ESSD AutoPL disks decouple capacity from performance, allowing you to independently configure provisioned IOPS and performance burst.
An ESSD AutoPL disk's workload originates from its attached instance. Performance statistics include all applications on the instance, such as Alibaba Cloud Security, Cloud Monitor, and Cloud Assistant.
See Performance metrics for common disk performance metrics.
See ESSDs for general ESSD information.
Features
An ESSD AutoPL disk's total performance is the sum of baseline performance, provisioned performance, and performance burst.
Baseline performance
The maximum IOPS and throughput included with a disk upon purchase. Baseline performance scales linearly with disk capacity up to a specification-dependent maximum.
Provisioned performance
You can purchase additional IOPS and throughput for a disk without changing its capacity. Each provisioned IOPS includes 16 KB of throughput.
Burst performance
Enabled by default. ESSD AutoPL disks temporarily boost performance during I/O spikes and return to normal after the workload stabilizes. Maximum burst: 1,000,000 IOPS, 4 GB/s throughput, and 1,000 IOPS/GiB density.
Use cases
ESSD AutoPL disks apply to the same scenarios as ESSDs, such as latency-sensitive applications and I/O-intensive workloads. They also suit:
Services that need higher performance at a fixed capacity.
Services with highly fluctuating workloads that require disks to handle sudden I/O spikes.
ESSD AutoPL disk specifications
The following table lists ESSD AutoPL disk specifications.
Performance category | Disk property | Specifications |
Baseline performance | Capacity range (GiB) | 1 to 65,536 |
Maximum IOPS per disk | 50,000 | |
Maximum I/O size (KiB) | 16 | |
Maximum throughput per disk (MB/s) | 350 | |
Average latency of random writes (ms), Block Size=4k | 0.2 | |
IOPS formula per disk (baseline performance①) | max{min{1,800 + 50 * Capacity, 50,000}, 3,000} | |
Throughput formula per disk (baseline performance①, MB/s) | max{min{120 + 0.5 * Capacity, 350}, 125} | |
Provisioned performance | Maximum provisioned IOPS② per disk | 50,000 |
IOPS formula per disk (provisioned performance②) | Capacity (GiB) <= 3: Provisioned performance cannot be set. Capacity (GiB) >= 4: [1, min{(1,000 IOPS/GiB * Capacity - Baseline IOPS), 50,000}] | |
Throughput formula per disk (provisioned performance②, MB/s) | 16 KB * Provisioned IOPS/1,024 | |
Performance burst | Burst IOPS formula per disk (performance burst③) | Actual final IOPS - Baseline IOPS - Provisioned IOPS |
Burst throughput formula per disk (performance burst③) | Actual final throughput - Baseline throughput - Provisioned throughput | |
ESSD AutoPL disk performance | Performance composition | Baseline performance① + Provisioned performance② + Performance burst③ |
Maximum I/O density per disk④ | 1,000 IOPS/GiB | |
Maximum IOPS per disk (performance burst enabled) | Capacity <= 3 GiB: Performance burst is not supported. Capacity >= 4 GiB: min{1,000,000, 1,000 * Capacity} | |
Maximum throughput per disk (performance burst enabled) | Capacity <= 3 GiB: Performance burst is not supported. Capacity >= 4 GiB: max{min{16 KB * IOPS/1,024, 4 GB/s}, (Baseline throughput + Provisioned throughput)} | |
Maximum IOPS per disk (performance burst disabled, which is the sum of baseline and provisioned performance) | 100,000 | |
Maximum throughput per disk (performance burst disabled, which is the sum of baseline and provisioned performance) | 1,131 MB/s |
①: The maximum IOPS and throughput included upon purchase. Scales linearly with capacity up to a specification-dependent maximum.
②: Additional IOPS and throughput purchased separately without changing disk capacity. Each provisioned IOPS includes 16 KB of throughput.
③: Burst performance beyond baseline and provisioned levels. Monitor burst details (duration and total burst I/O) in real time with CloudLens for EBS. See Cloud disk analysis.
④: I/O density = IOPS / Disk capacity (IOPS/GiB). Indicates IOPS capability per GiB.
Disk read/write performance is capped by both the instance type and the disk specifications, whichever limit is reached first. For example, if an instance type caps disk bandwidth at 6 Gbit/s (750 MB/s), actual throughput will not exceed 750 MB/s.
