Reserved Capacity

Specifications

Reserved Capacity is defined by three attributes: Scope, Capacity, and Term.

For example, if your account has 600 GB of Standard (LRS) data in the China (Hangzhou) region and you want to reduce costs through prepaid resource plans Reserved Capacity, the following combination is recommended:

1. Purchase a 500 GB Mainland China General Reserved Capacity.

2. Purchase a 100 GB Mainland China General **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan**, and use both together.

Purchase limits

• Only one Reserved Capacity can be purchased per region (for example, China (Hangzhou)). Each region may have a separate one.

• Only one general-purpose Reserved Capacity can be purchased per coverage area (for example, Mainland China General). Different coverage areas can each have their own.

• A single-region Reserved Capacity and a general-purpose Reserved Capacity from the same coverage area can be purchased at the same time (for example, China (Hangzhou) with Mainland China General, or US (Silicon Valley) with Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), Taiwan (China), and Overseas General).

• A single-region Reserved Capacity and **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** are mutually exclusive. If a single-region Reserved Capacity is already purchased, you can't purchase a **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan that covers the same region. Likewise, if a single-region Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** is already purchased, you can't purchase the corresponding single-region Reserved Capacity.

• If a general-purpose **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** is already purchased, no single-region Reserved Capacity within that coverage area can be purchased. However, a general-purpose Reserved Capacity can still be purchased.

• A general-purpose Reserved Capacity and **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** can be purchased at the same time.

• Reserved Capacity and SCU (Storage Capacity Unit) can be purchased at the same time.

What Reserved Capacity offsets

Reserved Capacity only offsets fees under the current Alibaba Cloud account. The offset scope is limited to the region selected when the Reserved Capacity was purchased, and only during the validity period after the Reserved Capacity takes effect. The offset applies to Standard (LRS) storage fees generated by new or existing buckets in that region, as well as ECS snapshot fees.

For example, user A created a Standard (LRS) bucket in the China (Hangzhou) region on May 3, 2023, then purchased a China (Hangzhou)Reserved Capacity on June 15, 2023 at 12:13. That Reserved Capacity can only offset Standard (LRS) storage fees for that bucket generated after June 15, 2023 at 12:13 (that is, after the Reserved Capacity was purchased).

Offset rules

• A single-region Reserved Capacity only offsets Standard (LRS) storage fees in the specified region.

• A general-purpose Reserved Capacity offsets Standard (LRS) storage fees across all regions in its coverage area. For the supported regions, see Specifications.

• A single-region Reserved Capacity and a general-purpose Reserved Capacity in the same coverage area can be stacked to jointly offset Standard (LRS) storage fees in the same region (for example, China (Shanghai) and Mainland China General can be stacked to offset China (Shanghai) fees). Offset priority: single-region Reserved Capacity > general-purpose Reserved Capacity.

• A single-region Reserved Capacity cannot be stacked with **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** to offset Standard (LRS) storage fees in the same region.

• A general-purpose Reserved Capacity can be stacked with **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan to jointly offset Standard (LRS) storage fees in the same region. Offset priority: Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** > general-purpose Reserved Capacity.

• Because **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** and single-region Reserved Capacity are mutually exclusive, using **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan**, single-region Reserved Capacity, and general-purpose Reserved Capacity simultaneously in the same region is not possible.

• Reserved Capacity can be stacked with SCU (Storage Capacity Unit) to jointly offset Standard (LRS) storage fees in the same region. Offset priority: Reserved Capacity > Storage Capacity Unit (SCU).

• Reserved Capacity works on a fixed-capacity basis: throughout the validity period, the maximum offset capacity per hour equals the purchased capacity tier and does not adjust based on actual usage. Any unused offset capacity in a given hour is forfeited.

  For example, if you purchase a 1-year, 10 TB Reserved Capacity for a region, up to 10 TB of Standard (LRS) storage fees in that region are offset each hour for the full year. If actual Standard (LRS) usage in a given hour exceeds 10 TB, the Reserved Capacity offsets 10 TB and the remainder is billed at pay-as-you-go rates. If usage is less than 10 TB, the Reserved Capacity offsets actual usage and the remaining capacity is forfeited.

