This topic describes how to create and manage an instance. In scenarios that require only one or two Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances without complex network configurations, you can create a subscription instance by using the ECS console based on this topic.

Create an instance

  1. Go to the Custom Launch tab of the instance buy page.
    Note

    If you have not created an Alibaba Cloud account, create one first. For more information, see Sign up with Alibaba Cloud.

  2. In the Basic Configurations step, configure parameters and click Next.
    Basic Configurations

    The following table describes the parameters of which you must take note. For other parameters that are not described in this table, you can use the default values.

    Parameter Description
    Region Select a region that is close to the geographical location of your customer. This way, you can provide your customer with a higher access speed and lower latency.

    In this example, the China (Hangzhou) region is used.

    Instance Type Select an appropriate instance type.
    • For individual applications, we recommend that you select the ecs.t6-c2m1.large instance type that has 2 vCPUs and 1 GiB memory.
    • For the applications of small and medium-sized enterprises, we recommend that you select the ecs.c5.large instance type that has 2 vCPUs and 4 GiB memory.
    Quantity Accept a default value of 1.
    Image Specify an image for the instance.
    • Public Image: Select a public image. Public images contain a clean operating system without additional software. Public images for Linux and Windows operating systems are provided.
    • Custom Image: Select a custom image. Custom images contain an operating system that is installed with application environments.

    In this example, the Alibaba Cloud Linux 2.1903 64-bit (Quick Start) public image is used.

    Storage Select an ultra disk as the system disk. The default size is 40 GiB.
    Duration Accept a default value of 1 Month.
  3. In the Networking step, configure the public IP address and bandwidth settings, as shown in the following figure. Then, click Next.
    Security group

    In the Public IP Address section, select Assign Public IPv4 Address and specify a public bandwidth value. For the Network Type and Security Group parameters, you can use the default settings.

    Parameter Description
    Network Type A virtual private cloud (VPC) is created by default.
    Public IP Address Specify a public bandwidth value. The default public bandwidth value is 1 Mbit/s.
    Security Group A default security group is created.
  4. In the System Configurations (Optional) step, set the logon password of the instance and click Preview.
    Set a password
  5. In the Preview step, read and select the ECS Terms of Service and Product Terms of Service. Then, click Create Order.
  6. Confirm and pay for the order.
Note For more information about all the parameters, see Create an instance by using the wizard.

Connect to an instance

You can connect to an ECS instance by using the ECS console.
Note The default username of a Linux instance is root and that of a Windows instance is administrator. If you forget your password, you must reset the password before you can connect to the instance. For more information, see Reset the logon password of an instance.
  1. Go to the Instances page in the ECS console.
  2. Click Connect in the Actions column corresponding to an instance.
  3. In the Enter VNC Password dialog box, click Modify VNC Password.
  4. Modify the password. In the Enter VNC Password dialog box, enter your new password and click OK.
  5. On the instance logon page, enter the username and password of the instance.
Note For information about how to use a different method to connect to the ECS instance, see Connection methods.

Use an instance

For more information about how to use ECS instances, see Quick reference.

You may need to deploy an environment or build a website on an instance. You can perform the following common operations on an instance:

For more information about website building tutorials, see Summary of website building methods.

Release an instance

You can manually release a subscription instance after it expires. If you do not renew an expired instance, the instance is automatically released.

Example on how to create and connect to an instance

The following video demonstrates how to create and connect to an instance by using the ECS console.