A custom image is a point-in-time backup of a Simple Application Server's disk, created from a snapshot. You can use a custom image to quickly launch multiple servers with identical configurations. You can also share custom images with Elastic Compute Service (ECS) to create ECS instances or replace the operating system of an existing instance.
Lifecycle of a custom image
After you create a custom image, you can use it to create new servers, copy it to another region, or share it with ECS. You can delete custom images that are no longer needed. The following figure shows the lifecycle of a custom image.
Billing
Custom images are free of charge. However, you must take note of the following items:
When you create a Simple Application Server from a custom image, you are charged for the server resources. For more information, see Billable items.
When you share a custom image to ECS and use it to create an ECS instance, you are charged for the ECS resources consumed. For more information, see Billing overview.
Scenarios
A custom image captures the entire disk of a server, including the operating system, applications, and data. This allows you to standardize your environment and deploy it consistently. The following table describes the scenarios in which you can use a custom image.
Scenario | Description |
Server O&M | When your business needs to scale, you can use a custom image to quickly launch multiple servers with identical configurations, eliminating the need for repetitive manual setup. |
Server upgrade | When your simple application server configurations cannot meet your business requirements, or you want to use ECS instances to deploy your services, you can share custom images to ECS and use the custom images to create ECS instances or replace the OSs of existing ECS instances. This allows you to seamlessly migrate your application to the more flexible ECS platform. ECS provides a variety of instance types to meet your business requirements. For more information, see Overview of instance families and Instance type selection. |
References
The following table describes the operations related to custom images of Simple Application Server.
Operation | Description | References |
Create a custom image | You can create a custom image to store the data on a simple application server. The custom image can be shared to ECS or used to create simple application servers that have the same configurations. | |
Share a custom image | You can share a custom image with ECS. If the configurations of your simple application server cannot meet your business requirements, or you want to use ECS instances to deploy your business, you can share your custom image with ECS to transfer your business from Simple Application Server to ECS. | |
Unshare a custom image | You can unshare a custom image based on your business requirements. You must unshare a custom image before you can delete it. | |
Copy a custom image | You can copy a custom image of a simple application server across regions. | |
Delete a custom image | You can delete custom images that are no longer needed. | |
Use a custom image to create simple application servers | You can use a custom image that contains server configurations to create simple application servers that have the same configurations. |