An Elastic Compute Service (ECS) image provides the information that is required to create an ECS instance. You must specify an image when you create an ECS instance. An image is a copy of data from one or more disks. An instance image can contain data from only the system disk or from both the system disk and data disks.

Image types

ECS images are classified into the following categories based on the entity that manages the images: public images, custom images, shared images, community images, and Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images. image-type
Image typeDescriptionTechnical supportReferences
Public imagesPublic images provided by Alibaba Cloud are licensed images that are thoroughly tested to ensure security and stability. Public images for Windows Server operating systems and mainstream Linux operating systems are provided.
  • Alibaba Cloud Linux images: If your instance uses an Alibaba Cloud Linux image, Alibaba Cloud provides technical support.
  • Third-party commercial images and open source operating system images:
    • If your instance uses an open source operating system image, the corresponding community provides technical support. Alibaba Cloud also provides technical support to help identify image issues.
    • If your instance uses a third-party commercial image, Alibaba Cloud grants you licenses and works with the corresponding vendor to provide technical support.
Overview of public images
Custom imagesCustom images are created from instances or snapshots or are imported from your computer. For custom images that are derived from public images, Alibaba Cloud provides the same technical support that is provided for public images.
For imported images:
  • If the imported image is an open source operating system image, Alibaba Cloud does not provide technical support.
  • If the imported image is a commercial image and uses a license from Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba Cloud works with the corresponding vendor to provide technical support.
Overview of custom images
Shared imagesShared images are shared to you by other Alibaba Cloud accounts. Alibaba Cloud does not provide technical support. Contact the accounts that shared the images for technical support. Share a custom image
Alibaba Cloud Marketplace imagesAlibaba Cloud Marketplace images contain operating systems and pre-installed software and are thoroughly tested by the providers to ensure security and stability. Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images are classified into the following types based on the provider:
  • Images provided by Alibaba Cloud
  • Images provided by independent software vendors (ISVs) that are licensed by Alibaba Cloud Marketplace
  • For Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images provided by Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba Cloud provides the same technical support that is provided for public images.
  • For Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images provided by ISVs, the ISVs provide technical support.
Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images
Community imagesCommunity images are published by Alibaba Cloud users for public use. Alibaba Cloud does not provide technical support. Overview
Note
  • The preceding information, which is described in the Technical support column, is valid only before the end of life (EOL) of images. For information about how to obtain technical support after the EOL of an image, see End of support for operating systems.
  • Alibaba Cloud provides release notes for public images to introduce new features and security patches of operating systems. For more information, see Release notes. Alibaba Cloud also synchronizes new features and security patches from open source communities and operating system vendors to Alibaba Open Source Image Site. You can obtain new features and install security patches based on your business requirements.
  • Alibaba Cloud helps you ensure cloud security. Alibaba Cloud ensures the security of the cloud platform, including the security of the hardware, software, and network. You are responsible for not introducing security risks to your ECS instances. You must properly manage operating systems, such as installing updates and security patches, installing secure applications and tools on the instances, and configuring security groups that Alibaba Cloud provides. For more information, see Best security practices.

Image prices

You may be charged for using images. The following table describes the billing methods for different image types.

TypeBilling rule
Public imagePublic images are provided by Alibaba Cloud. The following public images are offered at different prices:
  • Windows Server: Prices vary based on instance types. The prices are displayed when you create instances in the ECS console.
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux: Prices vary based on instance types.
    • Instances that have one to four vCPUs: USD 0.063/hour (pay-as-you-go), USD 43.00/month (monthly subscription), USD 501.00/year (yearly subscription).
    • Instances that have at least five vCPUs: USD 0.014/hour (pay-as-you-go), USD 95.00/month (monthly subscription), USD 1,099.00/year (yearly subscription).
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server: Prices vary based on instance types.
    • Instances that have one or two vCPUs: USD 0.064/hour (pay-as-you-go), USD 24.46/month (monthly subscription), USD 235.23/year (yearly subscription).
    • Instances that have three or four vCPUs: USD 0.127/hour (pay-as-you-go), USD 50.15/month (monthly subscription), USD 471.54/year (yearly subscription).
    • Instances that have at least five vCPUs: USD 0.152/hour (pay-as-you-go), USD 58.62/month (monthly subscription), USD 564.60/year (yearly subscription).
  • Other public images are free of charge.
Custom image
Custom images are created from instances or snapshots or imported from your computer. Billing for custom images consists of two parts:
  • Snapshot fee
    • Snapshots are automatically generated when you create a custom image. Snapshots are billed based on their size and storage duration.
    • Snapshots are generated in the destination region when you copy an image. Snapshots are billed based on their size and storage duration.

    For more information, see Snapshots.

  • Image fee
    • Image fee: If you use a custom image derived from a paid image, you are charged an image fee. For example, if you create a custom image from an instance that uses a paid image and then you create an instance from the custom image, you are charged for the custom image in addition to the snapshots.
      Note If the custom image is an imported custom image that runs a Windows operating system, you are charged an image fee based on the license type of the operating system. If the license type is Aliyun or Auto, you are charged for the custom image. If the license type is Bring Your Own License (BYOL), you are not charged for the custom image. For more information about license types, see the "What types of licenses can I use when I import custom images?" section in Image FAQ.
    • When you export a custom image, you are charged for OSS storage and the traffic generated for image download. For more information, see Billing overview.
Shared image

Shared images are shared with you by other Alibaba Cloud accounts. If you use a shared image that is derived from a paid image, you are charged an image fee for the shared image.

For example, if an Alibaba Cloud account shares with you a paid image and you use that image to create an instance, you are charged an image fee for the shared image.

Alibaba Cloud Marketplace imageAlibaba Cloud Marketplace images are provided by independent software vendors (ISVs). The prices are displayed on the product pages of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images.
Community imageCommunity images are free of charge.

For more information, see Images and the "FAQ about the commercial availability of images" section of the Image FAQ topic.

Select and search for images

You can select an image based on the region, image type, image price, operating system, and built-in software. For more information, see Select an image.

You can search for an image based on the type, name, ID, and ID of the snapshot from which the image is created. Then, you can use the image to create instances or perform other operations. For more information, see Find an image.

Replace the image of an instance

After you create an instance, you can replace the operating system of the instance by replacing the system disk of the instance. For more information, see Replace the operating system of an instance.

Limits

For information about the limits and quotas of images, see the "Image limits" section of the Limits topic.

API operations

You can call API operations to manage images. For more information, see the "Images" section of the List of operations by function topic.