Use a custom image to quickly create multiple cloud desktops with identical configurations. This saves you from repeating setup tasks.
Background information
Images are region-specific. When you create a custom image, make sure it is in the same region as the cloud desktops you plan to create from it. For example, if your cloud desktop is in the China (Hangzhou) region, the custom image you create must also be in the China (Hangzhou) region.
Custom images can be created from a cloud desktop or a snapshot. You can also automatically generate an image by using Server Migration Center (SMC). Alternatively, import an on-premises source image into the Elastic Desktop Service (EDS) Enterprise console to generate a custom image.
You cannot delete an image while it is being created.
Image creation time depends on the data size of the source cloud desktop's system disk.
Do not shut down or restart the desktop during image creation. Doing so can cause the creation to fail.
Prerequisites
To create an image from a cloud desktop or a many-to-many share, you must first create the cloud desktop or many-to-many share. For more information, see Create a cloud desktop or Create and manage many-to-many shares.
To create an image from a snapshot, you must first create a system disk snapshot. For more information, see Use snapshots (Public Preview).
Create an image from a cloud desktop
Creating a custom image from a cloud desktop saves its operating system and data, allowing you to provision multiple cloud desktops with the same configuration.
Log on to the EDS enterprise console.
Choose one of the following methods to create an image.
From Cloud Computers
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Cloud Computers.
In the top navigation bar, select a region.
On the Cloud Computers page, find the target cloud desktop. In the Actions column, click the ⋮ icon and select Create Image.
In the Create Image panel, configure the following parameters and click Create.
Parameter
Description
Image Name
Enter a name for the custom image.
NoteThe value must be 2 to 128 characters in length. It must start with a letter or a Chinese character and cannot start with
http://orhttps://. It can contain digits, colons (:), underscores (_), and hyphens (-).Clean Personal Residual Data
To prevent personal user data and login information from being included in the image, the Clean Personal Residual Data feature is enabled by default.
NoteYou cannot configure this parameter for encrypted cloud desktops.
Before changing this setting:
Enable Clean Personal Residual Data
When enabled, the system automatically cleans personal user data. This adds approximately 20 minutes to the image creation time.
The following data is cleaned:
For Linux images
This cleanup affects only the generated image. Data of regular users and their directories under the
/homepath is removed. Data of the root user and system-installed applications are not affected.For Windows images
This cleanup affects only the generated image. It removes user files and data from all directories except for
C:\Users\AdministratorandC:\Users\Public. The data withinC:\Users\AdministratorandC:\Users\Public, and applications and data installed on the system, are not affected.
Disable Clean Personal Residual Data
If you disable Clean Personal Residual Data, no personal data is cleaned. The generated image will be identical to the current cloud desktop, which may pose a data leakage risk.
Scope
The following options are available:
System Disk and Data Disk: The custom image includes data from both the system disk and data disk of the source cloud desktop. New cloud desktops created from this image will have identical data on both disks.
Only System Disk: The custom image includes only the data from the system disk of the source cloud desktop. New cloud desktops created from this image will have an identical system disk, but their data disk will be empty.
ImportantIf you create a custom image from a Linux-based cloud desktop and select System Disk and Data Disk for the scope, the Clean Personal Residual Data feature is not supported. As a result, no personal data is cleaned from the custom image.
Description
Enter a description for the image. If you leave this parameter empty, the image name is used by default.
From a Shared Cloud Computer
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Many-to-Many.
In the top navigation bar, select a region.
On the Many-to-many Share page, find the target many-to-many share, and click Many-to-many Share ID.
On the Cloud Computer tab, find the target cloud desktop. In the Actions column, click the ⋮ icon and select Create Image.
In the Create Image panel, configure the following parameters and click Create.
Parameter
Description
Image Name
Enter a name for the custom image.
NoteThe length must be 2 to 128 English or Chinese characters. It must start with an uppercase or lowercase letter or a Chinese character, and cannot start with
http://orhttps://. It can contain digits, colons (:), underscores (_), or hyphens (-).Clean Personal Residual Data
To prevent personal user data and login information from being included in the image, the Clean Personal Residual Data feature is enabled by default.
NoteYou cannot configure this parameter for encrypted cloud desktops.
Before changing this setting:
Enable Clean Personal Residual Data
When enabled, the system automatically cleans personal user data. This adds approximately 20 minutes to the image creation time.
