Copy a custom image across regions for deployment, or change its encryption status within the same region or across regions.
Prerequisites
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A custom image is created. See Create a custom image from an instance or Create a custom image from a snapshot.
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Key Management Service (KMS) is activated (required for encrypted copy only). See Activate KMS.
Background
Use cases
ECS supports two image copy types: standard copy and encrypted copy.
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Standard copy
Standard copy replicates an image to a different region while preserving its encryption status.
Scenario
Description
Steps
Cross-region, same-account deployment
Copy an image to another region. The copied image gets a unique ID, and its tags, resource group, and encryption attributes are set by the copy parameters.
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Select Standard Copy and choose the destination region (this topic).
Cross-region, cross-account deployment
Copy an image to another region, then share it with another Alibaba Cloud account to create ECS instances.
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Select Standard Copy and choose the destination region (this topic).
Same-region, cross-account deployment
Share an image directly with another Alibaba Cloud account to create ECS instances.
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Encrypted copy
Encrypted copy changes the encryption status of a custom image. It takes longer than standard copy.
Scenario
Supported
Non-encrypted image → Encrypted image
Yes
Encrypted image → Encrypted image (change key)
Yes
Encrypted image → Non-encrypted image
No
Scenario
Description
Steps
Change encryption status (takes longer than standard copy)
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Copy an encrypted image to an encrypted image (change the encryption key)
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Copy a non-encrypted image to an encrypted image
Copy an image within the same region or across regions to create encrypted ECS instances.
NoteWhen you create an instance from an encrypted custom image, the system disk and data disks are automatically encrypted with the same key as the image.
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Select Encrypted Copy and choose the destination region and encryption key (this topic).
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Usage notes
Note the following before copying an image:
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Billing
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Snapshot storage fees: Copying an image creates snapshots in the destination region. You are charged based on snapshot storage size. See Snapshot billing.
NoteSnapshots created by image copying are retained indefinitely, regardless of the source image snapshot retention policy.
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No data transfer fees for cross-region image copying. Any changes to this policy will be announced in advance.
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Copy duration
Copy duration depends on image size, network conditions, and the number of concurrent copy tasks.
NoteLarge images may copy slowly and face capacity constraints. For images larger than 2 TiB, copy the underlying snapshot first, then create an image from it. See Copy a snapshot across regions and Create a custom image from a snapshot.
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Limits
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Standard copy supports only cross-region copy. To copy within the same region, use encrypted copy.
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Encrypted images can only be copied by encrypted copy.
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Up to 5 destination regions per copy operation.
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New tags can be added during copy, but existing custom tags from the source image cannot be modified.
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Procedure
Go to ECS console - Images.
In the upper-left corner of the page, select a region and resource group.
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On the Image page, click the Custom Images tab.
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Find the target image. In the Actions column, click Copy Image.
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In the Copy Image dialog box, configure parameters based on the copy type.
Standard copy
Parameter
Required
Description
Copy Mode
Yes
Select Copy.
Destination Region
Yes
The destination region. Standard copy supports only cross-region copy.
NoteUp to 5 destination regions per operation.
Custom Image Name
Yes
The image name in the destination region. Example: Custom Image Name.
Description
No
The image description in the destination region.
Description
No
The resource group for organizing and managing the image.
Resource Group
No
Tags for categorizing the image for easier search and batch management.
NoteNew tags can be added during copy, but existing custom tags from the source image cannot be modified.
Encrypted copy
Parameter
Required
Description
Tag
Yes
Select Copy Mode.
NoteIf the source image is already encrypted, only Encrypted Copy is available.
Copy and Encrypt
Yes
The destination region and encryption key.
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Destination Region: Same-region or cross-region.
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Encryption Key: Select a service key or a customer master key (CMK) created in KMS. For CMK restrictions, see Key Management Service.
NoteUp to 5 destination regions per operation. Click Add Destination Region to add more regions with different encryption keys.
Copy and Encrypt
Yes
The image name in the destination region. Example: Encryption Settings.
Description
No
The image description in the destination region.
Encryption Key
No
The resource group for organizing and managing the image.
Custom Image Name
No
Tags for categorizing the image for easier search and batch management.
NoteNew tags can be added during copy, but existing custom tags from the source image cannot be modified.
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Verify the settings and click Custom Image Name.
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Check the copy progress in the destination region.
Switch to the destination region in the top navigation bar. When the progress reaches 100% and the status changes to Available, the copy is complete.
(Optional) If the copy status is Description, cancel the copy by clicking Resource Group in the Tag column.
You can also cancel a pending copy by calling CancelCopyImage.