Elastic Compute Service (ECS) is a virtualized cloud-based service. You cannot capture screenshots of ECS resources or connect the resources 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 in real time. You can use these features to analyze and troubleshoot instance issues, such as unresponsive operating systems, abnormal restart, or instance connection failures.
Prerequisites
The instance is in the Running (Running) state.
Background information
System logs are important for O&M diagnostics. If you want to diagnose exceptions, you can obtain system logs about ECS instance startup and exceptions. The system uses serial ports to display two types of system logs: startup logs and kernel failure or exception logs.
Limits
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
Log on to the ECS console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose .
In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.
Find the instance that you want to troubleshoot. In the Actions column, choose
> Operations and Troubleshooting > Obtain Instance Screenshot to view the screenshots or choose > Operations and Troubleshooting > Obtain Instance System Logs to view the system logs. 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
What to do next
You may want to troubleshoot the following issues based on the system logs or screenshots that you obtained: