In addition to creating custom images, Tencent Cloud allows you to import images. You can import an image file of the system disk on a local or a different server into CVM custom images. You can use the imported image to create a CVM or reinstall the operating system for an existing CVM.

Preparations

Prepare an image file that meets the import requirements.

• Requirements for Linux images:

  Image Attribute	Requirements
  OS	CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, CoreOS, OpenSUSE, and SUSE Both 32-bit and 64-bit OSs are supported.
  Image format	RAW, VHD, QCOW2, and VMDK Run qemu-img info imageName | grep 'file format' to check the image format.
  File system type	GPT partition is not supported.
  Image size	The actual image size cannot exceed 50 GB. Run qemu-img info imageName | grep 'disk size' to check the image size. The image vsize cannot exceed 500 GB. Run qemu-img info imageName | grep 'virtual size' to check the image vsize. Note: size of an image in QCOW2 format is used upon check during import.
  Network	By default, Tencent Cloud provides the eth0 network interface for the instance. You can use the metadata service to query the network configuration of the instance. For more information, see Instance Metadata.
  Driver	Virtio driver of the virtualization module KVM must be installed for an image. For more information, see Checking Virtio Drivers in Linux. We recommend installing cloud-init for the image. For more information, see Installing Cloud-Init on Linux. If cloud-init cannot be installed, configure the instance by referring to Forcibly Import Image.
  Kernel	Native kernel is preferred for an image. Any modifications on the kernel may cause the import to fail.
  Region	Importing images from COS in another region is unavailable for the Shanghai Finance and Shenzhen Finance.

• Requirements for Windows images:

  Image Attribute	Requirements
  OS	Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2016 related versions Both 32-bit and 64-bit OSs are supported.
  Image format	RAW, VHD, QCOW2, and VMDK Run qemu-img info imageName | grep 'file format' to check the image format.
  File system type	Only NTFS with MBR partition is supported. GPT partition is not supported. Logical Volume Manager (LVM) is not supported.
  Image size	The actual image size cannot exceed 50 GB. Run qemu-img info imageName | grep 'disk size' to check the image size. The image vsize cannot exceed 500 GB. Run qemu-img info imageName | grep 'virtual size' to check the image vsize. Note: size of an image in QCOW2 format is used upon check during import.
  Network	By default, Tencent Cloud provides local area connection network interface for the instance. You can use the metadata service to query the network configuration of the instance. For more information, see Instance Metadata.
  Driver	Virtio driver of the virtualization module KVM must be installed for an image. The Windows system does not come with a Virtio driver by default, so please first install the Windows Virtio driver before exporting a local image. Choose the download address based on the network environment: Internet download address:http://mirrors.tencent.com/install/windows/virtio_64_1.0.9.exe Private network download address:http://mirrors.tencentyun.com/install/windows/virtio_64_1.0.9.exe
  Region	Importing images from COS in another region is unavailable for the Shanghai Finance and Shenzhen Finance.
  Others	Imported Windows images do not support Windows system activation.

Directions

1. Log in to the CVM console.
2. In the left sidebar, click Images.
3. Select Custom Image and click Import Image.
4. Activate Cloud Object Storage and then create bucket. Upload the image file to the bucket and get the image file URL.
5. Click Next.
6. Complete the configurations and click Import.

   Note：

   Ensure the entered COS file URL is correct.

   You will be notified about the result of import via the console Message Center.

Failed Imports

If the importation failed, troubleshoot as follows:

Notes

Make sure you have subscribed to product service notifications via Message Subscription. This ensures you can receive internal messages, SMS messages, and emails about the cause of failure.

Note：

If you do not subscribe to product service notifications, you will not receive the internal message about whether an import is successful.

Troubleshooting

For more information on error messages and descriptions, see Error Codes.

InvalidUrl: invalid COS URL

The InvalidUrl error indicates that an incorrect COS URL has been entered. The possible causes are:

• The image URL you entered is not a Cloud Object Storage image URL.
• The permission of the COS URL is not public read and private write.
• The access permission of the COS file is private read, but the signature has expired.

  Note：

  COS URL with the signature can only be accessed once.

• A COS URL of another region was entered.

  Note：

  The image import service accesses the COS server in the local region through the private network.

• The user's image file was deleted.
• A COS URL with the signature has been used.
  If you receive the error message about an invalid COS URL, troubleshoot based on the reasons above.

InvalidFormatSize: invalid format or size

The InvalidFormatSize error indicates that the format or size of an image to be imported does not meet the following requirements of Tencent Cloud:

• Supported image file formats are qcow2,vhd, vmdk, andraw.
• The size of an image file to be imported cannot exceed 50 GB (based on the size in qcow2 format).
• The size of the system disk to which the image is imported cannot exceed 500 GB.

If you receive an error message that the image format or size is invalid:

• Convert the image file into an appropriate format according to Linux Image Creation, reduce the image content to meet the size requirements and then reimport it.
• You can also use the offline instance migration feature to migrate the instance. This feature supports migration of image files up to 500GB.

VirtioNotInstall: Virtio driver not installed

The VirtioNotInstall error indicates that the image to be imported does not have Virtio driver installed. Tencent Cloud uses the KVM virtualization technology and requires users to install Virtio driver on the image to be imported. Except for a few customized Linux OSs, most Linux OSs have Virtio driver installed. In Windows OSs, users need to manually install the Virtio driver:

• For Linux image import, please see Checking Virtio Drivers in Linux.
• For Windows image import, see Windows Image Creation to install the Virtio driver.

CloudInitNotInstalled: cloud-init program not installed

The CloudInitNotInstalled error indicates that the image to be imported does not have cloud-init installed. Tencent Cloud uses the open-source cloud-init software to initialize the CVM. If cloud-init is not installed, the CVM initialization will fail.

• For Linux image import, see Installing Cloud-Init on Linux.
• For Windows image import, see Installing Cloudbase-Init on Windows.
• After cloud-init or cloudbase-init is installed, replace the configuration file based on the corresponding document so the CVM can pull data from the correct data source upon startup.

PartitionNotPresent: partition information not found

The PartitionNotPresent error indicates that the imported image is incomplete. Check whether the boot partition was included when the image was created.

RootPartitionNotFound: root partition not found

The RootPartitionNotFound error indicates that the root partition cannot be detected in the image to be imported. Check the image file. The possible causes are:

• The installation package was uploaded.
• The data disk image was uploaded.
• The boot partition image was uploaded.
• An incorrect file was uploaded.

InternalError: unknown error

The InternalError error indicates that the cause of error has not yet been recorded. Contact the customer service and our technical personnel will help you resolve the issue.

Error Codes