General information about cloud server images
An image is an exact copy of a disk file system and its contents. You can use images to create cloud servers or create boot volumes for cloud servers.
You can use:
- pre-made images — images with a pre-installed operating system prepared by Selectel specialists;
- custom images — images that you can upload to the image storage yourself.
You can work with images in the Control panel, using the OpenStack CLI, or Terraform.
You can also use applications to create servers.
Records of operations with cloud server images are stored in audit logs.
Pre-built images
Pre-built images are prepared by Selectel specialists. For each pre-built image, the working environment is prepared, necessary parameters are configured, and the assembly is completed. The images are fully compatible with the cloud platform.
You can view the up-to-date list of pre-made images in the Control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Cloud servers → click Create server → Source block → OS tab.
Custom images
If you need an image to create a cloud server that is not in the list of pre-made ones, you can upload your image to the image storage.
You can use custom images to migrate servers from other cloud platforms or within the Selectel cloud platform, and use disk images to clone cloud servers.
The supported image formats are .aki, .ami, .ari, .iso, .raw, .qcow2, .vdi, .vhd, .vhdx, and .vmdk. Some .ami images (Amazon Machine Image to launch a server) require additionally uploading .aki (Amazon kernel image) and .ari (Amazon ramdisk image) images.
The supported container formats are .aki, .ami, .ari, .bare, .ova, .ovf.
Cost
Most pre-made images are included in the cloud server cost and are not charged additionally. Astra Linux and RED OS images are paid separately because these operating systems require a license. You can check the license cost for a specific OS version in the Control panel when creating a server.
The storage cost of a custom image depends on its size and the pool it is uploaded to. Custom image storage is billed according to the Cloud Platform payment model.
You can check image storage prices on selectel.ru.