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Oracle Cloud allows us to have 2 servers that are completely free and available forever, with minimal services, but they can be helpful for our projects or for testing purposes. It can also be interesting for deploying a Telegram bot How to Create a Telegram Bot (Python).
First of all, we need to go to the Oracle Cloud website: https://www.oracle.com/cloud/
Click on Sign In to Oracle Cloud located at the top right corner.
Now we need to go to the Sign Up section.
Enter the required information.
In the following screens, you will be asked for credit card details. They will not charge you anything, nor store the information. They only use it for verification purposes to prevent multiple accounts. You can find more information about credit card usage here: https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/faq/
Once your account is verified, you need to choose the Frankfurt region to access additional services within the free account.
They also offer $300 for 1 month, but I do not recommend using them unless you plan to use paid services in the future.
After creating the account, you will see this screen:
Now, to create the free machines, we need to go to the Launch Resources section.
Click on Create a VM instance.
In the Image and Shape section, you can choose the image you want (Ubuntu, Debian, Windows, etc.).
By default, Oracle Linux is selected.
I recommend changing it to an image that suits your needs, such as Ubuntu Server.
Now we can generate RSA keys to connect remotely to our machine, or we can upload our own keys.
Save the key pair on your computer (Save Private Key, Save Public Key) to use the private key for SSH connection.
Finally, click on Create.
Now, to find the created machine, go to the Launch Resources section and click on View all Resources.
In the list that appears, choose the name of the Instance you created, which also includes “Instances” and “Always Free”.
Now you can access the machine’s settings and see the IP address to connect to it.
This is located within the Instance Access section.
Now, using your favorite console or even Putty, you can access the instance.
If you want to open ports on the machine, check out this tutorial Opening Ports in Oracle Cloud
