Private Images

You can migrate your images into the IONOS cloud infrastructure by uploading them via the FTP. For more information, see Block Storage FAQs. Your IONOS account supports many types of block storage images as well as ISO images, using an emulated CD-Rom drive, from which you can install an operating system or software directly.

Image types

The following image types are supported; hence, you can upload any of these:

HDD images:
VMWare disk image	Microsoft disk image	RAW disk image
QEMU QCOW image	UDF file system	Parallels disk image
ISO images:
ISO 9660 CD-ROM

FTP access endpoints

The list below contains the FTP access endpoints for corresponding locations:

Location	FTP access endpoint
Frankfurt am Main (DE)	ftps://ftp-fra.ionos.com
Karlsruhe (DE)	ftps://ftp-fkb.ionos.com
Berlin (DE)	ftps://ftp-txl.ionos.com
London (UK)	ftps://ftp-lhr.ionos.com
Worcester (UK)	ftps://ftp-bhx.ionos.com
Paris (FR)	ftps://ftp-par.ionos.com
Logroño (ES)	ftps://ftp-vit.ionos.com
Las Vegas (US)	ftps://ftp-las.ionos.com
Lenexa (US)	ftps://ftp-mci.ionos.com
Newark (US)	ftps://ftp-ewr.ionos.com

Alternatively, you can also find the FTP addresses on the DCD. To retrieve the details, log in to the DCD with your credentials, and click:

• Menu > Help (Question Mark icon) > FTP Image Upload

• Menu > Management > Images & Snapshots > FTP Upload Image

License

Currently, IONOS does not support the Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL) option for license or subscription based operating systems like Microsoft Windows Server or Red Hat Enterprise Linux. If you want to use one of these two options for private images, IONOS will still grant you the license and charge you when a virtual machine boots from the private image.

Private image authentication

Private images inherit the same authentication defined during their creation. Therefore, the option to set an administrator password or apply an SSH key is not displayed when using a private image.

You can create snapshots from provisioned block storage volumes only. It includes the authentication you specified during the creation of the snapshot. IONOS does not modify snapshots at any time. If you want to change the authentication configurations, we recommend doing it before reusing the snapshot on a new block storage device.

Upload an image via the FTP

IONOS offers you FTP access to each data center location so you can upload your own images. Access to images is location-specific, meaning if you have uploaded an image from location A, it can be accessed only from that specific location. You can also set access rights to only allow authorized users to access and use them. Only images and snapshots to which you have access are displayed.

To upload an image, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the DCD with your username and password.

2. Go to either of the following:

   • Menu > Help (Question Mark icon) > FTP Image Upload.

   • Menu > Management > Images & Snapshots > FTP Upload Image.

Result: You will find the list of FTP server addresses for corresponding data centers. We recommend that you copy the address because it must be specified as the Host in step 3.

1. Set up a connection from your computer to the IONOS FTP server. You can use an FTP client such as FileZilla or tools from your operating system to establish a connection. Enter the following details:

   • Protocol: Select FTP - File Transfer Protocol from the drop-down list.

   • Host: Paste the appropriate FTP server address to the corresponding IONOS data center location. For example, ftp-txl.ionos.com for Berlin.

   • Encryption: Select Require explicit FTP over TLS to establish a connection. Upon selecting this option, the FTP client connects securely to the data center location using port 21, which is the default.

   • Port: By default, the client-to-server connection is established over port 21 for the specified encryption.

   • User: Enter your IONOS username to establish a secure client-to-server connection.

   • Password: Enter your IONOS password to authenticate your credentials in order to establish a client-to-server connection.

2. Upload the image.

3. The image is changed to a RAW format after upload. As a result, dynamic HDD images are always used at their maximum size. A dynamic image, for example, whose file size is 3 GB but which comes from a 50 GB hard disk, will be a 50 GB image again after conversion to the IONOS format. The conversion process generally takes a few minutes based on the size of your image.

Result: You will be notified by an email when your image is available. Only images and snapshots to which you have access are displayed.

Alternatively, you can also use the IonosCTL CLI to upload images directly from the command line to the FTP server using the FTP over TLS (FTPS) setting. Note that the option can be used only if 2-Factor Authentication is disabled for your IONOS account.

Note:

• The disk space required for an uploaded image will not affect the resources of your IONOS account and you will not be charged.

• Image file names can contain any of the following special characters: a-z A-Z 0-9 - . / _ ( ) # ~ + = blanks.

• Images created from UEFI boot machines cannot be uploaded. Only MBR boot images are supported.

Establish an FTP connection to upload images via the Windows Explorer

In Windows 10, you can upload an image, without additional software. To establish an FTP connection, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Select Add a network location from the context menu.

3. Enter the IONOS FTP address as the location of the website. Example: ftps://ftps-fkb.ionos.com. An image is only available at the location where it was uploaded.

4. Select Log on anonymously in the next dialog box that appears.

5. Enter a name for the connection in the following dialog box. The name will later be visible in Windows Explorer. Example: upload_fkb.

6. Click Finish to confirm your action.

Result: The FTP connection is available in Windows Explorer.

Upload your image through the established FTP connection

1. Open the FTP access on your local computer.

2. In the login dialog box, enter the credentials of your IONOS account.

3. Copy the image from your local computer and paste it to a folder in the data center. The image type must be, either HDD or iso.

Result: As soon as the upload begins, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from IONOS. After the upload has been completed, the image can be accessed via the Manage Images and Snapshots window and also when you choose a private image from the Own Images drop-down list when associating a Storage.

Access and manage a private image

After completing the upload and conversion process, you can manage your uploaded images via the DCD.

To access and manage your images, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the DCD with your username and password.

2. Go to the Menu > Management > Images & Snapshots.

3. Modify the following details, if necessary:

   • Name: Rename the image, if required.

   • Live Vertical Scaling: Enable this option if your image supports live vertical scaling, so that the Virtual Machine (VM) boots from this image.

   • License Type: Specify the license type of the image that will be propagated to the VM when booting from this image.

Delete a private image

You can delete your private image if you no longer need it, thus saving resources.

To delete an image, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the DCD with your username and password.

2. Go to the Menu > Management > Images & Snapshots.

3. Open the Image tab and select the private image you would like to delete.

4. Click Delete.

5. In the dialog that appears, confirm your action by entering your password and clicking OK.

Result: The selected image is deleted and cannot be restored.