Create instances, create an instance - Elastic Compute Service

This topic describes several methods of creating Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances and the use scenarios of each method. You can choose a method based on your business requirements.

Method	Scenario
Create a subscription instance on the Quick Launch tab	Create subscription instances with a few clicks. This method simplifies the instance creation process and allows you to create a subscription instance within minutes.
Create an instance on the Custom Launch tab	Customize instance configurations, such as the image type, instance type, storage, bandwidth, and security groups, based on your business requirements when you create an instance.
Create an instance by using a custom image	If you require an instance that has custom configurations such as a specific operating system and pre-installed applications, you can create a custom image that includes the configurations and use the custom image to quickly create an instance that meets your requirements.
Create an instance by using a community image	You can use a community image to quickly deploy instances whose operating systems, applications, and data suit your business needs.
Purchase an instance that has the same configurations as an existing instance	If you need a new instance that has the same configuration as an existing instance, you can this method to quickly create an instance similar to the existing instance, improving the efficiency of horizontal scaling in specific scenarios.
Clone an instance	The instance cloning feature helps you quickly create instances that are the same as or similar to the source instances. The instance cloning feature can be used in scenarios such as replication and test environments, application extensions, disaster recovery, backup, migration, and upgrade. This feature can improve service reliability, scalability, and efficiency.
Create an instance by using a launch template	A launch template contains the configuration information required to create an instance. You can use a launch template to create an instance with a few clicks.
Use auto provisioning group-related API operations to batch create ECS instances	If you want to create a large number of pay-as-you-go instances, you can call API operations to batch create the instances in a more efficient manner.