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Overview

An ISO file is a disk image of an optical disc that contains a large number of compressed data files. The ISO file can be used only after it is decompressed using a tool. For example, you can use a virtual CD-ROM to open an ISO file, or burn the ISO file to the optical disc and then use the CD-ROM to read the image.

This section describes how to create a Linux system disk image using an ISO file.

This section is applicable only to the management console. If you are an API user, see Creating an Image from an ISO File.

Creation Process

Figure 1 shows the process of creating a Linux system disk image from an ISO file.

Figure 1 Creating a Linux system disk image

The procedure is as follows:

  1. Register an ISO file as an ISO image.

    On the management console, register the prepared ISO file as an image. The image is an ISO image and cannot be used to provision ECSs. For details, see Registering an ISO File as an ISO Image.

  2. Create a temporary ECS from the ISO image.

    Use the registered ISO image to create a temporary ECS. The ECS has no OS or driver installed. For details, see Creating a Linux ECS from an ISO File.

  3. Install an OS and drivers for the temporary ECS and complete related configurations.

    The operations include installing an OS, installing native Xen and KVM drivers, configuring NIC attributes, and deleting files in the network rule directory. For details, see Installing a Linux OS and 1 in Configuring the ECS and Creating a Linux System Disk Image.

  4. Create a system disk image from the temporary ECS.

    On the management console, create a system disk image from the temporary ECS on which the installation and configuration have been complete. After the image is created, delete the temporary ECS to avoid additional fees. For details, see 2.

Constraints

The ISO image created from an ISO file is used only for creating a temporary ECS and is unavailable on the ECS console. That is, you cannot use it to create ECSs or change ECS OSs. You need to install an OS on the temporary ECS and use the ECS to create a system disk image which can be used to create ECSs or change ECS OSs. (The temporary ECS has limited functions and you are not advised to use it as a normal ECS.)