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Elastic Desktop Service:Create an image

Last Updated:Feb 06, 2025

You can use a custom image to quickly create multiple cloud computers with identical settings, eliminating the need to repeat creation tasks. This topic describes how to create a custom image.

Background information

Images are region-bound resources. You cannot use images to create cloud computers across regions. When you create a custom image, make sure that the image and the cloud computer that you want to create from the image belong to the same region. For example, if you want to create a cloud computer in the China (Hangzhou) region, you must use a custom image from the China (Hangzhou) region.

You can create a custom image based on a cloud computer or snapshot. You can also import an image from your on-premises device to the Elastic Desktop Service (EDS) Enterprise console and use the imported image to generate a custom image.

Note
  • You cannot delete a custom image that is being created.

  • The time required to create a custom image depends on the amount of data stored on the cloud computer used for creating the image.

  • Avoid shutting down or restarting the cloud computer during image creation, as it will cause the process to fail.

Prerequisites

Create an image by using a cloud computer

You can create a custom image by using a cloud computer to save or replicate its operating system or data. This image can then be used to create additional cloud computers with identical settings.

  1. Log on to the EDS Enterprise console.

  2. Use one of the following methods to create a custom image:

    Create on the Images page

    1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operation & Maintenance > Images.

    2. In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.

    3. On the Images page, click Create Image.

    Create on the Cloud Computers page

    1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resources > Cloud Computers.

    2. In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.

    3. On the Cloud Computers page, find the cloud computer based on which you want to create a custom image and click the ⋮ icon in the Actions column. Then, click Create Image.

    Create on the Cloud Computer Pools page

    1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resources > Cloud Computer Pools.

    2. In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.

    3. On the Cloud Computer Pools page, find the cloud computer pool based on which you want to create a custom image and click its ID.

    4. On the Cloud Computer Information tab, find the cloud computer that you want to use to create a custom image, click the ⋮ icon in the Actions column, and then click Create Image.

  3. In the Create Image panel, configure the following parameters as needed and click Create.

    Parameter

    Description

    Image Name

    The name of the custom image. Make sure that the name meets the naming conventions.

    Note

    The name must be 2 to 128 characters in length, and can contain letters, digits, colons (.), underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The name must start with a letter but cannot start with http:// or https://.

    Clean Personal Residual Data

    Specifies whether to clean personal data. By default, Clean Personal Residual Data is turned on to prevent personal data and logon information from being retained in the custom image that you want to create.

    Note

    If you use an encrypted cloud computer, this parameter is unavailable.

    Before you enable or disable this feature, pay attention to the following notes:

    • Turn on Clean Personal Residual Data

      The system clears user personal data, which may extend image creation time by approximately 20 minutes.

      The data cleaned by the system varies depending on the type of cloud computers.

      • Linux cloud computers

        This cleanup operation affects only generated image files. The system will remove regular user data and data within user directories under the /home path. Root user data, system-installed applications, and system data will remain unaffected.

      • Windows cloud computers

        This cleanup operation affects only generated image files. The system will remove user files and data, except for those in C:\Users\Administrator and C:\Users\Public. Data in these directories, as well as system-installed applications and system data, will remain unaffected.

    • Turn off Clean Personal Residual Data

      The system does not clear personal data. The generated image may contain data identical to that on the source cloud computer, potentially exposing personal information.Clean Personal Residual Data

    Scope

    Valid values:

    • System Disk and Data Disk: The image that you want to create contains data from the system and data disks of the source cloud computer. Cloud computers created from this image will have the same data on their system and data disks as the source cloud computer.

    • System Disk Only: The image that you want to create contains only data from the system disk of the source cloud computer. Cloud computers created from the image will have identical system disk data to the source cloud computer, but their data disks will be empty.

    Important

    If you create a custom image based on a Linux cloud computer and set the Scope parameter to System Disk and Data Disk, the Clean Personal Residual Data feature is unavailable.

    Description

    The description of the custom image that you want to create. If this parameter is not specified, the image name is used as the default image description.

    Select Cloud Computer

    This parameter is required if you create an image on the Images page.

Export an image from a cloud computer

You can directly export an image from a cloud computer.

Note

This feature is in invitational preview. If you want to use the feature, submit a ticket.

  1. Log on to the EDS Enterprise console.

  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operation & Maintenance > Images.

