Step 1

Log into https://www.alibabacloud.com/ and choose your region.

Step 2

Create Custom Virtualized Image

1. Go to Object Storage Service (OSS), then create a bucket and do the following:

   Bucket names must be globally unique within your Alibaba project.

   1. Upload QCOW2 image from local directory to Alibaba bucket.

   2. From the left Navigation pane, click Buckets > ASA Virtualbucket > Upload

   3. Choose Private as ACL and copy the OSS Object address mentioned in the object details after the upload is completed successfully.

   4. Paste the OSS object address of custom image from the bucket.

   5. Choose Linux as OS and Others Linux as variant type.

   6. Choose x86_64 as System Architecture.

   7. Choose Image format as QCOW2.

   8. Choose license type as BYOL.

2. Create an instance from the para-virtualized image from the previous step.

   1. From the left side Navigation pane, click Images > Custom Image > Actions > Create Instance

Step 3

Create Instance from Custom Image

1. Go to the Elastic Compute Service > Create Instance and select the following:

   1. Billing Method: Pay-As-You-Go

   2. Region: As per requirement.

   3. Instance Type: ecs.g5ne.large / ecs.g5ne.xlarge /ecs.g5ne.2xlarge /ecs.g5ne.4xlarge

   4. Quantity: As required.

   5. Image: Custom image created in the previous section.

   6. System Disk: 20GB as the minimum value.

2. To proceed further, select the following:

   1. VPC: VPC in which ASA Virtual will be deployed.

   2. Vswitch: Subnet of the Primary Interface.

   3. Assign Public IPv4 Address: It’s required to connect via SSH (If not selected, then the ASA Virtual can only be accessed via Console connection of Alibaba from UI).

   4. Security Group: Choose the appropriate Security Group.

   5. Interfaces: Primary interface belongs to the subnet chosen in step 2. An instance can be deployed with two interfaces and the rest can be attached after deployment.

3. Move to the next section and do the following.

   1. Key-Pair: For key-based login, generate a key-pair if not done already. You can also access the instance with a password.

   2. Instance-name: Name of instance as suitable.

   3. Day-0 (User Data): Provide the Day0 configuration as per the requirement (Don’t choose 64 base encoded).

      Sample Day 0 Configuration -

      
      ! ASA Version 9.x! required config start
      interface management0/0
      management-only
      nameif management
      security-level 100
      ip address dhcp
      no shut
      !
      crypto key generate rsa modulus 2048 noconfirm
      ssh 0 0 management
      ssh timeout 60
      ssh version 2
      username admin nopassword privilege 15
      username admin attributes
      service-type admin
      aaa authentication ssh console LOCAL
      ! required config end

4. Accept the Terms of Service and Create the Instance.

Step 4

Click Launch Instance to deploy your ASA Virtual.