Purchasing a FlexusL Instance

Scenarios

This section describes how to purchase a FlexusL instance.

You can configure the region, image, instance specifications, required duration, and other parameters for your FlexusL instances based on your service requirements.

Constraints

If you want to create a FlexusL instance from a private image, learn about the restrictions on using private images.

**Table 1** Restrictions on private images of FlexusL instances
Item	Description
Region	The FlexusL instance and private image must be in the same region, or no private image is available for the FlexusL instance. Therefore, before creating a FlexusL instance from a private image, create a private image in the region where the target FlexusL instance resides.
Server architecture	Only x86 is supported.
Image type	Only system disk private images are supported. Data disk private images and full-server private images are not supported. Linux system disk images only support the following image sources: free public Linux images provided by Huawei Cloud, images created from FlexusL instances that are created using application images, and third-party private images you have imported. Other billed Linux images created from KooGallery images are not supported. Windows system disk images with the Bring Your Own License (BYOL) license are supported. NOTE: FlexusL instances do not support full-server images. If you want to migrate an entire server to a FlexusL instance, use Server Migration Service (SMS). For details, see Migrating Servers Using Server Migration Service (SMS).
Password reset plug-in	If a private image is created from a server on another cloud platform or downloaded from a third party, the private image may fail to be used to create a FlexusL instance or change the OS of an instance because the password reset plug-in is not installed on the image or the onekey_resetpasswd tag is missing. For details, refer to What Should I Do If a Private Image Cannot Be Used to Create a FlexusL Instance or Change the OS of an Instance Because the Password Reset Plug-in Is Not Installed on the Image or the onekey_resetpasswd Tag Is Missing?

Preparations

Before purchasing a FlexusL instance, sign up for a HUAWEI ID and enable Huawei Cloud services. For details, see Signing Up a HUAWEI ID and Enabling Huawei Cloud Services and Completing Real-Name Authentication.
If you have enabled Huawei Cloud services and completed real-name authentication, skip this step.
Ensure that your account has sufficient balance. If not, top up your account.

3. Before using a private image to create a FlexusL instance, use Image Management Service (IMS) to create an image first.

Before creating images, make sure you have learned about the restrictions on private images of FlexusL instances.

**Table 2** Creating an image using IMS
Scenario	Description	Related Operations
Scenario 1	If your private image is created from a FlexusL instance, FlexusX instance, or ECS, it can be used in the current region. If you want to use the private image in another region, replicate the image to the region where you want to use it first.	Creating a System Disk Image from a Windows ECS Creating a System Disk Image from a Linux ECS Replicating Images Across Regions
Scenario 2	If your private image is created on another cloud platform or downloaded from a third party, import the private image using IMS. Refer to the operation guide based on the image file format: External image files can be in any of the following formats: VMDK, VHD, QCOW2, RAW, VHDX, QED, VDI, QCOW, ZVHD2, and ZVHD. ISO files.	Creating a Linux System Disk Image from an External Image File Creating a Linux System Disk Image from an ISO File Creating a Windows System Disk Image from an External Image File Creating a Windows System Disk Image from an ISO File
Scenario 3	If you want to use a private image of another Huawei account, ask the account owner to share the image with you and replicate the shared image as a private image.	Sharing Images Replicating a Shared Image

Procedure

Follow the steps below to purchase a FlexusL instance.

Click Buy FlexusL and specify parameters for the FlexusL instance.

Parameter	Description
Region	For low network latency and quick resource access, select the region nearest to your target users. After a FlexusL instance is created, the region cannot be changed. Exercise caution when selecting a region. NOTE: By default, all FlexusL instances created by the same account in the same region are located in the same VPC. They can communicate with each other over a private network. FlexusL instances that are created by different accounts or located in different regions cannot communicate with each other over a private network.
Image	FlexusL provides OS images, a rich variety of application images, and private images for you to select. Before using a private image, you need to learn about the restrictions on private images of FlexusL instances first and then create a private image. For details, see Images Supported by FlexusL Instances.
Instance specifications	You can select instance specifications based on your service requirements. Outbound traffic exceeding the traffic package is billed. For details, see Billing. NOTE: If you use a private image, ensure that the image specifications are appropriate for creating this instance, or the instance creation or start may fail.
(Optional) Instance name	You can customize your instance name. If this parameter is left blank, the instance name is in the default format: image name-region-random number. In a batch creation, a hyphen followed by an incremental number is added to the end of each instance name by default.
(Optional) Associated service resources	You can associate the following service resources with your FlexusL instance as needed: data disks (EVS), host security (HSS basic edition), and cloud backup vaults (CBR). NOTE: If you do not select Data Disk (EVS) during the purchase process, you can purchase it afterwards at the same price.
Required duration	The minimum duration of a purchase is one month and the maximum duration is three years. Auto-renew is enabled by default, which means the purchased FlexusL instances will be automatically renewed before they expire. If you do not enable auto-renew during the purchase process, you can still enable it later after the instances are created. Monthly subscription: auto-renews for 1 month every time Yearly subscription: auto-renews for 1 year every time For details about auto-renewal, see Auto-Renewal Rules.
Quantity	Set the number of FlexusL instances to be purchased.

Click Buy Now.
On the displayed page, confirm the order details, read and select the agreement, and click Submit.
Select a payment method and complete the payment.
Go back to the FlexusL console and view the purchased FlexusL instance.

After a FlexusL instance is created using an application image, wait until the image with the pre-installed application is up and running. Then, you can perform operations such as restarting or stopping the instance, or resetting the password. Otherwise, the installation may fail and you cannot log in to the image application dashboard.

Follow-Up Operations

When a FlexusL instance is being created, the initial password for logging in to the server is not set by default. Set a password first and then log in to the FlexusL instance.
If you select an application image when creating a FlexusL instance, you can log in to the visual dashboard of the image application for quick configuration. For details, see Best Practices for FlexusL.
If you select an OS image when creating a FlexusL instance, you need to set up an environment by yourself. You can see Creating an Nginx Server Using the CentOS Image or Setting Up Websites for reference.

When you set up the environment by referring to Setting Up Websites, ensure that the OS image version used by the FlexusL instance is the same as that in the tutorial to prevent command execution failures caused by version incompatibility.