  3. On the Images page, click Create Image.

  4. In the Create Image panel, click the Export Image from Cloud Computer tab.

  5. On the Export Image from Cloud Computer tab, configure the following parameters as needed and click Create.

    Parameter

    Description

    Image Name

    The name of the custom image. Make sure that the name meets the naming conventions.

    Note

    The name must be 2 to 128 characters in length, and can contain letters, digits, colons (.), underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The name must start with a letter but cannot start with http:// or https://.

    Region

    The region of the cloud computer from which you want to export an image.

    Clean Personal Residual Data

    Specifies whether to clean personal data. By default, Clean Personal Residual Data is turned on to prevent personal data and logon information from being retained in the custom image that you want to create.

    Note

    If you use an encrypted cloud computer, this parameter is unavailable.

    Before you enable or disable this feature, pay attention to the following notes:

    • Turn on Clean Personal Residual Data

      The system clears user personal data, which may extend image creation time by approximately 20 minutes.

      The data cleaned by the system varies depending on the type of cloud computers.

      • Linux cloud computers

        This cleanup operation affects only generated image files. The system will remove regular user data and data within user directories under the /home path. Root user data, system-installed applications, and system data will remain unaffected.

      • Windows cloud computers

        This cleanup operation affects only generated image files. The system will remove user files and data, except for those in C:\Users\Administrator and C:\Users\Public. Data in these directories, as well as system-installed applications and system data, will remain unaffected.

    • Turn off Clean Personal Residual Data

      The system does not clear personal data. The generated image may contain data identical to that on the source cloud computer, potentially exposing personal information.Clean Personal Residual Data

    Scope

    Valid values:

    • System Disk and Data Disk: The image that you want to create contains data from the system and data disks of the source cloud computer. Cloud computers created from this image will have the same data on their system and data disks as the source cloud computer.

    • System Disk Only: The image that you want to create contains only data from the system disk of the source cloud computer. Cloud computers created from the image will have identical system disk data to the source cloud computer, but their data disks will be empty.

    Important

    If you create a custom image based on a Linux cloud computer and set the Scope parameter to System Disk and Data Disk, the Clean Personal Residual Data feature is unavailable.

    Description

    The description of the custom image that you want to create. If this parameter is not specified, the image name is used as the default image description.

    Select Cloud Computer

    The cloud computer from which you want to export an image.

Create an image by using an online image builder

You can use an online image builder to create custom images easily.

Note

This feature is in invitational preview. If you want to use the feature, submit a ticket.

Prerequisites

To create a custom image by using an online image builder, make sure that all of the following conditions are met:

  • The base image uses either Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2022 as its operating system.

  • The base image version must be V2.3.0 or later.

  • The base image is in the Available state.

  • This feature is supported only in the following regions:

    Note

    To enable this feature in a region outside the listed regions, configure one of the listed regions as the available region for the custom image. For more information, see Configure an image region (new version).

    • China (Beijing)

    • China (Shanghai)

    • China (Hangzhou)

    • China (Shenzhen)

    • China (Zhangjiakou)

    • China (Hong Kong)

    • Singapore

    • Germany (Frankfurt)

    • US (Silicon Valley)

Step 1: Configure an online image builder

  1. Log on to the EDS Enterprise console.

  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operation & Maintenance > Images.

  3. On the Images page, click Create Image.

  4. In the Create Image panel, click the Custom Image (Beta) tab.

  5. In the Enter Basic Information step, configure the following parameters as needed and click Next.

    Parameter

    Required

    Description

    Limitation

    Example

    Custom Image Name

    Yes

    The name of the custom image.

    The name must be 2 to 64 characters in length and can contain letters, digits, colons (:), underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The name must start with a letter but cannot start with http:// or https://.

    TestImage01

    Description

    No

    The description of the custom image.

    The description must be 2 to 256 characters in length and can contain letters, digits, special characters, and spaces. You can use carriage returns to separate lines. The description cannot start with http:// or https://.

    Test

    Image Type

    No

    The type of the image.

    Valid values:

    • Custom Image

    • System Image

    System Image

    Basic Image

    Yes

    The basic image on which the image that you want to create depends.

    You can select a system image. You can also select a custom image that you created.

    System Image

  6. In the Configure Online Builder step, configure the following parameters as needed and click Next.

    Parameter

    Required

    Description

    Limitation

    Example

    Performance Type

    Yes

    The computing resource type of the online image builder.