Offset order

The primary constraint in the offset rules is the mutual exclusion between single-region Reserved Capacity and **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan**. The table below shows the offset priority for scenarios with and without a single-region Reserved Capacity. If a resource type doesn't exist, it's skipped and the next priority level applies.

Offset example

A user purchased the following on March 1, 2023 for the China (Hangzhou) region: 100 GB Mainland China General **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan**, 500 GB Mainland China General Reserved Capacity, and 20 GB SCU. On March 2, the user's Standard (LRS) storage in China (Hangzhou) is 900 GB. The storage fees are offset in the following order:

1. 100 GB of Mainland China General **Standard (LRS) Storage Plan** offsets 100 GB of Standard (LRS) storage fees.

2. 500 GB of Reserved Capacity offsets 500 GB of Standard (LRS) storage fees.

3. 20 GB of SCU offsets approximately 166.67 GB of Standard (LRS) storage fees.

   Note

   Every 0.12 GB of SCU capacity offsets 1 GB of Standard (LRS) storage. This conversion ratio is a fixed official value. Conversion ratios may vary by region or cloud product — see the pricing page for the relevant product.

4. The remaining approximately 133.33 GB (900 - 100 - 500 - 166.67 = 133.33) is billed at pay-as-you-go rates.

More operations

Purchase Reserved Capacity

Compared to pay-as-you-go,Reserved Capacity offers a significant discount, and Reserved Capacity larger capacity tiers receive greater discounts. When purchasing Reserved Capacity, specify the target region.

Purchase directly through the OSS Reserved Capacity purchase page, or through the OSS console. To purchase Reserved Capacity through the OSS console:

1. Log on to the OSS console.

2. In the left navigation pane, choose Resource Usage > Reserved Capacity Management.

3. On the Reserved Capacity Management page, click Purchase Reserved Capacity.

4. On the Object Storage Service (OSS) Reserved Capacity page, set the product type to OSS Reserved Capacity, select the region, capacity, and subscription term based on your needs, and then click Buy Now.

5. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the purchase.

Upgrade Reserved Capacity

An upgrade is available after using the Reserved Capacity for at least 3 months. Each subsequent upgrade must be at least 3 months after the previous one. To upgrade a purchased Reserved Capacity through the OSS console:

1. Log on to the OSS console.

2. In the left navigation pane, choose Resource Usage > Reserved Capacity Management.

3. On the Reserved Capacity Management page, click Upgrade next to the target Reserved Capacity.

4. On the Object Storage Service (OSS) Reserved Capacity | Upgrade page, select the Reserved Capacity to upgrade, click Buy Now, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete payment.

   Important

   For example, if you complete the Reserved Capacity upgrade at 08:45 on July 7, 2023:

   • The new-tier Reserved Capacity takes effect at midnight of the next day after the upgrade order is completed, that is, at 00:00 on July 8, 2023.

   • The 1-year validity period of the new-tier Reserved Capacity is recalculated from midnight of the next day after the upgrade order is completed, that is, the validity period ends at 00:00 on July 8, 2024.

   For billing details related to upgrading the capacity tier, see Billing for resource upgrades.

Renew Reserved Capacity

Renewing a purchased Reserved Capacity is supported.

1. Log on to the OSS console.

2. In the left navigation pane, choose Resource Usage > Reserved Capacity Management.

3. On the Reserved Capacity Management page, click Renew next to the target Reserved Capacity.

   Note

   To renew via a RAM user, grant the RAM user the system policy for viewing, paying, and canceling orders in Billing Management (BSS): AliyunBSSOrderAccess. For instructions on granting system policies to RAM users, see Manage RAM user permissions.

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete payment.

Unsubscribe Reserved Capacity

Reserved Capacity is eligible for a full refund if it's within the validity period, unused, and purchased within 5 days. Reserved Capacity Once used or purchased more than 5 days ago, no refund is available. For more information, see Resource plan refund and Resource plan refund policy update.

To apply for a refund when eligible:

1. Log in to the Billing and Cost Management console.

2. In the left navigation pane, choose Order Management > Unsubscribe Management.

3. On the Unsubscribe In-Use Resources tab, click the Resource Plan tab, set the type to Unused - Full Refund, and then click Unsubscribe Resource next to the target Reserved Capacity.

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the unsubscription.

FAQ