ECS is a virtualized cloud-based service. You cannot capture screenshots of Elastic Compute Service (ECS) resources or connect ECS to display devices. However, ECS caches system logs of the most recent start, restart, or shutdown actions of each instance, and you can capture screenshots of the instances on a real-time basis. You can use these features to analyze and troubleshoot instance issues such as operating systems not responding, abnormal restart, or instance connection failures.

Prerequisites

The instance is in the Running (Running) state. For more information, see Connection methods.

Background information

System logs are important for O&M diagnostics. If you want to diagnose exceptions, you can query ECS system logs of instance startup and exceptions. The system uses the serial ports to display two types of system logs: startup logs and kernel failure or exception logs.

You can view system logs and instance screenshots on the Instance Details or Instances page in the ECS console, or by calling API operations. When you use these features, take note of the following items:
  • For Windows instances, you can only view instance screenshots. You cannot obtain system logs of the instances.
  • You cannot obtain system logs or screenshots for instances of retired instance types. For more information, see Retired instance types.
  • You cannot obtain system logs or screenshots for instances created before January 1, 2018.

Procedure on the Instance Details page

Perform the following steps to view system logs and screenshots of an instance on the Instance Details page:

  1. Log on to the ECS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. Select the instance that you want to troubleshoot and click the instance ID to go to the Instance Details page.
  5. In the Basic Information section, choose More > Get Instance Screenshot to view instance screenshots, or choose More > Get Instance System Logs to view system logs.
  6. View screenshots or system logs of the instance.
    • Sample screenshot of a Windows instance
    • Sample screenshot of a Linux instance
    • Sample system log of a Linux instance

Procedure on the Instances page

Perform the following steps to view system logs and screenshots of an instance on the Instances page:

  1. Log on to the ECS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. Find the instance that you want to troubleshoot and the corresponding Actions column.
  5. Choose More > Operations and Troubleshooting > Get Instance Screenshot to view instance screenshots, or choose More > Operations and Troubleshooting > Get Instance System Logs to view system logs.
  6. View screenshots or system logs of the instance.

What to do next

For more information about troubleshooting, see Method for testing links after a packet loss or failure occurs when the ping command is used.