    Valid values:

    • General (Non-GPU)

    • Graphics (GPU)

    General (Non-GPU)

    Storage Capacity

    Yes

    The capacities of the system disk and data disk of the online image builder.

    Valid values: 40 to 300. Unit: GiB. Increment: 10 GiB. The value must be greater than or equal to the storage capacity of the selected base image.

    The data disk capacity can be set to zero.

    100 GiB

    File

    No

    Upload the application installation package or file package to be installed on cloud computers. Uploaded files are placed on the desktop of the online image builder.

    • For files smaller than 5 GiB, select Local File. For files 5 GiB or larger, select OSS URL.

    • No restrictions are applied to file types.

    • You can upload up to five files.

    Local File

  7. In the Confirm step, check whether the information is correct. To modify incorrect information, click Modify. To confirm the information and begin image creation, click Confirm and Start.

    • The online image builder opens on the page that appears. Environment preparation may take a few minutes. Complete the image creation process on this page.

      Note
      • The image creation environment is available for a limited time (a few hours). Ensure the creation process is properly arranged to prevent failure in case of a timeout.

      • The region where the image is created is determined by the region of the selected base image. To add additional regions, configure an image region after the creation is completed. For more information, see Configure an image region (new version).

    • If the page of the online image builder does not open, check whether it is blocked by your browser.

    • If the page closes while an image is being created, choose to Operation & Maintenance > Images. On the next page, click Continue Creating in the Status column to reopen the page of the online image builder.

Step 2: Create and publish a custom image

After the online image builder is created, you can perform the following steps on the page that appears to create a custom image:

Text tutorial

  1. In the Builder Environment Preparation step, wait a few minutes for the environment to be fully prepared. In the message that appears, click Start to Build.

  2. In the Build and Configuration step, install applications, store files, or modify the registry as needed, and click Next.

    Note

    The file uploaded in the Configure Online Builder step will be accessible on the desktop of the production environment. To upload additional files, such as application installation packages, you can click the floating icon on the desktop and select Upload.

  3. On the Configure Image tab of the Configuration dialog box, select the wallpaper and desktop shortcut of the custom image. Click Next.

  4. On the Test tab of the Configuration dialog box, check the file directory and registry directory that are temporarily generated in the production environment and are not retained in the official image. Click Test Now.

  5. Wait for the process to complete. Preparing the environment for testing typically takes 1 to 5 minutes.

  6. After the test environment is ready, click Test in the Perform an image test dialog box.

  7. Fully test your image in the test environment. After the test is complete, click Test Passed. In the message that appears, click Confirm.

  8. In the Perform an image test dialog box, click Publish. In the Do you want to publish now? dialog box, select the regions where you want to publish the image and click Publish Now.

  9. In the confirmation dialog box, click Go Now to return to the EDS Enterprise console and monitor the image publish progress and results.

Create an image by using a snapshot

A snapshot captures the data on a disk at a specific moment, enabling data backup and restoration. A snapshot allows you to create a custom image that captures the operating system and data of a cloud computer. This custom image can then be used to create additional cloud computers with identical settings.

Note

Take note that only the system disk of a cloud computer can be used to create a custom image.

  1. Use one of the following methods to create a custom image:

    Create on the Snapshots tab

    1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resources > Cloud Computers.

    2. In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.

    3. On the Cloud Computers page, find the cloud computer whose system disk snapshot you want to use and click its ID.

    4. On the Snapshots tab, find the system disk snapshot that you want to use to create a custom image and click Create Image in the Actions column.

    Create on the Snapshots page

    1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operation & Maintenance > Policies.

    2. In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.

    3. On the Snapshots tab, find the system disk snapshot that you want to use to create a custom image and click Create Image in the Actions column.

  2. In the Create Image panel, configure the Image Name and Description parameters and click Create.

Create an image by using an imported image

You can create an image on your on-premises computer and import the image to the EDS Enterprise console to generate a custom image. For more information, see Import an image.

View and manage a custom image

In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operation & Maintenance > Images. On the Custom Image tab, you can view the status and creation progress of images.

  • If an image is created, the status of the image changes from Creating to Available, and the creation progress of the image changes to 100%.

  • If an image fails to be created, the status of the image changes from Creating to Failed. In this case, you can click Delete in the Actions column to delete the image and try to create a custom image again.

What to do next

After you create a custom image, you can perform the following operations: