Search for ECS resources in the current account-Elastic Compute Service(ECS)-阿里云帮助中心

You can use the ECS global search feature to quickly search for resources and documents in your account and perform resource management operations. Global search lets you query multiple resources, invoke actions, access menus, and find documents. It also uses an AI search assistant to accurately match your search queries, providing a one-stop resource management experience.

Feature overview

ECS global search supports the following features:

Feature	Description
Find resources	Find resources such as instances, images, security groups, Elastic Network Interfaces (ENIs), disks, and snapshots. Enter a resource ID, name, or other keyword to quickly view resource details.
Invoke actions	Quickly invoke common actions, such as restarting an instance or establishing a remote connection. Enter an action name to quickly perform the related operation.
Query documents	Use keywords, such as batch start or batch stop, to quickly find related documents. Get detailed user guides and API documentation to reduce seek time.
Go to menus	When you need to quickly go to a specific service page, you can jump directly to the destination page without navigating through the menu layers.
Favorites and history	Save favorite actions or view historical operations for easy reuse.
AI search assistant	Provides AI chat, action invocation, and resource query capabilities. This helps you better understand and use ECS products and services for an intelligent, one-stop experience.

The global search interface is shown below:

Access points

You can open the global search page in any of the following ways.

Method 1: In the application sidebar, click the icon.

Note
If the application sidebar is collapsed, click the icon in the lower-right corner of the ECS console to open it.
Method 2: On the Overview page, click the search box.
Method 3: Use a keyboard shortcut anywhere in the ECS console: ⌘+/ for macOS or Ctrl+/ for Windows.

For more information about keyboard shortcuts for global search, see Keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts to search more efficiently. The available keyboard shortcuts are displayed in the Search Guide in the lower-left corner of the global search page.

Note

The following figure shows the keyboard shortcuts for macOS. For Windows keyboard shortcuts, refer to the interface.

The keyboard shortcuts are described below:

Function	Keyboard shortcut (macOS)	Keyboard shortcut (Windows)
Invoke: Quickly enables or disables the global search feature.	`⌘+/`	`Ctrl+/`
Back: Go back one step on the current page.	`Esc`	`Esc`
Move: Move the mouse cursor up or down.	`↑`, `↓`	`↑`, `↓`
Run: Perform the current operation.	`⏎`	`Enter`
Actions: Open the action panel for the current page.	`⌘+⏎`	`Ctrl+Enter`
Favorite: Save the current operation as a favorite.	`⌘+J`	`Ctrl+J`

User guide

Find resources

You can use keywords such as resource IDs or names to find resources, such as instances and disks, and then navigate to the details page of the destination resource.

In the search box, enter keywords such as a resource ID, resource name, or IP address. To query multiple resources at once, separate the keywords with commas (,).
Click a resource in the search results or click More to view more resource details.

The following figure shows an example of instance details:

Note
The following figure shows the keyboard shortcuts for macOS. For Windows keyboard shortcuts, refer to the interface.

On the resource details page, you can perform the following operations:
- ① View resource details: Click View Details in the lower-right corner of the page or press ⏎ to go to the resource details page.
- ② Perform related operations: Click Actions in the lower-right corner of the page or press ⌘+⏎ to perform related operations. You can also use the search box at the bottom to find more actions.
- ③ Batch export resources: Click Export to export the resources on the current page.

Invoke actions

You can enter a requirement in the search box to perform an action on an instance. Global search will then invoke the corresponding action.

For example, you can enter keywords such as Connect or Replace System Disk in the search box to invoke the related actions.

Query documents

You can use global search to query ECS user guides or API operations.

For example, if you want to run a Docker container on an ECS instance but are unsure how to install Docker or start the container, you can search for Docker-related documents to obtain detailed instructions. In the search box, enter the keyword Docker. In the search results, find the destination document and click it to go to the user guide in the Help Center.
For example, if you want to create multiple ECS instances with custom configurations, such as specifying instance hostnames and tags, you can search for the API operation for creating ECS instances in batches to learn how to use it. In the search box, enter the keyword batch create. In the search results, find the destination API operation and click it to go to the RunInstances page. On this page, you can run the API operation or view its documentation.

Go to menus

To go to a specific service page, you can use the global search feature to navigate directly to the destination page.

For example, you can enter menu keywords such as Instance, Images, or Security Group in the search box. In the search results, find the destination menu and click it to go to the destination page.

Favorites and history

On the global search page, you can click the icon in the row of a search result to save a feature, menu, or document as a favorite. Saved items are displayed in the Favorite area. Your search history is displayed in the History area for easy retrieval.

AI search assistant

You can use the AI search assistant for AI chat, action invocation, or resource searches.

Important

The results generated by the AI search assistant cannot be used as the basis for final technical support conclusions or business decisions. Alibaba Cloud is not legally responsible for any direct or indirect loss that results from actions taken based on the output of the AI assistant.
The information is generated by AI and its complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. This information is for reference only.

Permissions

If you are a Resource Access Management (RAM) user, you must contact your Alibaba Cloud account administrator to grant you the required permissions. For more information about how to grant permissions, see Control access to ECS resources using RAM.

Access policy for a RAM user to use the AI search assistant

A RAM user needs this permission to use the features of the AI search assistant, such as AI chat, action invocation, and resource search.

