Share an image

You can share your custom images with other users. Through the ECS Management Console or ECS Open API, you can query images shared by other accounts with your own account, and select images shared by other accounts to create ECS instances.

Note:

• Alibaba Cloud does not guarantee the integrity or security of images shared by Alibaba Cloud users. Ensure that you use only images shared by trusted accounts.
• Before using shared images to create ECS instances, log on to the ECS instances to which the shared images belong and verify that the images are secure and complete.
• Before sharing an image, ensure no confidential data is accessible on the disks to be shared.

Considerations

Restrictions

• One image can be shared with a maximum of 50 accounts.
• Shared images do not count towards your image quota.
• Shared images can only be used to create instances in the same region as the source image.
• Only image owners can share images with other accounts.

Impact of deleting shared images

• You can delete a custom image even you have shared it with other accounts. Before deleting the shared image, however, you need to unassociate it from other accounts.
• If you delete an account that has shared a custom image, the users who are using the shared image can no longer find the image through the ECS Management Console or ECS Open API, or use the image to create ECS instances.
• Deleting shared custom images may cause system disk re-initialization to fail for ECS instances created from these images.

Operating procedure

1. Log on to the ECS console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Images.

3. Select a region.

4. Select the image you want to share.
   Note: The image type must be Custom Image.

5. Click Share Image.

6. In the displayed dialog box, select the Account Type and enter the Alibaba Cloud ID of the account you want to share the image with.
   Note: The Account ID can be obtained from the Account Management > Security Settings on the Alibaba Cloud website by logging on to https://account-intl.console.aliyun.com/#/secure.

7. Click Share Image.
   

View accounts using your shared images

You can view which accounts are using your shared images.

To view accounts using your shared images, perform the following:

1. Log on to the ECS console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Images.

3. Select a region.

4. Select the image you want to check.

5. Click Share Image. A list of the accounts using the selected image is displayed.
   

Cancel the sharing of an image

You can cancel the sharing of an image to specific accounts at any time.

Note: When the sharing of an image is cancelled:

• Any accounts currently using the image will no longer be able to use the image. Therefore, you must disassociate the image from other accounts before cancelling it being shared.
• Any instances using the image, including instances of other accounts using the shared image, will not be able to reinitialize the system disk.

Operating procedure

To cancel the sharing of an image, perform the following:

1. Log on to the ECS console.

2. In the left-navigation pane, click Images.

3. Select a region.

4. Select the image you want to cancel sharing.

5. Click Share Image.

6. Click Unshare next to the account with which you want to stop sharing the image.
   

View the shared images you are using

You can view a list of the shared images from other accounts that you are using.

To view a list of the shared images you are using, perform the following:

1. Log on to the ECS console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Images.

3. Select a region.

4. In the image type dropdown, select Shared Image as the Image Type.
   

A list of the shared images you are using will be displayed.