Help Center/ Image Management Service/ Getting Started/ Scenario 1: Creating a System Disk Image from a Windows ECS
Updated on 2024-07-12 GMT+08:00
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Scenario 1: Creating a System Disk Image from a Windows ECS

If you have created and configured an ECS based on your service requirements (such as installing software and deploying an application environment), you can create a system disk image from the configured ECS. Then, any new ECSs created from this image will come with all the same software and other details preconfigured.

This guide describes how to create a system disk image from a Windows ECS.

Step 1: Preparations

  1. Log in to the management console. In the service list, choose Compute > Elastic Cloud Server.
  2. Locate the target ECS and click Remote Login.
  3. Perform the following operations on the ECS:
    • Delete sensitive data from the ECS to prevent data leaks.
    • Check the network configuration of the ECS and ensure that DHCP is configured for the ECS NICs. Enable remote desktop connection if needed. For details, see Setting the NIC to DHCP and Enabling Remote Desktop Connection.
    • Check whether Cloudbase-Init has been installed in the ECS. After Cloudbase-Init is installed, user data can be injected into the new ECSs created from the image of this ECS. For example, you can use data injection to set the password of a new ECS. For details, see Installing and Configuring Cloudbase-Init.
    • Check and install PV and VirtIO drivers in the ECS so that the new ECSs created from the image of this ECS support both KVM and XEN virtualization and that the network performance will be improved. For details, see Installing PV Drivers and Installing VirtIO Drivers.
    • Run Sysprep on the ECS so that each of the new ECSs created from the image of this ECS has a unique SID in a domain. In a cluster, each ECS must have a unique SID. For details, see Running Sysprep.

Step 2: Create a Windows System Disk Image

  1. Select the ECS and in the Operation column choose More > Manage Image > Create Image.
  2. In the Image Type and Source area, select Create Image for Type and System disk image for Image Type.
  3. In the Image Information area, enter basic information about the image, such as the image name, enterprise project, and any tags you want to add.
  4. Read and agree to the image disclaimer. Click Next.
  5. Confirm the parameter settings and click Submit.
  6. Go back to the private image list and view the image status.

    The time required for creating an image depends on the image file size, network status, and number of concurrent tasks. When the image status changes to Normal, the image is created successfully.

Follow-up Procedure

After a system disk image is created, you can use it to create an ECS or change the OS of an existing ECS. This way, you can migrate data from a server to another. For details, see:

For more information, see Creating a System Disk Image from a Windows ECS.