Cross-account sharing of AMIs enables users to share custom Amazon Machine Images with other AWS accounts, promoting collaboration and resource optimization. This process involves the following steps:
1. Create an AMI : Generate a custom AMI from an existing EC2 instance or import a virtual machine.
2. Modify permissions : In the AWS Management Console, change the AMI’s launch permissions by adding specific AWS account IDs or making it public.
3. Share the AMI : Notify the target account holder(s) about the shared AMI, providing its ID for easy access.
4. Access shared AMI : The recipient can find the shared AMI in their console under “Shared with me” filter and use it to launch new instances.
5. Copy shared AMI (optional) : Recipients may copy the shared AMI to their own account for further customization or regional availability.
Note that sharing encrypted AMIs requires additional steps, such as sharing the KMS key used for encryption with the target account.
