When you create Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances, image-related issues may occur or you may have questions about images, such as how to select images of different versions, whether instance types are compatible with operating systems, and whether Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images are secure. This topic provides answers to some frequently asked questions about images during ECS instance creation.
FAQ about Windows images
How do Windows versions differ in terms of memory limits?
The upper limits of memory vary based on the Windows version. For more information, see Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases. Select instance types based on the memory limits of your Windows versions.
Why am I unable to select a Windows operating system when I create ECS instances of specific instance types?
When you create an ECS instance based on a Windows operating system, make sure that the instance memory size is greater than or equal to 1 GiB. For ECS instances that have less than 1 GiB of memory, you can select only Linux images or Windows Server Version 2004 images.
NoteIf you select a Windows Server 2012 image and an instance type that has 1 GiB of memory to create an instance, the operating system of the instance may be unstable due to high memory usage. We recommend that you select Windows Server 2012 or later for instance types that have more than 2 GiB of memory, or select Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server Version 2004 for instance types that have 1 GiB of memory.
What container runtime do Windows Server with Container images contain?
Due to Microsoft's policy change on Mirantis Container Runtime (MCR), the Windows Server with Container images provided by Alibaba Cloud ECS are no longer pre-installed with MCR starting from 2024. If you need to use MCR, purchase a license from Mirantis and install the license.
Starting from March 1, 2024, the Windows Server with Container images provided by Alibaba Cloud ECS include the following container-related components:
Windows containers, without support for Hyper-V isolation. For more information, see Windows and containers.
containerd 1.7.13. For more information, see containerd
nerdctl.exe 1.7.13, a CLI tool used to manage containers. For more information, see nerdctl.
nat.exe 1.0.0, a Windows Container Networking Interface (CNI) plug-in. For more information, see windows-container-networking.
Why does a Windows operating system fail to write data to a directory when the user data is run?
Problem description
When the user data is run to write data to the
C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\userData_test.txtdirectory, the directory does not exist.Cause
In the Windows operating system, the user configuration files and data are stored in the
C:\Usersdirectory and its subdirectories by default. You can access the directory and its subdirectories only after you log on to the operating system. You have not logged on to the operating system when the operating system runs the user data in the initialization stage. Data cannot be written to theC:\Usersdirectory or its subdirectories in the stage.Solution
Change the directory to which data is written. Example:
[bat] echo "userData" > C:\userData_test.txtFor more information, see the Modify the user data of an existing instance section of the "Instance user data" topic.
FAQ about Red Hat images
Which instance families are supported by Red Hat images?
Which Red Hat Cloud Access and Windows licenses do I need?
How do I obtain technical support if issues occur when I use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating systems?
Traditionally, you must log on to the Red Hat system and submit an after-sales request to obtain technical support. Now, you can submit a ticket to contact Alibaba Cloud technical support. If Alibaba Cloud is unable to resolve RHEL operating system issues, Alibaba Cloud submits the issues to Red Hat for assistance.
Which official Red Hat subscriptions are included in RHEL images provided by Alibaba Cloud?
Red Hat images provided by Alibaba Cloud include official RHEL subscriptions. The following software repositories are provided for different RHEL versions:
RHEL 7
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server - Extras from RHUI (RPMs)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server - Optional from RHUI (RPMs)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Server from RHUI (RPMs)
RHEL 8 and RHEL 9
BaseOS
AppStream
The latest RHEL 8 and RHEL 9 images are pre-installed with the CodeReady Linux Builder and Supplementary repositories. To use the repositories for instances that run RHEL 8 or RHEL 9, contact Alibaba Cloud after-sales personnel.
For information about the software repositories and package manifests for RHEL 8 and RHEL 9, see Package listing for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and Package listing for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
When you purchase RHEL images, you can obtain Red Hat updates from the update source provided by Alibaba Cloud. Compared with RHEL images that are purchased from other channels, RHEL images that are purchased from Alibaba Cloud do not provide a separate Red Hat account that is used to obtain updates from the update source provided by Red Hat. When you run the
subscription-managercommand on an instance that runs RHEL to check the subscription status, the following command output is returned. The command output indicates that the instance operating system is in the unsubscribed state.+-------------------------------------------+ System Status Details +-------------------------------------------+ Overall Status: Unknown System Purpose Status: UnknownAlibaba Cloud Red Hat images provide only software packages of RHEL. If you want to install software packages of other products such as Red Hat Satellite and Red Hat Ceph Storage, purchase Red Hat subscriptions, register your hosts, and then subscribe to the products.
