Customer Portal
The Customer Portal is the self-service interface for end users. It allows clients to register an account, browse and purchase virtual machines, manage their subscriptions, and raise support tickets - without requiring direct contact with the administrator.
The Customer Portal can be browsed without signing in, as long as it is not in maintenance mode. If the portal shows a maintenance screen, initial Admin Portal setup has not been completed. See the Admin Portal Quick Start for the steps required to bring it out of maintenance mode.
Quick Start
Step 1 - Create an Account
Navigate to the Customer Portal home page and click Register in the top-right corner. Complete the two-page registration form, accept the Terms and Conditions, and verify your email address using the one-time password (OTP) sent to you. Once verified, your account is active and you are signed in automatically.
If you already have an account, click Login instead and enter your credentials.
Purchase Products
Step 1 - Browse the Marketplace
Navigate to Marketplace → Products and Services, or scroll to the products section on the home page. The page lists all products published by your service provider. Select a product to view the virtual machine configurations available under it.
Step 2 - Configure Your Machine
Select a virtual machine from the product listing. Set your desired Disk, Memory, CPU, and Duration values. The values shown are minimums - you can increase any of them here, and they can also be upgraded after purchase from the My Products section.
Step 3 - Complete Payment
Select a payment method - OZOW, PayFast, PayPal, or PesaPal - and complete the checkout. Once payment is confirmed, the virtual machine is provisioned and appears immediately in your Products section.
Product Management
Navigate to My Products in the top-right menu and open the Products tab to view all active subscriptions. Click any active product to view its details and available actions.
Available Actions
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| View / Access | Open a browser-based terminal or remote session directly into the virtual machine |
| Start / Stop | Power the virtual machine on or off on demand |
| Snapshot | Capture the current disk state as a point-in-time restore point, without affecting the running machine |
| Backup | Create a full backup of the machine. The backup becomes the new active machine; the previous live machine moves to Archives where it can be restored if needed |
| Upgrade | Increase the compute, memory, or storage allocation for the machine |
| Delete | Permanently remove the virtual machine and release all associated resources |
Before using Backup: the backup image replaces your currently running machine - it is not a silent background copy. Your previous live machine is moved to Archives and can be restored from there if needed.
Purchases
Navigate to My Products → Purchase History to view a record of all transactions on your account. Each entry shows the product name, order date, subscription duration, and total amount charged. Click View Receipt on any entry to download a PDF receipt for that transaction.
Archives Management
The Archives section holds virtual machines that were displaced by a backup operation. When you apply a backup to an active product, the backup becomes the new running machine and the previous machine is moved here rather than deleted - giving you the option to recover it.
From Archives you can:
- Restore - make the archived machine your active machine again, replacing the current live instance
- Delete - permanently remove the archived machine and free the associated storage
Ticket Management
Navigate to the Tickets section to view all support tickets you have raised. To open a new request, click Raise a Ticket, fill in the subject and description, and optionally attach a screenshot or supporting image.
Tickets are visible to the administrator in the Admin Portal and are marked Open or Resolved. You will receive a notification when your ticket is resolved.
Profile Management
Navigate to My Profile to update your personal details, including your profile picture, display name, and contact information. Click Update to save any changes.
