agent: curl/8.7.1
Accept: */*
```
If `curl` reports that it can't resolve the host, wait a minute and try again. A new hostname can take a few minutes to resolve.
To list the workloads in your project, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl compute workloads
```
The output is similar to the following:
```text theme={null}
NAME LOCATIONS HEALTH READY UP-TO-DATE PLACEMENTS IMAGE AGE URL
hello us-central-1 Available 1/1 1/1 default traefik/whoami:v1.11 3m https://stark-raven-b7k2m.datumproxy.net
1 workloads — 1 Available, 0 Degraded, 0 Unavailable, 0 Unknown
```
To list the workload's Instances, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl compute instances --workload=hello
```
The output is similar to the following:
```text theme={null}
NAME WORKLOAD LOCATION INTERNAL IP TYPE AGE STATUS
hello-default-us-central-1-0 hello us-central-1 fd20:4a3b:91c2:1::1:0:2 sandbox 3m Available
1 instances — 1 Available, 0 Pending, 0 Failed
```
The `INTERNAL IP` column shows the Instance's private IPv6 address on the `default` network.
## Clean up
To avoid using your project's compute quota, delete the resources that you created by following these steps:
1. To delete the workload, its Instance, and its ALB, run the following command:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl compute destroy hello
```
2. Review the summary that the command prints.
3. Enter `y` to confirm. The command prints `workload/hello deleted.`
4. Optional: If you don't plan to deploy more workloads, delete the `default` network:
```bash theme={null}
datumctl delete network default
```
## What's next
* To learn what else you can set on a container workload, see [Run a container image](/compute/containers).
* To package your own app as a fast-starting unikernel, see [Build and deploy a unikernel](/compute/unikernels).
* To run in more locations or with more Instances, see [Placement and scaling](/compute/placement-and-scaling).
* To serve the workload on your own domain, see [Publish a workload](/compute/publish-workloads).