---
title: Zones
description: How NexCMP zones work: the location customers pick when they order, how a zone connects to CloudStack, Proxmox VE, VPN and S3, and when it is ready to sell.
url: https://nexcmp.com/docs/infrastructure/zones/
applies_to: NexCMP 1.6.1
updated: 2026-11-02
---

# Zones

> **Where in the admin:** Infrastructure › Datacenter › Zone (`/infra/zones`). A zone's detail page is `/infra/zones/<id>`.

## What it does

A **zone** is the location a customer chooses when ordering: a country and city with a flag, plus the services sold there. It is a sales concept, separate from the zones, clusters and nodes of the platforms behind it. Behind a zone you attach **infrastructure**: a CloudStack zone, a Proxmox VE cluster, VPN nodes with IP ranges, an S3 backend.

Zone 1 is created by the [setup wizard](https://nexcmp.com/docs/getting-started/setup-wizard/), with the display name and country you entered. Add more zones when you have infrastructure in more places, or to give VPN and S3 their own locations.

## Requirements

| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Permissions | An administrator account. A read-only staff role can look but not change. |
| Infrastructure | A zone sells nothing until something is attached to it (see "Which service sells where" below). |
| Depends on | [CloudStack](https://nexcmp.com/docs/infrastructure/cloudstack/) or [Proxmox VE](https://nexcmp.com/docs/infrastructure/proxmox/) for VMs, [VPN and proxy nodes](https://nexcmp.com/docs/infrastructure/vpn-proxy-nodes/) for VPN, [S3](https://nexcmp.com/docs/infrastructure/s3/) for object storage. |

## Prepare the infrastructure

Not required. A zone is a record inside NexCMP.

## Connect in NexCMP

### Create a zone

1. Open **Infrastructure › Datacenter › Zone** and click **Add zone**.
2. Fill in the form:

   | Field | Example value | Notes |
   |---|---|---|
   | Country | `United States` | Chooses the flag. |
   | City | `New York` | Optional. |
   | Name (Vietnamese), Name (English) | `New York` | The name customers see in each language. |
   | Slug | `us-new-york` | a-z, 0-9, hyphen, 2-32 characters. Filled in from country and city until you type your own. |
   | Visibility | Public | **Public** zones are visible to every customer; **Hidden** zones are only given by an administrator. |
   | Order | `0` | Lower numbers first in lists. |
   | Services sold in this zone | Virtual Machines (VM), VPN, Object Storage (S3) | Tick at least one. |
   | Active | On | **Off** hides the zone from customers. |
   | Default | off | The zone preselected for customers who have not chosen. Exactly one zone is the default. |

      ![Add zone dialog with a country, city, slug and the services ticked](https://nexcmp.com/docs/images/infrastructure/zones-01-add-zone.webp)

3. Click **Create zone**. The list shows the zone with its flag, owner, services, state and counts of VMs, plans and attached infrastructure.

      ![Zone list with the default zone and a second zone](https://nexcmp.com/docs/images/infrastructure/zones-02-list.webp)

### Look at what is attached

Click a row to open the zone. The tab **Provider infrastructure** lists each attached backend with its provider, kind (CloudStack or Proxmox VE), region, state and priority. The tab **VPN infrastructure** lists the VPN ranges and nodes of the zone and links to the VPN pool.

![Zone detail with the Provider infrastructure tab](https://nexcmp.com/docs/images/infrastructure/zones-03-detail.webp)

### Which service sells where

| Service | How it gets into a zone |
|---|---|
| Virtual Machines on CloudStack | The wizard (or **Infrastructure › Cloud provider › CloudStack**) attaches CloudStack to zone 1. |
| Virtual Machines on Proxmox VE | On the cluster's **Clusters** tab, **Attach cluster to zone**. The cluster joins an **existing** zone, normally the one that sells through CloudStack. |
| VPN | A VPN node that reports its public IP ranges creates (or joins) a zone for its country and puts the ranges in the VPN pool. You can also assign the zone and node of a range under **VPN IP pools**. |
| IPv6 Proxy | A new IPv6 proxy node creates its zone in the **off** state. Turn the zone on here so customers can pick it. |
| Object Storage (S3) | Tick the S3 service on the zone, then attach the backend under **Ceph S3 (RGW)**. |

### When can a zone sell virtual machines?

A zone shows the tag **not ready to sell VMs** until it has at least one active, sellable backend **and** at least one visible plan **and** at least one ready template on that backend. The customer order form lists only zones that are ready.

## Verify

1. The zone appears in the list as **On**, with the right flag.
2. Its detail page shows the backend or the VPN ranges you expect.
3. For VMs: the tag **not ready to sell VMs** is gone. In the customer portal, start an order and check that the zone is offered.

## Limits and notes

- In this NexCMP release customers order virtual machines in the **default zone** (zone 1). Other zones are used for VPN, IPv6 Proxy and Object Storage, or to prepare a location before it has infrastructure; the note under the zone list says the same.
- A zone can be deleted only when nothing is attached: no backends, VMs, plans or VPN ranges. The default zone cannot be deleted; make another zone the default first.
- Zones owned by a reseller can only be turned on or off and hidden or shown by you; their other fields are locked.
- The slug is part of internal references. Choose it once.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Zone name is required" / "Select country" / "Select at least 1 service" | A required field is empty | Fill the name, choose the country and tick a service. |
| "Invalid slug (a-z 0-9 -, 2-32 chars)" | The slug has other characters or the wrong length | Use lowercase letters, digits and hyphens only. |
| Tag "not ready to sell VMs" | No active sellable backend, no plan or no ready template in that zone | Attach infrastructure, then add a plan and a template. See [Plans](https://nexcmp.com/docs/catalog/plans/) and [Templates](https://nexcmp.com/docs/infrastructure/templates/). |
| Delete is disabled with "still attached" | The zone has backends, VMs, plans or VPN ranges | Remove or move them first. |
| Delete is disabled with "Default zone" | Zone is the default | Set another zone as default. |
| Customers do not see the zone | It is hidden, inactive, or has no service ticked | Set Visibility to Public, Active to On and tick the service. |
| An S3 zone is missing from the backend form | The S3 service is not ticked on the zone | Edit the zone and tick **Object Storage (S3)**. |