Elastic Compute Service:Get started with Linux instances

Make preparations

1. Create an account and complete the account information.

   • Create an Alibaba Cloud account. For more information, see Sign up with Alibaba Cloud.

   • Complete real-name verification before you can purchase ECS instances in the Chinese mainland. For more information, see Real-name registration FAQs.

2. (Optional) Alibaba Cloud provides default virtual private clouds (VPCs). If you do not want to use the default VPC in the region where you want to create an ECS instance, create a VPC and a vSwitch.

   For more information, see Create a VPC with an IPv4 CIDR block.

3. (Optional) Alibaba Cloud provides default security groups. If you do not want to use the default security group in the region where you want to create an ECS instance, create a security group.

   For more information, see Create a security group.

Step 1: Create an ECS instance

1. Go to the Custom Launch tab of the instance buy page in the ECS console.

2. On the Custom Launch tab, configure parameters.

   The following table describes the parameters that are used in this topic. For parameters that are not described in this topic, use the default values.

   Step	Parameter	Example	Description
   Basic Configurations	Billing Method	Pay-as-you-go	The pay-as-you-go billing method provides more flexibility in operations. For more information, see Billing overview.
   	Region	Region: China (Hangzhou) Zone: Random	You cannot change the region or zone after the instance is created. Proceed with caution.
   	Instance Type	Family: General-purpose Type g6 Instance Type: ecs.g6.large	Instance types that are available are determined by the region that you select and the resource inventory in the region. You can go to the ECS Instance Types Available for Each Region page to view the instance types available in each region.
   	Image	Type: Public Image Version: Alibaba Cloud Linux 2.1903 LTS 64-bit	After the instance is started, the operating system and application data of the image are copied to the system disk.
   Networking	VPC	[Default]vpc-bp1opxu1zkhn00g****	Select an existing VPC. VPCs whose name contain the [Default] prefix are automatically created in the ECS console.
   	Public IP Address	Select Assign Public IPv4 Address	If you select Assign Public IPv4 Address, the system assigns a public IPv4 address to the instance.
   	Bandwidth Billing	Pay-By-Traffic	If you select Pay-By-Traffic, you are charged based on the amount of traffic that is transmitted over the Internet. For more information, see Public bandwidth.
   	Peak Bandwidth	5 Mbps	None
   	Security Group	[Default]sg-bp1bhjjsoiyx44hd****	Select an existing security group. Security groups whose names contain the [Default] prefix are automatically created in the ECS console.
   System Configurations (Optional)	Logon Credentials	Password	In this topic, Password is selected. In this case, you must configure a password to use to connect to and log on to the instance.
   	Logon Password	Ecs123456	If you set Logon Credentials to Password, you must configure the Logon Password and Confirm Password parameters. When you connect to the instance, you must use the root or ecs-user username and the password that you specify in this section.
   	Instance Name	EcsQuickStart	In this topic, EcsQuickStart is used as the instance name.
   Grouping (Optional)	Tag	ECS:Documentation	If you create multiple instances, we recommend that you add tags to facilitate management.

3. Click Next. In the Preview step, confirm the configurations in the Configurations Selected section or click the icon to modify the configurations.

4. (Optional) Click Save as Launch Template. In the Save as Launch Template dialog box, enter a name and description for the launch template.

   Note

   Save the instance configurations that you made as a launch template. Then, you can create instances by using the template without the need to make the configurations again.

5. Read and select ECS Terms of Service and Product Terms of Service. Then, click the Create Instance or Create Order.

6. In the Created message, click Console to go to the Instances page and view the instance creation progress.

   If the instance is in the Running state, the instance is created. Copy the public IP address of the instance for use to connect to the instance.

Step 2: Add security group rules

If you did not add rules to the default security group or if you added the instance to a new security group when you create the instance, perform the following steps:

1. Click the instance ID to go to the Instance Details page.

2. On the Instance Details page, click the Security Groups tab. Click the ID of a security group to go to the Security Group Details page.

3. In the Access Rule section, click the Inbound tab.

4. Click Quick Add to add security group rules as described in the following table. For parameters that are not described in this topic, use the default values.

   

   Action	Port Range	Authorization Object
   Allow	SSH 22 RDP 3389 HTTP 80 HTTPS 443	0.0.0.0/0

   Note

   • In the Port Range section, select the ports that must be open for the applications that run on the ECS instance. For example, if you want to use SSH and Apache in Step 4: Deploy Apache, select SSH (22) and HTTP (80). Otherwise, the instance does not respond in subsequent operations.

   • 0.0.0.0/0 indicates all CIDR blocks. If you know the IP address of the requester, we recommend that you set Authorization Object to a specific IP address range that contains the IP address.

5. Click OK.

Step 3: Connect to the ECS instance

1. Go back to the Instances page and find the instance to which you want to connect. In this topic, the EcsQuickStart instance is used. In the Actions column, click Remote.

2. In the Remote connection dialog box, click Sign in now in the Workbench section.

3. In the Instance Login dialog box, configure parameters and click OK.

   • Username: Enter your username, such as root or ecs-user.

   • Password: Enter the value of the Logon Password parameter that you configured in the Logon Credentials section when you created the instance.

     

Step 4: Deploy Apache

1. Install Apache.

   yum install -y httpd

2. Start Apache.

   systemctl start httpd

3. Configure Apache to run on system startup.

   systemctl enable httpd

4. Check whether Apache is running.

   systemctl status httpd

   If Apache is running, active (running) is displayed in the command output.

5. Enter http://<Public IP address of the instance> in the address bar of a browser and press the Enter key.

   

Step 5: (Optional) Resolve a domain name

Direct access to Apache by using the public IP address of the instance may compromise server security. If you already have a domain name or if you want to register a domain name for the Apache website, perform the following steps:

1. Register a domain name.

   For more information, see Register a domain name on Alibaba Cloud.

2. Apply for an Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing for the domain name.

   If the website to which the domain name points is hosted on an ECS instance in a region inside the Chinese mainland, you must apply for an ICP filing for the domain name.

3. Resolve the domain name to point to the public IP address of the instance.

   Domain name resolution is a prerequisite for using domain names to access your website. For more information, see Get started with Alibaba Cloud DNS.

4. Use the resolved domain name to access Apache. Example: example.com.

Step 6: (Optional) Release the ECS instance

You can release the instance if you no longer need it. After the instance is released, billing for the instance stops, and data of the instance is lost and cannot be restored.

1. Go back to the Instances page and find the EcsQuickStart instance.

2. In the Actions column, choose More > Instance Status > Release.

3. Set Release Mode to Release Now and click Next.

4. In the Release message, verify the instance information and click OK.

Step 7: View bills

1. In the top navigation bar of the ECS console, choose Expenses > User Center.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Bills > Bill Details. Then, click the Billing Details tab.

3. Set Instance Name to EcsQuickStart and click Search.