// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * hosted_control_planes/hcp-deploy/hcp-deploy-bm.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: PROCEDURE
[id="hcp-bm-hc-console_{context}"]
= Creating a hosted cluster on bare metal by using the console

[role="_abstract"]
Instead of using the command-line interface to create a hosted cluster on bare metal, you can also use the {product-title} web console.

.Procedure

. Open the {product-title} web console and log in by entering your administrator credentials. For instructions to open the console, see "Accessing the web console".

. In the console header, ensure that **All Clusters** is selected.

. Click **Infrastructure -> Clusters**.

. Click **Create cluster -> Host inventory -> Hosted control plane**.

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The **Create cluster** page is displayed.

. On the **Create cluster** page, follow the prompts to enter details about the cluster, node pools, networking, and automation.

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[NOTE]
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As you enter details about the cluster, you might find the following tips useful:

** If you want to use predefined values to automatically populate fields in the console, you can create a host inventory credential. For more information, see "Creating a credential for an on-premises environment".

** On the *Cluster details* page, the pull secret is your {product-title} pull secret that you use to access {product-title} resources. If you selected a host inventory credential, the pull secret is automatically populated.

** On the *Node pools* page, the namespace contains the hosts for the node pool. If you created a host inventory by using the console, the console creates a dedicated namespace.

** On the *Networking* page, you select an API server publishing strategy. The API server for the hosted cluster can be exposed either by using an existing load balancer or as a service of the `NodePort` type. A DNS entry must exist for the `api.<hosted_cluster_name>.<base_domain>` setting that points to the destination where the API server can be reached. This entry can be a record that points to one of the nodes in the management cluster or a record that points to a load balancer that redirects incoming traffic to the Ingress pods.
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. Review your entries and click **Create**.

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The **Hosted cluster** view is displayed.

. Monitor the deployment of the hosted cluster in the **Hosted cluster** view.

. If you do not see information about the hosted cluster, ensure that **All Clusters** is selected, then click the cluster name.

. Wait until the control plane components are ready. This process can take a few minutes.

. To view the node pool status, scroll to the **NodePool** section. The process to install the nodes takes about 10 minutes. You can also click **Nodes** to confirm whether the nodes joined the hosted cluster.