See Instance family for disk IOPS and bandwidth by instance type. If instance limits cap disk performance, upgrade the instance type.
Supported instance families
ESSD AutoPL disks support the same instance families as ESSDs. See Instance families.
Billing
Billable items
ESSD AutoPL disk fees consist of: disk capacity fee, provisioned performance fee, and performance burst fee. See Elastic Block Storage billing for details.
Disk capacity fee: Charged upon creation. The disk has the same baseline performance as a PL1 ESSD.
Provisioned performance fee: Charged on a pay-as-you-go basis after enabled.
Performance burst fee: Charged on a pay-as-you-go basis after enabled.
If total burst I/O per hour is 100,000 or less, a free quota of 100,000 I/Os applies and no fee is charged.
If total burst I/O per hour exceeds 100,000, a fee capping rule prevents cost overruns. See Performance burst fee cap rules.
Performance burst fee cap rules
The performance burst fee cap prevents unexpected cost accumulation from extreme burst IOPS. Even during extreme performance bursts, the fee stays within a controlled range, eliminating cost overrun risks.
Fee cap rules
The fee is capped when the maximum burst I/O density (Maximum burst IOPS / Disk capacity) within a billing epoch exceeds 200 IOPS/GiB.
NoteBurst IOPS does not include baseline performance and provisioned performance.
Total burst I/O (I/O per hour)
Maximum burst I/O density (Maximum burst IOPS/GiB)
Fee before capping
Fee after capping
Typical scenario
100,000 or less
Not applicable
Fee = Total burst I/O * Unit price of performance burst
Free (free quota of 100,000 I/Os)
Occasional I/O glitches
Greater than 100,000
200 or less
Not capped
Fee = (Burst I/O - 100,000) * Unit price of performance burst
Occasional peaks below the IOPS cap threshold
Greater than 200
Capped
Fee = min((Burst I/O - 100,000) * Unit price of performance burst, Disk capacity fee * 8)
Extreme payload with high peak IOPS and long duration
Cost savings comparison
Example: In China (Hangzhou), a 40 GiB ESSD AutoPL disk experiences a performance burst. The total burst I/O for that hour is 4,390,000 (exceeds 100,000). The maximum burst I/O density reaches 230 IOPS/GiB (exceeds 200 IOPS/GiB), triggering the fee cap:
Fee comparison before and after capping
Billing method
Performance burst fee
Fee before capping
Total burst I/O * Unit price of performance burst
4.39 million × 0.02 = CNY 8.78
Fee after capping
min((Burst I/O - 100,000) * Unit price of performance burst, Disk capacity fee * 8)
min((439 - 10) * 10,000 * 0.02, 8 * 40 * 0.0021) = CNY 0.672
View performance burst fees and bill details in the Billing Center. See Query bills.
Pricing
See Elastic Block Storage pricing and the .
Overdue payments
If your Alibaba Cloud account has an overdue payment for an ESSD AutoPL disk's provisioned performance or performance burst, Alibaba Cloud immediately stops these services. Baseline performance is not affected. After you settle the bill, provisioned performance and performance burst resume immediately.
Configure provisioned performance and performance burst
Create an ESSD AutoPL disk in the ECS console or select it when creating an ECS instance, then configure its performance.
See Create an instance with Custom Launch and Create a data disk.
After creation, adjust provisioned performance and performance burst to optimize costs. See Modify the performance configuration of an ESSD AutoPL disk.
To create an ESSD AutoPL disk in the ECS console:
In the upper-left corner of the page, select a region and resource group.
Click Create Cloud Disk.
On the Create Disk page, configure the disk parameters.
Set Disk Type to ESSD AutoPL and configure the disk capacity.
Select Provisioned Performance Fee and configure the IOPS value.
Enable Performance Burst is selected by default. Disable it if not needed.
See Create a data disk for other parameters.
Billing examples of an ESSD AutoPL disk (CNY)
The following examples show performance metrics and fees for an ESSD AutoPL disk with configured provisioned performance and performance burst. Region: China (Hangzhou). Unit prices:
Subscription
Unit price of baseline performance: CNY 1.00 per 1 GiB/month
Unit price of provisioned performance: CNY 0.0000625 per 1 IOPS/hour
Unit price of performance burst: CNY 0.02 per 10,000 I/Os
Pay-as-you-go
Unit price of baseline performance: CNY 0.0021 per 1 GiB/hour
Unit price of provisioned performance: CNY 0.0000625 per 1 IOPS/hour
Unit price of performance burst: CNY 0.02 per 10,000 I/Os
Prices are for reference only. See Elastic Block Storage Pricing for actual prices.