The following data is cleaned:
For Linux images
This cleanup affects only the generated image. Data of regular users and their directories under the
/homepath is removed. Data of the root user and system-installed applications are not affected.For Windows images
This cleanup affects only the generated image, removing all user files and data except for those in
C:\Users\AdministratorandC:\Users\Public. The process does not affect the data inC:\Users\AdministratorandC:\Users\Public, or any applications and data installed on the system.
Disable Clean Personal Residual Data
If you disable Clean Personal Residual Data, no personal data is cleaned. The generated image will be identical to the current cloud desktop, which may pose a data leakage risk.
Scope
The following options are available:
System Disk and Data Disk: The custom image includes data from both the system disk and data disk of the source cloud desktop. New cloud desktops created from this image will have identical data on both disks.
Only System Disk: The custom image includes only the data from the system disk of the source cloud desktop. New cloud desktops created from this image will have an identical system disk, but their data disk will be empty.
ImportantIf you create a custom image from a Linux-based cloud desktop and select System Disk and Data Disk for the scope, the Clean Personal Residual Data feature is not supported. As a result, no personal data is cleaned from the custom image.
Description
Enter a description for the image. If you leave this parameter empty, the image name is used by default.
Create an image using the online builder
The online image builder provides a visual interface for creating custom cloud desktop images.
Prerequisites
The online image builder requires all of the following:
The operating system of the basic image is Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2022.
The version of the basic image is V2.3.0 or later.
The status of the basic image is Available.
The selected region is one of the following:
NoteTo use this feature in other regions, first add one of the following regions to the image's availability list. For more information, see Configure image availability across regions.
China (Beijing)
China (Shanghai)
China (Hangzhou)
China (Shenzhen)
China (Zhangjiakou)
China (Hong Kong)
Singapore
Germany (Frankfurt)
US (Silicon Valley)
Step 1: Configure the online image builder
Log on to the EDS enterprise console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Image Center > Image.
On the Image page, click Create Image.
In the Create Image panel, click the Custom Image tab.
On the Enter Basic Information tab, configure the following parameters and click Next.
Parameter
Required
Description
Constraints
Example
Custom image name
Yes
The name of the custom image.
The length must be 2 to 64 characters. Each Chinese character is counted as 3 characters. The value can contain Chinese characters, English letters, digits, colons (:), underscores (_), or hyphens (-). It must start with a Chinese character or an English letter and cannot start with
http://orhttps://.TestImage01
Region
No
The region where the image is created.
None.
China (Hangzhou)
Office Network
No
The office network for the image builder environment.
Only convenience account-based office networks created after December 2024 are supported.
Office network
Custom image description
No
A description for the custom image.
The value must be 2 to 256 characters in length and can contain Chinese characters, English letters, digits, symbols, spaces, and line breaks. It cannot start with
http://orhttps://.Test
Select basic image
Yes
Select the image type and the basic image to use.
Image types:
Custom image
System image
You can select a system image or a previously created custom image.
System image
Select system language
Yes
The initial language of the system.
This setting is only available for system images. The following options are available:
Chinese
Chinese (Hong Kong)
English
Japanese
Chinese
On the Configure Online Builder tab, configure the following parameters and click Next.
Parameter
Required
Description
Constraints
Example
Select instance type
Yes
The compute resources for the online image builder.
The following options are available:
Enterprise Office (Non-GPU)
Graphics (GPU-accelerated)
Enterprise Office
Storage Type
Yes
The storage resources for the online image builder.
System disk (required): The capacity ranges from 40 GiB to 500 GiB in 10 GiB increments. The capacity cannot be smaller than the system disk of the selected basic image.
Data disk (optional): The capacity ranges from 40 GiB to 500 GiB in 10 GiB increments. The capacity cannot be smaller than the data disk of the basic image. You can set the value to 0.
100 GiB
Upload File
No
Upload application installers or file packages to be installed on the cloud desktop. Uploaded files are placed on the online image builder's desktop.
Select Local Upload for files smaller than 5 GiB and OSS URL for files 5 GiB or larger.
All file types are supported.
You can upload a maximum of five files.
Local Upload
(Optional) On the Install Peripheral Driver (Optional) tab, select the required drivers from the System Driver Library or Enterprise Driver Library to install in the image, and then click Next.
NoteOnly Windows images support the installation of peripheral and printer drivers. This feature is not supported for other operating systems.
