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In practical applications of virtual computing, users generally hope to reduce the time cost of future deployments by creating images of their existing environments.
Previously, if you wanted to create an image from a VCS (Virtual Compute Service) instance on TWCC, we recommended shutting down the instance first to reduce the chance of image creation failure. After confirming the instance was in a Shutdown state, you would then click the “Create Image” button in the user interface. This process could take quite some time to complete.
Additionally, when creating a new VCS instance from an image previously created in TWCC, depending on the size of the image and the operating system type, the creation process could take anywhere from tens of minutes to several hours.
To provide a better user experience, our engineering team has recently optimized the image performance and creation workflow. With these improvements, you no longer need to shut down your VCS instance before creating an image, and the creation time has been significantly shortened—making it much more convenient and efficient for users to create and apply VCS images. Please refer to the comparison table below.
Comparison table before and after optimization
| Before optimization | After optimization | |
| Need to Shut Down | Must first shut down the VCS instance and confirm its status is Shutdown
Linux: use shutdown command
Windows: shut down inside the OS Linux: Use the shutdown command Windows: Internal shutdown |
No need to shut down the VCS instance |
| Time to Create Image | Linux: as fast as 5–10 minutes or several hours (depending on system disk size)
Windows: as fast as 5–10 minutes or several hours (depending on system disk size) Windows: From as fast as 5-10 minutes to several hours (depending on the size of the system disk). |
Linux: as fast as 3 minutes (may be longer depending on disk size)
Windows: as fast as 3 minutes (may be longer depending on disk size) Windows: Within 3 minutes at the fastest (may take longer, system disk size will affect the production process). |
| Time to Create VCS Instance from Image (Image must be created in TWCC) | Linux: as fast as 10 minutes to several hours (depending on system disk size)
Windows: as fast as 15 minutes to several hours (depending on system disk size) Windows: From as fast as 15 minutes to several hours (depending on the size of the system disk). |
Linux: as fast as 3–5 minutes (may be longer depending on image size)
Windows: as fast as 3–5 minutes (may be longer depending on image size) Windows: 3-5 minutes at the fastest (may take longer, size will affect production). |
Please note that not all VCS instances and images can benefit from these optimizations. To experience the performance improvements, the following conditions must be met:
- Creating images: The VCS instance must have been created on or after 2021/03/26. If your instance was created before 2021/03/27, please recreate the VCS instance and redeploy your service.
- Creating VCS instances from TWCC images: The original image must have been created on or after 2021/08/26. If your image was created before this date, please recreate the image first, then use the new image to create the VCS instance.
Image source: pexels