Example 1: Provisioned performance configured, performance burst not enabled
A 100 GiB ESSD AutoPL disk with 200 provisioned IOPS. Performance burst is not enabled.
Disk billing method | Disk fee (CNY) | Disk Performance |
Subscription
Subscription duration: 1 month |
|
|
Pay-as-you-go
Billing duration: 24 hours |
|
Example 2: Provisioned performance configured, performance burst enabled
A 100 GiB ESSD AutoPL data disk with 200 provisioned IOPS. Performance burst is enabled by default.
Fees and performance vary by burst scenario:
Scenario 1: Only IOPS bursts occur
An IOPS burst occurs once for 1 second. The burst I/O exceeding baseline + provisioned performance is 8,000. The performance burst fee is 0 because the free quota of 100,000 I/Os per hour applies.
Disk billing method
Disk fee (CNY)
Disk Performance
Subscription
Baseline performance: subscription
Provisioned performance: pay-as-you-go
Performance burst: pay-as-you-go
Subscription duration: 1 month
Baseline performance fee: Disk capacity * Unit price * Subscription duration = 100 * 1 * 1 = 100
Provisioned performance fee: Unit price of provisioned performance * Provisioned IOPS * Subscription duration = 0.0000625 * 200 * (30 * 24) = 9
Performance burst fee: Free for less than 100,000 I/Os
Total fee: Baseline performance fee + Provisioned performance fee + Performance burst fee = 100 + 9 + 0 = 109
IOPS:
Baseline IOPS: 1,800 + 50 * Capacity = 1,800 + 50 * 100 = 6,800
Provisioned IOPS: 200
Performance burst: 8,000 * 1 = 8,000
Total IOPS per disk: Baseline IOPS + Provisioned IOPS + Performance burst = 6,800 + 200 + 8,000 = 15,000
Throughput (MB/s):
Baseline throughput: 120 + 0.5 * Capacity = 120 + 0.5 * 100 = 170
Provisioned throughput: 16 KB * Provisioned IOPS/1,024 = 16 KB * 200/1,024 = 3.125
Total throughput per disk: Baseline throughput + Provisioned throughput = 170 + 3.125 = 173.125 (rounded in the console)
Pay-as-you-go
Baseline performance: pay-as-you-go
Provisioned performance: pay-as-you-go
Performance burst: pay-as-you-go
Billing duration: 24 hours
Baseline performance fee: Disk capacity * Unit price * Billing duration = 100 * 0.0021 * 24 = 5.04
Provisioned performance fee: Unit price of provisioned performance * Provisioned IOPS * Billing duration = 0.0000625 * 200 * 24 = 0.3
Performance burst fee: Free for less than 100,000 I/Os
Total fee: Baseline performance fee + Provisioned performance fee + Performance burst fee = 5.04 + 0.3 + 0 = 5.34
Scenario 2: Only throughput bursts occur, IOPS does not burst
A throughput burst occurs once for 15 seconds. The excess throughput is 1 GB/s (= 1 * 1,024 * 1,024 / 16 = 65,536 I/Os). Burst I/O in 15 seconds: 65,536 * 15 = 983,040, rounded up to 990,000 I/Os. Total burst I/O exceeds 100,000, and I/O density exceeds 200 IOPS/GiB (65,536 / 100 = 655.36 IOPS/GiB), so the fee is capped.