{
    "Version": "1",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Action": "ecs:*",
            "Resource": "*",
            "Effect": "Allow"
        },
        {
            "Action": [
                "agent:ChatMessages",
                "agent:ModifyConversationsName",
                "agent:ChatMessagesTaskStop",
                "agent:GetConversations",
                "agent:DeleteConversations",
                "agent:GetMessages",
                "agent:ModifyMessagesFeedbacks",
                "agent:GetMessagesSuggested"
            ],
            "Resource": "*",
            "Effect": "Allow"
        }
    ]
}

Access policy for a RAM user to perform a global search using the AI search assistant
If a RAM user needs to use the AI search assistant to perform a global resource search, the following access policy is required. This permission allows the user to query all Alibaba Cloud resources under the account, including ECS, Elastic Block Storage, Server Load Balancer, virtual private cloud (VPC), and Elastic IP Addresses. For more information about the supported resources, see Cloud services and resource types supported by Resource Center.
```
{
  "Version": "1",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Action": "resourcecenter:*",
      "Resource": "*",
      "Effect": "Allow"
    },
    {
      "Action": "resourcecenter:GenerateSQLQueryByAI",
      "Resource": "*",
      "Effect": "Allow"
    }
  ]
}
```

AI chat

The AI search assistant provides an AI chat feature that can help you understand ECS-related topics.

Invoke actions

To perform an action on an instance, you can enter your requirement, and the AI search assistant automatically invokes the related action. For example, in the AI search session box, you can enter a keyword such as Restart Instance. The AI search assistant automatically invokes the restart action. You can then select the region and the ECS instance to restart, and click Restart. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the operation.

The AI search assistant currently supports invoking the following actions.

Supported actions	Description
Start	If an instance is stopped or otherwise unable to provide services, you must start the instance before you can use it.
Stop	To stop an instance, you can shut it down normally or set it to economical mode.
Restart	To perform a system update or restart to save configurations, you can restart the instance.
Release	When an instance is no longer needed, you can release the instance.
Reboot	An overdue payment causes a pay-as-you-go ECS instance to stop. After you pay the overdue bill, the system automatically restarts the instance.
Reset instance password	If you did not set a password when you created an ECS instance, or if you forgot the password, you need to reset the instance logon password.
Change operating system	If you selected the wrong operating system when you created an ECS instance, or if the current operating system does not meet your business needs, you can change the operating system for the ECS instance.
Edit instance properties	You can modify instance properties to improve the management efficiency and readability of your cloud resources.
Change public IP address	You can assign a static public IP address to meet business or security requirements.
Re-initialize disk	To purge data from a disk and restore it to its initial state, you can re-initialize the disk.
Attach disk	You can attach a data disk to an ECS instance in the same zone to expand the instance's storage capacity and adapt to new business needs.
Modify VNC password	You can modify the instance VNC logon password based on your password requirements.
Remote connection	You can connect to an instance using Workbench or connect to an instance using VNC.
Create custom image	You can create a custom image from an existing instance to help you quickly deploy and efficiently manage staging environments.
Unsubscribe	You cannot release a subscription instance before it expires. You need to convert the instance to a pay-as-you-go instance and then manually release it. Alternatively, you can unsubscribe and then manually release the instance. For more information, see Release an instance.
Purchase instance with the same configuration	You can purchase an instance with the same configuration as an existing instance to improve horizontal scaling efficiency.
Change security group	If an instance's security group does not meet your current business needs, you can change the security group of the instance.
Change instance type	If you find that the instance type exceeds or does not meet your application's needs, you can change the instance type.
Convert subscription to pay-as-you-go	After you create a subscription ECS instance, you can change its billing method to pay-as-you-go to recover some costs and use the instance more flexibly. For more information, see Change the billing method of an instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go.
Change bandwidth	If the current bandwidth does not meet your business needs, you can modify the bandwidth configuration as needed.
Send command	If you want to quickly perform routine maintenance on instance resources, you can send a remote command to one or more ECS instances from the ECS console.
Associate with an EIP	You can associate an Elastic IP Address with an ECS instance as needed.
Upgrade or downgrade resources	After you create an instance, if the current configuration does not meet your business needs, you can modify the instance type (vCPU and memory), public bandwidth configuration, and data disk billing method. For more information, see Overview of instance configuration changes.
Upgrade configuration	You can upgrade the ECS instance type and public bandwidth configuration as needed. For more information, see Overview of instance configuration changes.
Clone instance	Cloning an instance lets you quickly create an instance that is identical or similar to the source instance. This is typically used for scenarios such as copying a staging environment, scaling an application, disaster recovery and backup, and migration and upgrade. It can improve business reliability, scalability, and efficiency.

Search for resources

The AI search assistant supports global searches for all Alibaba Cloud resources, such as ECS, Elastic Block Storage, Server Load Balancer, virtual private cloud (VPC), and Elastic IP Addresses. For more information about the supported resources, see Cloud services and resource types supported by Resource Center.

Note

The AI search assistant may take 1 to 2 minutes to find the resources. Please wait.

For example, in the AI search session box, you can enter Please find resources related to 172.16.xx.xx. The AI search assistant automatically queries all resources under your account that have the IP address 172.16.xx.xx. In the search results, you can click View More to see the resource list and details.

References

If you have attached tags to your ECS resources, you can also retrieve the resources by tag. For more information, see Tags.
If your ECS resources are in a resource group, you can also retrieve the resources by resource group. For more information, see Resource groups.