This topic describes how to create a subscription instance in scenarios that require only one or two Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances without complex network configurations.

Purchase an instance

  1. Go to the Custom Launch tab.
    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: Networking.
    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 region 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 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 Default value: 1.
    Image Specify an image for the instance.
    • Public Image: Select a pure operating system such as Linux or Windows.
    • Custom Image: Select an operating system deployed with an application environment.

    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, which is 40 GiB in size by default.
    Duration Default value: 1 Month.
  3. In the Networking step, configure the network type, public bandwidth settings, and security group, as shown in the following figure. Then, click Next: System Configurations.
    Security group

    Set the Bandwidth parameter, and use the default settings of the Network Type and Security Group parameters.

    Parameter Description
    Network Type A virtual private cloud (VPC) is created by default.
    Public IP Address Set the public bandwidth. The default value is 1 Mbit/s.
    Security Group A security group is created by default.
  4. In the System Configurations (Optional) step, set the logon password of the instance and click Preview.
    Set a password
  5. Read and select the ECS terms of service and 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 ECS 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, reset the password before you connect to the instance. For more information, see Reset the logon password of an instance.
  1. Go to the Instances page.
  2. Click Connect in the Actions column corresponding to the 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 If you want to use a different method to connect to the ECS instance, see Overview.

Manage an ECS instance

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

You may need to use an instance to deploy an environment or build a website. Common operations:

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

Release an ECS instance

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