You can select up to 20 drivers.
On the Confirm tab, verify your configurations. Click Modify to make changes. If the information is correct, click Confirm and Start.
The online image builder opens in a new page. The environment preparation may take a few minutes. Complete the entire image creation process on this page.
NoteThe image creation environment is available for only a few hours. Plan your work accordingly to avoid a timeout failure.
The region for image creation depends on the region of the selected basic image. To add other available regions, configure them after the image is created. For more information, see Configure image availability across regions.
If the online image builder page does not open, check if your browser's pop-up blocker has blocked it.
If you accidentally close the online image builder page during creation, go to the Image Center > Image page. In the Status column, click Continue Creating to return to the builder page.
Step 2: Build and publish the image
Complete the following steps in the online image builder.
In the Builder Environment Preparation stage, wait for the environment to be ready. In the dialog box that appears, click Start to Build.
In the Build and Configuration stage, install applications, add files, or modify the registry as needed. Then, click Next.
NoteFiles you uploaded during the builder configuration step appear on the desktop of the build environment. To add more files, such as application installers, click the floating icon on the desktop and select By Uploading.
In the Specification dialog box, on the Configure Image tab, you can set a custom wallpaper and desktop shortcuts. After you are finished, click Next.
On the Peripheral Driver Installation Results tab, view the driver installation results and click Next.
On the Test tab, review the listed file and registry directories. These are temporary items from the build environment and will not be included in the final image. After reviewing them, click Test Now.
The test and verification environment typically takes 1 to 5 minutes to prepare.
After the test environment is ready, in the Perform an image test dialog box, click Retest.
Thoroughly test your image in the test environment. When testing is complete, click Test Passed, and then click Confirm in the dialog box that appears.
In the Perform an image test dialog box, click Publish. In the Do you want to publish now? dialog box, select the available regions for this image, and then click Publish Now.
In the confirmation dialog box, click Go Now to return to the Elastic Desktop Service (EDS) Enterprise console and view the image publishing progress and result.
Create an image from a snapshot
Creating a custom image from a snapshot replicates a cloud desktop's operating system and data, allowing you to provision multiple identical cloud desktops.
You can use only a system disk snapshot to create a custom image. Data disk snapshots are not supported.
Choose one of the following methods to create an image.
From the Snapshots tab
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Management > Cloud Computers.
In the top navigation bar, select a region.
On the Cloud Computers page, find the target cloud desktop and click its ID.
On the Snapshots tab, find the target system disk snapshot. In the Action column, click Create Image.
From the Snapshots page
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operation & Maintenance > Snapshots.
In the top navigation bar, select a region.
On the Snapshots tab, find the target system disk snapshot. In the Action column, click Create Image.
In the Create Image panel, enter an Image Name and Description, and then click Create.
Create an image by using SMC
You can create a custom image from your source server by using Server Migration Center (SMC).
Limitations
You can migrate only Windows source servers to Alibaba Cloud cloud desktops. The following versions are not supported:
Windows 8.1 and earlier
Windows 11
Windows Server 2016 and earlier
Procedure
Prepare for the migration. For more information, see Prepare for migration.
Follow the steps in Migrate a server to an ECS instance to import the migration source and confirm that its status is Online.
Create and start a cloud desktop migration task. For more information, see Migrate a desktop server to a cloud desktop.
Results
On the Migration Tasks page, you can view the migration speed and remaining sync time. Wait for the migration task to complete.
A Completed status indicates the migration is successful. Log on to the Elastic Desktop Service (EDS) Enterprise console and go to Image Center > Images. On the Custom Image tab, view the resulting image.
Create an image from an imported image
You can create an image on a local device and import it into the Elastic Desktop Service (EDS) Enterprise console to generate a custom image. For more information, see Import an image.
View and manage custom images
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Operation & Maintenance > Images. On the Custom Image tab, you can view the status and creation progress of your images.
If an image is created successfully, its status changes from Creating to Available, and the creation progress reaches 100%.
If image creation fails, its status changes from Creating to Failed. In this case, click Delete in the Action column to delete the image and try again.
Next steps
After you create a custom image, you can perform the following tasks:
Create a cloud desktop template based on the custom image. For more information, see Create and manage custom templates.
Use a cloud desktop template that contains the custom image to create cloud desktops or many-to-many shares. For more information, see Create a cloud desktop or Create and manage many-to-many shares.