Use an OSS Standard LRS plan to offset snapshot storage costs-Elastic Compute Service(ECS)-阿里云帮助中心

Snapshot data is stored independently in Object Storage Service (OSS) and billed based on storage capacity and duration. You can purchase an OSS Standard LRS plan (also known as an OSS storage plan) to offset these costs. This plan is more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go model. During its validity period, the OSS storage plan automatically offsets your standard snapshot storage fees. If the plan expires or its quota is fully used, billing automatically reverts to pay-as-you-go.

Limitations

Before you purchase a storage plan, review the following limitations to ensure that you can use the plan to offset your snapshot storage costs.

Only OSS storage plans of the Standard LRS plan type can offset storage fees for standard snapshots. Other plan types are not supported.
OSS storage plans can offset only standard snapshot storage fees. They do not apply to archive snapshot storage fees or snapshot replication traffic fees.
You can purchase only one OSS storage plan of the same type in the same region for the same period. Stacking plans is not supported.

Note
If you need a plan with a higher capacity or a longer subscription period, you can upgrade or renew your plan. For more information, see Renew or upgrade.
An OSS storage plan can only offset costs for the Alibaba Cloud account that purchased it. Cross-account offsets are not supported.
An OSS storage plan for a specific region can offset snapshot storage fees only within that same region. A Chinese mainland (General-purpose) OSS storage plan can offset snapshot storage fees in any supported region in the Chinese mainland. For more information, see Overview.
OSS storage plans offset only fees incurred after purchase. They cannot be applied to fees incurred before purchase.

Note
To settle overdue charges from before you purchased the plan, you must add funds to your Alibaba Cloud account. For instructions on how to top up your Alibaba Cloud account, see Add funds to your Alibaba Cloud account.

Purchase an OSS storage plan

Note

The following procedure describes how to purchase an OSS storage plan from the ECS console. For instructions on how to purchase a plan from the OSS console, see Purchase resource plans.

Before purchasing an OSS storage plan, assess the following to select the right plan.
- Confirm the region of your snapshots.
- Estimate your snapshot capacity to determine the appropriate plan capacity to purchase.
  How do I estimate the required OSS storage plan capacity based on my snapshot usage?
  - Example 1: You have 100 GB of standard snapshots in the China (Beijing) region. What OSS storage plan capacity should I purchase?
    
    You can purchase a 100 GB OSS storage plan for the China (Beijing) region. After the purchase, the plan starts to offset storage fees for 100 GB of snapshots on an hourly basis.
  - Example 2: You plan to periodically create snapshots for a 100 GB cloud disk in the China (Beijing) region to back up data. What OSS storage plan capacity should I purchase?
    
    Estimate the potential snapshot capacity based on your backup strategy, such as backup frequency and snapshot retention period, to avoid wasting resources. For example, if you plan to create one 0.5 GB snapshot every day and retain it for six months, the total capacity will reach 90 GB. In this case, you can purchase an OSS storage plan with a 100 GB capacity and a six-month subscription period before you create the snapshots. This plan will fully offset your snapshot storage fees.
Go to the OSS storage plan purchase page in the ECS console and click Buy Now.
You are redirected to the OSS storage plan purchase page in the OSS console. Select the parameters for your plan and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the purchase.
1. Set Product Type to OSS Storage Plan.
2. Set Resource Plan Type to Standard - LRS.
3. Select the region for the OSS storage plan.
  
  Note
  A plan for a specific region can offset fees only in that region. A Chinese mainland (General-purpose) plan can offset storage fees across regions in the Chinese mainland. Choose the option that best suits your business needs. For a list of Chinese mainland regions that are supported by the Chinese mainland (General-purpose) plan, see Overview.
4. Select the capacity and subscription period for the OSS storage plan.
  
  OSS storage plans are billed based on their capacity and subscription period. You can view the prices for the Standard LRS plan on the Subscription - Pricing Details tab of the Pricing of storage plans page. The price shown on the purchase page is final.

Offset rules

How offsets work

After you purchase an OSS storage plan, it automatically offsets storage capacity fees for standard snapshots in the same region. The plan uses a constant total quota model: during the validity period, it offsets snapshot storage capacity fees every hour up to a fixed amount (the plan capacity). For more information about the constant total quota model, see Overview.

For example, if you purchase a 1-year, 100 GB OSS storage plan for the China (Beijing) region, the plan will offset storage fees for up to 100 GB of standard snapshots in that region every hour for one year. If your snapshot storage capacity in that region exceeds 100 GB in a given hour, the OSS storage plan offsets the fees for 100 GB, and the overage is billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Offset order

OSS storage plan > pay-as-you-go

Note

If you have also purchased a Storage Capacity Unit (SCU) in the same region, the offset order is: OSS storage plan > Storage Capacity Unit (SCU) > pay-as-you-go.

Offset examples

Example 1: You purchase a 1-year, 10 TB OSS storage plan for the China (Beijing) region. For one year, snapshot storage capacity up to 10 TB in the China (Beijing) region is covered by the plan. Any usage beyond this limit is automatically billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Example 2: You purchase a 1-year, 10 TB Chinese mainland (General-purpose) OSS storage plan. For one year, snapshot storage capacity up to 10 TB across all supported regions in the Chinese mainland is covered by the plan. Any usage beyond this limit is automatically billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Renewals and upgrades

Renewals

To ensure your discounts continue without interruption, we recommend that you renew your OSS storage plan before it expires. You can renew the plan manually or enable auto-renewal to prevent service disruptions. For instructions, see Renewal Guide for Resource Plans.

If an OSS storage plan expires and is not renewed, your snapshot storage defaults to pay-as-you-go billing. You can also purchase a new plan after the expiration to continue receiving discounts.

Upgrades

If you need an OSS storage plan with a higher capacity, you can upgrade your current plan. For instructions, see Upgrade Guide for Resource Plans.

Refunds

OSS storage plans support online self-service refunds. For instructions, see Refund Guide for Resource Plans. For more information about the refund policy, see Refund Rules.

Expiration

After an OSS storage plan expires, it can no longer offset snapshot storage fees and cannot be renewed or upgraded.

If you take no action, billing for your snapshot storage defaults to pay-as-you-go after the plan expires.
If you want to continue receiving discounts, you can purchase a new OSS storage plan.

View plan usage

In the detailed bills of the Alibaba Cloud Billing Management console, you can view how an OSS storage plan offsets snapshot charges. This helps you verify the plan's cost-effectiveness. For more information, see Resource plan usage details.