Disk billing method
Disk fee (CNY)
Disk performance
Subscription
Baseline performance: subscription
Provisioned performance: pay-as-you-go
Performance burst: pay-as-you-go
Subscription duration: 1 month
Baseline performance fee: Disk capacity * Unit price * Subscription duration = 100 * 1 * 1 = 100
Provisioned performance fee: Unit price of provisioned performance * Provisioned IOPS * Subscription duration = 0.0000625 * 200 * (30 * 24) = 9
Performance burst fee: min((Burst I/O (in 10,000s) - 10) * Performance burst unit price, Disk capacity fee * 8) = min((99 - 10) * 0.02, 0.0021 * 100 * 8) = 1.68
Total fee: Baseline performance fee + Provisioned performance fee + Performance burst fee = 100 + 9 + 1.68 = 110.68
IOPS:
Baseline IOPS: 1,800 + 50 * Capacity = 1,800 + 50 * 100 = 6,800
Total IOPS per disk: Baseline IOPS + Provisioned IOPS = 6,800 + 200 = 7,000
Throughput (MB/s):
Baseline throughput: 120 + 0.5 * Capacity = 120 + 0.5 * 100 = 170
Provisioned throughput: 16 KB * Provisioned IOPS/1,024 = 16 KB * 200/1,024 = 3.125
Performance burst: 1 GB/s * 1,024 = 1,024
Total throughput per disk: Baseline throughput + Provisioned throughput + Performance burst = 170 + 3.125 + 1,024 = 1,197.125
Pay-as-you-go
Baseline performance: pay-as-you-go
Provisioned performance: pay-as-you-go
Performance burst: pay-as-you-go
Billing duration: 24 hours
Baseline performance fee: Disk capacity * Unit price * Billing duration = 100 * 0.0021 * 24 = 5.04
Provisioned performance fee: Unit price of provisioned performance * Provisioned IOPS * Billing duration = 0.0000625 * 200 * 24 = 0.3
Performance burst fee = min((Burst IO in 10,000s - 10) * Performance burst unit price, Disk capacity fee * 8) = min((99 - 10) * 0.02, (0.0021 * 100) * 8) = 1.68
Total fee: Baseline performance fee + Provisioned performance fee + Performance burst fee = 5.04 + 0.3 + 1.68 = 7.02
Scenario 3: Both IOPS and throughput burst, billing is based on the larger burst I/O amount.
Both an IOPS burst and a throughput burst occur once for 2 seconds. IOPS burst: 8,000. Throughput burst: 1 GB/s. IOPS burst I/O in 2 seconds: 8,000 * 2 = 16,000. Throughput burst I/O in 2 seconds: 1 * 1,024 * 1,024 / 16 * 2 = 131,072, rounded up to 140,000. The fee is based on 140,000 I/Os. I/O density exceeds 200 IOPS/GiB (65,536 / 100 = 655.36), so the fee is capped.
Disk billing method
Disk fee (CNY)
Disk Performance
Subscription
Baseline performance: subscription
Provisioned performance: pay-as-you-go
Performance burst: pay-as-you-go
Subscription duration: 1 month
Baseline performance fee: Disk capacity * Unit price * Subscription duration = 100 * 1 * 1 = 100
Provisioned performance fee: Unit price of provisioned performance * Provisioned IOPS * Subscription duration = 0.0000625 * 200 * (30 * 24) = 9
Performance burst fee: min((Burst IOPS (in units of 10,000) - 10) * Performance burst unit price, Disk capacity fee * 8) = min((14 - 10) * 0.02, 0.0021 * 100 * 8) = 0.08
Total fee: Baseline performance fee + Provisioned performance fee + Performance burst fee = 100 + 9 + 0.08 = 109.08
IOPS:
Baseline IOPS: 1,800 + 50 * Capacity = 1,800 + 50 * 100 = 6,800
Provisioned IOPS: 200
Performance burst: 8,000 * 1 = 8,000
Total IOPS per disk: Baseline IOPS + Provisioned IOPS + Performance burst = 6,800 + 200 + 8,000 = 15,000
Throughput (MB/s):
Baseline throughput: 120 + 0.5 * Capacity = 120 + 0.5 * 100 = 170
Provisioned throughput: 16 KB * Provisioned IOPS/1,024 = 16 KB * 200/1,024 = 3.125
Performance burst: 1 GB/s * 1,024 = 1,024
Total throughput per disk: Baseline throughput + Provisioned throughput + Performance burst = 170 + 3.125 + 1,024 = 1,197.125
Pay-as-you-go
Baseline performance: pay-as-you-go
Provisioned performance: pay-as-you-go
Performance burst: pay-as-you-go
Billing duration: 24 hours
Baseline performance fee: Disk capacity * Unit price * Billing duration = 100 * 0.0021 * 24 = 5.04
Provisioned performance fee: Unit price of provisioned performance * Provisioned IOPS * Billing duration = 0.0000625 * 200 * 24 = 0.3
Performance burst fee: min((Burst IO - 10) * Performance burst unit price, Disk capacity fee * 8) = min((14 - 10) * 0.02, 0.0021 * 100 * 8) = 0.08
Total fee: Baseline performance fee + Provisioned performance fee + Performance burst fee = 5.04 + 0.3 + 0.08 = 5.42