FAQ about SUSE images
What service support is available for SUSE operating systems?
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) operating systems in Alibaba Cloud Marketplace are synchronized with SUSE update sources on a regular basis. For instances created from Alibaba Cloud SLES public images, support for SLES operating systems is provided by the Alibaba Cloud enterprise-level support service. If you purchased the enterprise-level support service and issues occur when you use an SLES operating system, submit a ticket to contact Alibaba Cloud technical support.
FAQ about custom images
I created an ECS instance from a custom image and specified a system disk capacity that is larger than the image size. However, the actual system disk capacity of the ECS instance is the same as the image size. What do I do?
The system disk capacity of an instance created from a custom image may fail to be expanded due to one of the following reasons: The cloud-init service is not installed, the cloud-init service fails, or file systems do not support capacity expansion.
If the disk capacity fails to be expanded, you can manually expand the system disk. For more information, see Overview.
Why must I comment out mount entries when I create a custom image or an instance?
When you create an instance from a custom image, the following scenarios may cause failures to mount disks:
The created instance does not have data disks.
The data disks are new disks that are not formatted or partitioned.
The mount entries of the data disks are not commented out in the /etc/fstab file of the custom image.
The following example shows a data disk that fails to be mounted. In this example, a data disk on an instance that was created from a custom image is not partitioned, and the mount entry of the data disk is not commented out in the /etc/fstab file of the custom image.
A data disk on the instance that was created from a custom image is not partitioned, as shown in the following figure.
The mount entry of the data disk is not commented out in the /etc/fstab file of the instance, as shown in the following figure.
When the instance starts, the instance attempts to mount the data disk based on the configurations in the /etc/fstab file. The data disk cannot be mounted because it is not partitioned, as shown in the following figure.
You do not need to comment out the mount entries of the data disks on an instance if the disks are created from snapshots of partitioned and formatted data disks during instance creation.
If you have further questions, submit a ticket.
What do I do if I cannot use specific custom images to create I/O optimized instances?
Specific custom images cannot be used to create I/O optimized instances. If you want to use an unsupported custom image to create an I/O optimized instance, submit a ticket and specify the name of the image in the ticket.
FAQ about Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images
What are the characteristics of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images?
Alibaba Cloud Marketplace provides various images, including clean operating system images and images that are pre-installed with software environments and various features. Example: Images pre-installed with the PHP, .NET, JAVA, or LAMP runtime environments and features such as the control panel and website building systems. You can use Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images to deploy runtime environments or software applications on ECS instances. This allows you to create a ready-to-run runtime environment and build and manage services in a convenient manner.
Alibaba Cloud Marketplace provides more than 2,000 high-quality images, including images provided by Alibaba Cloud and independent software vendors (ISVs). You can use the images for the deployment of environments such as .NET, PHP, Java, LAMP, and Docker containers to meet your requirements for website development, application development, and visualized management.
How do I purchase Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images?
An image must be purchased together with an ECS instance and has the same lifecycle as the instance. To purchase Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images, you can use one of the following methods:
Find an image in Alibaba Cloud Marketplace and click Buy Now on the image product page. Then, you are redirected to the Custom Launch tab of the ECS instance buy page in the ECS console.
On the Custom Launch tab of the instance buy page, select Alibaba Cloud Marketplace Images in the Image section and enter a keyword to search for the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image that you want to purchase.
How am I charged for Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images?
An image must be purchased together with an ECS instance and has the same lifecycle and billing method as the ECS instance.
ECS instances support the subscription and pay-as-you-go billing methods. If you select the subscription billing method when you create an instance, a subscription price is displayed for the selected Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image. If you select the pay-as-you-go billing method when you create an instance, a pay-as-you-go price is displayed for the selected Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image.
The subscription and pay-as-you-go prices of Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images are determined by image providers. Some images are priced at USD 0, and others are not priced at USD 0. The prices on the buy page at the time of purchase shall prevail.
How am I billed for a custom image derived from an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image?
If you use an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image to create an ECS instance and then create a custom image from the instance, the custom image is derived from the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image.
When you use the custom image to create ECS instances, the custom image is billed at the same price as the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image.
If you share the custom image with other accounts or copy the custom image to other regions, the shared image or image copies are also billed at the same price as the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image.
