x86 virtual server images

Supported x86_64 stock image operating systems

Supported x86_64 virtual server operating system bundle stock image

For more information about images for IBM Z (s390x processor architecture), see s390x virtual server images.

When you order an instance, the images are cloud-init enabled to optimize creation times. With a cloud-init enabled image, you can provide user data. In the User Data field on the order form, you can enter optional cloud-init user data for the server. For more information about user data and automation, see User data.

You can access details about each operating system, such as the url for the operating system, by using the API call, List all operating systems.

Stock image naming conventions

All IBM-provided stock, public images are named by using the following convention:

ibm-<family>-<version>-<type>-<architecture>-<build>

For example,

ibm-centos-7-6-minimal-amd64-2

The following list explains the variables that make up the components of the image name:

• The leading prefix of ibm- is used for IBM-provided images. Custom images cannot be named with this prefix.
• The family component provides the operating system family, such as redhat, debian or windows-server.
• The version component provides the operating system version, such as 18-04 for Ubuntu 18.04, or 2012-r2 for Windows 2012 R2.
• The type component provides the minimization level of the operating system image, such as minimal or full.
• The architecture component provides the vCPU architecture that is supported by the operating system image, such as amd64.
• The build component is a small, non-negative integer that is incremented each time a new build of the operating system is created. For image names that are otherwise identical, the image with the highest build value is the most recent image for that operating system.

You can obtain the current list of images, including stock images, by running the following command in the command-line interface: ibmcloud is images.

The image naming convention is subject to change. The list of image names is not intended to be programmatically parsed or interpreted. You can use the GET /images API to obtain metadata in a structured format.

Requirements

Custom images must meet the following requirements:

• Contain a single file or volume
• Is in qcow2 or vhd format
• Is cloud-init enabled
• The operating system is supported as a stock image
• Size doesn't exceed 250 GB
• Size isn't less than 10 GB, images less than 10 GB are rounded up to 10 GB

For more information about custom images, see Planning for custom images.