@i = $ec2->describe_images(@image_ids)

@i = $ec2->describe_images(-image_id=>\@id,-executable_by=>$id, -owner=>$id, -filter=>\%filters)

Return a series of VM::EC2::Image objects, each describing an AMI. Optional arguments:

 -image_id        The id of the image, either a string scalar or an
                  arrayref.
 -executable_by   Filter by images executable by the indicated user account, or
                    one of the aliases "self" or "all".
 -owner           Filter by owner account number or one of the aliases "self",
                    "aws-marketplace", "amazon" or "all".
 -filter          Tags and other filters to apply

If there are no other arguments, you may omit the -filter argument name and call describe_images() with a single hashref consisting of the search filters you wish to apply.

The full list of image filters can be found at: http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/AWSEC2/latest/APIReference/ApiReference-query-DescribeImages.html

$image = $ec2->create_image(-instance_id=>$id,-name=>$name,%other_args)

Create an image from an EBS-backed instance and return a VM::EC2::Image object. The instance must be in the "stopped" or "running" state. In the latter case, Amazon will stop the instance, create the image, and then restart it unless the -no_reboot argument is provided.

Arguments:

 -instance_id    ID of the instance to create an image from. (required)
 -name           Name for the image that will be created. (required)
 -description    Description of the new image.
 -no_reboot      If true, don't reboot the instance.
 -block_device_mapping
                 Block device mapping as a scalar or array ref. See 
                  run_instances() for the syntax.
 -block_devices  Alias of the above

$image = $ec2->register_image(-name=>$name,%other_args)

Register an image, creating an AMI. This can be used to create an AMI from a S3-backed instance-store bundle, or to create an AMI from a snapshot of an EBS-backed root volume.

Required arguments:

 -name                 Name for the image that will be created.

Arguments required for an EBS-backed image:

 -root_device_name     The root device name, e.g. /dev/sda1
 -block_device_mapping The block device mapping strings, including the
                       snapshot ID for the root volume. This can
                       be either a scalar string or an arrayref.
                       See run_instances() for a description of the
                       syntax.
 -block_devices        Alias of the above.

Arguments required for an instance-store image:

 -image_location      Full path to the AMI manifest in Amazon S3 storage.

Common optional arguments:

 -description         Description of the AMI
 -architecture        Architecture of the image ("i386" or "x86_64")
 -kernel_id           ID of the kernel to use
 -ramdisk_id          ID of the RAM disk to use
 -virtualization_type Type of virtualization ("paravirtual" or "hvm")
                      Default is "paravirtual"
 -sriov_net_support   Set to "simple" to enable enhanced networking for the AMI

While you do not have to specify the kernel ID, it is strongly recommended that you do so. Otherwise the kernel will have to be specified for run_instances().

Note: Immediately after registering the image you can add tags to it and use modify_image_attribute to change launch permissions, etc.

$result = $ec2->deregister_image($image_id)

Deletes the registered image and returns true if successful.

@data = $ec2->describe_image_attribute($image_id,$attribute)

This method returns image attributes. Only one attribute can be retrieved at a time. The following is the list of attributes that can be retrieved:

 description            -- scalar
 kernel                 -- scalar
 ramdisk                -- scalar
 launchPermission       -- list of scalar
 productCodes           -- array
 blockDeviceMapping     -- list of hashref
 sriovNetSupport        -- scalar

All of these values can be retrieved more conveniently from the VM::EC2::Image object returned from describe_images(), so there is no attempt to parse the results of this call into Perl objects. In particular, 'blockDeviceMapping' is returned as a raw hashrefs (there also seems to be an AWS bug that causes fetching this attribute to return an AuthFailure error).

Please see the VM::EC2::Image launchPermissions() and blockDeviceMapping() methods for more convenient ways to get this data.

$boolean = $ec2->modify_image_attribute($image_id,-$attribute_name=>$value)

This method changes image attributes. The first argument is the image ID, and this is followed by the attribute name and the value to change it to.

The following is the list of attributes that can be set:

 -launch_add_user         -- scalar or arrayref of UserIds to grant launch permissions to
 -launch_add_group        -- scalar or arrayref of Groups to remove launch permissions from
                               (only currently valid value is "all")
 -launch_remove_user      -- scalar or arrayref of UserIds to remove from launch permissions
 -launch_remove_group     -- scalar or arrayref of Groups to remove from launch permissions
 -product_code            -- scalar or array of product codes to add
 -description             -- scalar new description

You can abbreviate the launch permission arguments to -add_user, -add_group, -remove_user, -remove_group, etc.

Only one attribute can be changed in a single request.

For example:

  $ec2->modify_image_attribute('ami-12345',-product_code=>['abcde','ghijk']);

The result code is true if the attribute was successfully modified, false otherwise. In the latter case, $ec2->error() will provide the error message.

To make an image public, specify -launch_add_group=>'all':

  $ec2->modify_image_attribute('i-12345',-launch_add_group=>'all');

Also see VM::EC2::Image for shortcut methods. For example:

 $image->add_authorized_users(1234567,999991);

$boolean = $ec2->reset_image_attribute($image_id,$attribute_name)

This method resets an attribute of the given snapshot to its default value. The valid attributes are:

 launchPermission

$image = $ec2->copy_image(-source_region => $src, -source_image_id => $id, -name => $name, -description => $desc, -client_token => $token)

Initiates the copy of an AMI from the specified source region to the region in which the API call is executed.

Required arguments:

 -source_region       -- The ID of the AWS region that contains the AMI to be
                         copied (source).
 -source_image_id     -- The ID of the Amazon EC2 AMI to copy.

Optional arguments:

 -name                -- The name of the new EC2 AMI in the destination region.
 -description         -- A description of the new AMI in the destination region.
 -client_token        -- Unique, case-sensitive identifier you provide to ensure
                         idempotency of the request.

Returns a VM::EC2::Image object on success;