Are Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images secure?
Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images are images provided by Alibaba Cloud and ISVs in Alibaba Cloud Marketplace. All ISVs have a wealth of experience in system maintenance and environment configuration. All Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images are created based on the official Alibaba Cloud operating systems that are installed with Alibaba Cloud Security Center. All Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images are thoroughly reviewed and are secure to use.
What do I do if an issue occurs when I install or use an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image?
You can view the service information on the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image product page and contact the image service provider by TradeManager, phone, or email.
How do I call ECS API operations to determine whether an image is an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image or a custom or shared image that is derived from an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image?
If an image is an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image or a custom or shared image that is derived from an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image, the return value of the
ProductCodeparameter is not empty when you call the DescribeImages operation to query information about the image based on the image ID.For example, if the return value of the
ProductCodeparameter isabcd000111, you can access the image product page at http://market.aliyun.com/products/5774****/abcd000111.html.
How do I call ECS API operations to create an ECS instance from an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image?
Search for the image that you want to purchase on Alibaba Cloud Marketplace and go to the image product page. On the image product page, you can view the region-specific IDs of the image. You can pass a region-specific ID of the image as a request parameter value to call the RunInstances operation to create ECS instances.
Can I request a refund for Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images?
On the image product page, you can check whether you can request a refund for an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image.
Does billing continue for an Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image that is used by a pay-as-you-go instance after the instance is stopped in economical mode?
Yes, billing continues for Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images that are used by pay-as-you-go instances after the instances are stopped in economical mode. Paid Alibaba Cloud Marketplace images do not support economical mode. For information about economical mode, see Economical mode.
Can I request refunds for Red Hat or SUSE images?
No, you cannot request refunds for Red Hat or SUSE images. By default, you cannot request refunds for ECS instances that use Red Hat or SUSE images. The images are marked as non-refundable on the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace image product pages. If you want to request a refund for an ECS instance that uses a Red Hat or SUSE image, submit a ticket. You cannot receive a refund for the image. After you receive the refund for the instance, the image of the instance can no longer be used by other instances.
Am I billed or refunded the image price difference when I upgrade or downgrade the configurations of an instance that uses a Red Hat or SUSE image?
Yes, you are billed or refunded the image price difference when you upgrade or downgrade the configurations of an instance that uses a Red Hat or SUSE image. When a commercial Red Hat or SUSE image is used on an instance, the price of the image varies based on the number of vCPUs. If the image price differs before and after you upgrade or downgrade the configurations of the instance, you are billed or refunded the image price difference. For information about the refund rules for ECS instance configuration downgrades, see the Request a refund for the downgrade of resource specifications section of the "Rules for unsubscribing from resources" topic.
How is a refund issued?
If an image provider approves a refund, the image provider returns the amount based on the actual image usage.
FAQ about compatibility between instances and operating systems
Others
Which operating systems support graphical desktops?
By default, Linux operating systems offer a command-line interface. You can install a graphical desktop based on your business requirements. Example: the desktop described in Install a GUI desktop for Ubuntu 18.
All Windows operating systems support graphical desktops, except for Windows Server Version 2004 **** (Without UI) and Windows Server 2022 Datacenter **** (Without UI). For more information, see Overview of public images.
How do I configure and use a private Docker image registry?
Image management is the core of Docker. To allow organizations to internally share images, Docker created the open source Docker registry project on GitHub to provide Docker Registry. Docker Registry is a tool that is used to manage private Docker image registries.
Start Docker Registry that supports Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service (OSS). Download Docker Registry from GitHub, install Docker Registry, and then run the pip install Docker Registry-driver-alioss command to install the OSS driver.
Run Docker Registry.
docker run -e OSS_BUCKET=-e STORAGE_PATH=/docker/ -e OSS_KEY=-e OSS_SECRET=-p 5000:5000 -d chrisjin/registry:ali_ossConfigure the config.yml file.
storage: alioss storage_path: _env:STORAGE_PATH:/devregistry/ oss_bucket: _env:OSS_BUCKET[:default_value] oss_accessid: _env:OSS_KEY oss_accesskey: _env:OSS_SECRETStart Docker Registry.
DOCKER_REGISTRY_CONFIG=[your_config_path] gunicorn -k gevent -b 0.0.0.0:5000 -w 1 docker_registry.wi:application
If you have further questions, submit a ticket.