Upgrade notes

Upgrade limitations

• You can upgrade a Cloud Web Hosting instance only once per day.

• You cannot change the operating system when you upgrade a Cloud Web Hosting instance.

• Cloud Web Hosting instances support only upgrades. Downgrades are not supported. This means you cannot downgrade a higher-specification instance to its original configuration.

• Upgrades are subject to limitations based on the operating system, data center location, and subscription duration. Therefore, only some Cloud Web Hosting instances support upgrades. For more information, see Hosts that support upgrades.

Effects of an upgrade

• Effects during the upgrade

  Exclusive and Lightweight Cloud Server instances of Cloud Web Hosting automatically restart. The restart process typically takes 5 to 10 minutes. During this time, your website will be inaccessible.

• Effects after the upgrade

  • Effects on ICP filing

    Cloud Web Hosting instances used for commercial websites require a new ICP filing. Instances for other business types do not require a new filing.

    Important

    Cloud Web Hosting requires about one hour to sync ICP filing information. You can proceed with the filing after the synchronization is complete. The status of your ICP filing and domain name associations are not affected.

  • Host, server, and IP address

    • When you upgrade an Exclusive instance to a higher-specification Exclusive instance, the host, server, and IP address remain the same. However, the CPU, memory, and disk size are upgraded.

    • When you upgrade a Shared instance to a higher-specification Shared or Exclusive instance, the host and server change. The IP address also changes.

  • Impact on host data

    Data on the original host is retained for only 7 days. During this period, you cannot log on to the original host from the management console. You can connect to the original host only using an FTP client to download website data or using the DMS data management platform to export database data. For more information, see Export a database file using DMS.

    Important

    Before you upgrade your Cloud Web Hosting instance, record the FTP logon information and database information for the original host:

    • FTP logon information, including the FTP address, username, and password.

    • Database information, including the database address, username, and password.

  • Host expiration date

    The expiration date of the upgraded host is independent of the original host's expiration date. The new expiration date is calculated based on the subscription duration that you select for the upgrade. The date displayed on the page is the final date.

Upgrade billing rules

• Billing formula: Actual upgrade payment = Price of the new host - Current discount for the new host - Prorated value of the original host.

• Billing examples: The handling of the prorated value of the original host differs depending on whether the host's Alibaba Cloud account was transferred and whether a renewal was made after the transfer. The following scenarios provide details:

  • Scenario 1: If the host's Alibaba Cloud account has not been transferred, the system automatically calculates the prorated value of the original host and includes it in the formula.

  • Scenario 2: If the host's Alibaba Cloud account has been transferred but the host has not been renewed after the transfer, the prorated value of the original host is refunded directly to the original account. This value is not included in the upgrade cost formula.

    For example, the full prorated value of the host is refunded to Account A.

    

  • Scenario 3: If the host's Alibaba Cloud account has been transferred, and the host has been renewed after the transfer, the system calculates the prorated value belonging to each account separately and processes them differently.

    For example, the prorated value for Account A is not included in the formula and is refunded directly to Account A. The prorated value for Account B is included in the formula.

    

• Limitations

  The actual payment for a host cannot be negative. Therefore, the following restrictions apply:

  • If the upgrade duration is short and the system calculates a negative payment amount, these shorter durations do not appear in the subscription duration list on the upgrade page. The list starts from the shortest duration that results in the smallest positive payment amount. For example:

    Scenario	Upgrade result
    Example: Upgrading an M3 host to a Lightweight Cloud Server Elite edition: The remaining value of an M3 host after 6 months of use is CNY 490. The price for a Lightweight Cloud Server Elite edition is CNY 469 for 7 months and CNY 536 for 8 months.	The system defaults to a minimum upgrade duration of 8 months for CNY 536. The actual payment for an 8-month upgrade is CNY 46 (CNY 536 - CNY 490). The new expiration date is the upgrade date plus 8 months. Note Because the payment amount cannot be negative, the host must be upgraded for 8 months or longer (up to a maximum of 3 years).

  • If the original host has a long subscription period and the calculated payment amount is still negative even for the longest possible upgrade duration (3 years), you must request a refund for the original host to shorten its subscription period before you can upgrade. For more information, see Refund policy.

References

You can upgrade your Cloud Web Hosting instance in the management console to meet growing business demands, such as increased website traffic or storage needs. For more information, see Upgrade a Cloud Web Hosting instance.