Getting Started with CloudNexus

Deploy globally in seconds. Learn how to provision your first infrastructure, configure auto-scaling, and monitor performance.

ℹ️ Information

This guide assumes you have an active CloudNexus account. If you don't have one, sign up to receive $200 in credits.

Prerequisites

Active CloudNexus account with billing configured
API access key (generate under Dashboard → Settings → API Keys)
Node.js 18+ or Python 3.10+ for SDK usage
Basic understanding of DNS, TLS, and load balancing

Quickstart

Provision a production-ready cluster in under 2 minutes using the CLI:

# Install CloudNexus CLI
curl -fsSL https://get.cnex.dev/cli | sh

# Authenticate with your API key
cnex auth login --key cnex_live_sk_4f8a...9d2c

# Deploy your first stack
cnex deploy --region us-east-1 --tier pro --auto-scaling

Installation & Configuration

SDK Integration

Install the official SDK for your preferred language:

# Node.js
npm install @cloudnexus/sdk

# Python
pip install cloudnexus-core

Environment Variables

Configure your runtime environment with these variables:

Variable	Description	Example
`CN_API_KEY`	Primary API authentication token	`cnex_live_sk_x7k2...`
`CN_REGION`	Default deployment region	`us-east-1`
`CN_TIMEOUT`	Request timeout in milliseconds	`3000`

Core Architecture

CloudNexus uses a hierarchical edge-to-core topology to minimize latency and maximize throughput:

Edge Routing
Traffic enters via anycast IPs and is routed to the nearest point of presence (PoP) with lowest latency.

Compute Layer
Stateless workloads are distributed across auto-provisioned VMs or containers with zero cold starts.

Storage & Database
Data replicates synchronously across 3 availability zones with 99.999% durability guarantees.

⚠️ Important

Custom DNS records require propagation times of up to 48 hours. Use cnex dns fast-provision for <60s propagation.

Auto-Scaling Configuration

Define scaling policies in your cnex.config.json:

{
  "scaling": {
    "min_instances": 2,
    "max_instances": 50,
    "target_cpu_utilization": 70,
    "cooldown_seconds": 120
  }
}

💡 Pro Tip

Enable predictive scaling in your dashboard to leverage historical traffic patterns. Reduces cold-start latency by 85%.

Validation & Testing

Verify your deployment with the built-in health checker:

cnex health check --cluster prod-us-east
# Output: ✓ All nodes healthy (3/3)
#        ✓ DNS propagated in 4.2s
#        ✓ TLS certificate valid until 2025-11

Continue to Monitoring & Observability or explore the API Reference for full endpoint documentation.