Can I make an AMI from a running instance that uses instance-store as its root device?

amazon-ec2 amazon-ami ec2-ami
theTuxRacer picture theTuxRacer · Jan 4, 2011 · Viewed 38.1k times · Source

Or is it absolutely necessary to have an EBS backed storage? Does anyone have manuals/Howtos?

I am following the manual given on this site.

Answer

Eight-Bit Guru picture Eight-Bit Guru · Jan 4, 2011

You can create an AMI from either an EBS or S3-backed running instance. The simplest way is to use the AWS Management Console to select the instance and click 'Create Image' from the Instance Actions menu.

This will create either an EBS or S3-backed AMI, depending on the type of instance.

Be aware that creating an AMI from a Running instance is inherently potentially unsafe - the storage is not imaged as a hard 'point-in-time' snapshot, so changes to the filesystem whilst the image is being created may not be recorded, and may even result in a compromised image. You should quiesce the OS as far as possible before starting.

Note also that your instance will reboot during the image-creation process, so make sure you're prepared for any temporary loss of service from the VM.

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