Reserved Capacity

Coverage

Reserved Capacity applies only to the storage fees for Standard (LRS) capacity and ECS snapshot fees. The plan covers these fees for new or existing buckets in the same region as your Reserved Capacity plan. The discount is applied automatically after the plan becomes effective and for its entire duration.

Limitations

• You cannot purchase multiple Reserved Capacity plans for the same region.

• A single-region Reserved Capacity plan is incompatible with a Standard-LRS Storage Plan for the same region or for the China (Mainland) All Regions scope.

• A China (Mainland) All Regions Reserved Capacity plan can be used at the same time as a single-region Reserved Capacity plan. It can also be used with a Standard-LRS Storage Plan.

Recommended purchase method

For example, if you have 600 GB of Standard (LRS) data in the China (Hangzhou) region and want to optimize costs by purchasing a prepaid resource plan or Reserved Capacity, we recommend the following approach:

1. First, purchase a 500 GB China (Mainland) All Regions Reserved Capacity plan.

2. Then, purchase a 100 GB China (Mainland) All Regions Standard-LRS Storage Plan to use in combination with the Reserved Capacity plan.

Discount limitations

• Reserved Capacity plans are region-specific. A plan only applies to Standard (LRS) capacity and ECS snapshot storage fees within the specified region. It cannot be shared with other regions, used across different accounts, or applied to other types of fees.

• A Reserved Capacity plan does not apply to any Standard (LRS) capacity fees or ECS snapshot storage fees incurred before the plan was purchased. For example, if you create a Standard (LRS) bucket in the China (Hangzhou) region on May 3, 2023, and then purchase a Reserved Capacity plan for the China (Hangzhou) region at 12:13 on June 15, 2023, the plan will only cover storage fees generated after 12:13 on June 15, 2023.

Discount application

Reserved Capacity provides a fixed amount of capacity for the duration of its term.

For example, if you purchase a 10 TB Reserved Capacity plan for a specific region with a one-year term, you can offset up to 10 TB of Standard (LRS) capacity usage in that region every hour for the entire year. If your Standard (LRS) capacity usage in that region exceeds 10 TB in a given hour, the Reserved Capacity covers the first 10 TB, and the excess usage is billed at the pay-as-you-go rate.

Discount application order

For Standard (LRS) capacity fees in the same region, discounts are applied in the following order: Reserved Capacity > SCU > pay-as-you-go

Discount example

Suppose you purchased a 500 GB Reserved Capacity plan and 20 GB of SCU for the China (Hangzhou) region in March 2023. In June, your total Standard (LRS) usage in that region is 900 GB. Your storage fees for that month are calculated as follows:

1. The 500 GB Reserved Capacity plan covers 500 GB of Standard (LRS) capacity fees.

2. The 20 GB SCU plan covers approximately 166.67 GB of Standard (LRS) capacity fees.

   Note

   Every 0.12 GB of SCU can be used to offset the fees for 1 GB of Standard (LRS) capacity.

3. The remaining 233.33 GB (approximately) is billed at the pay-as-you-go rate.

Related operations

Compared with pay-as-you-go pricing, Reserved Capacity offers significant discounts. The larger the capacity, the greater the discount. When purchasing a Reserved Capacity plan, you must select a specific region.

You can purchase a plan directly from the Object Storage Service (OSS) Reserved Capacity page or through the OSS console. To purchase a Reserved Capacity plan from the OSS console, follow these steps.

1. Log on to the OSS console.

2. In the left-side 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 Product Type to OSS Reserved Capacity, select the region, capacity, and subscription duration based on your needs, and then click Buy Now.

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

You can upgrade a Reserved Capacity plan three months after its purchase. Subsequent upgrades are allowed every three months. To upgrade a purchased Reserved Capacity plan from the OSS console, follow these steps.

1. Log on to the OSS console.

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

3. On the Reserved Capacity Management page, find the target Reserved Capacity plan and click Upgrade in the Actions column.

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

   Important

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

   • The new Reserved Capacity plan will take effect at 00:00 on the day after the upgrade is completed, which is 00:00 on July 8, 2023.

   • The one-year term for the new Reserved Capacity plan will restart from this effective time, meaning it will be valid until 00:00 on July 8, 2024.

   For information about the billing for instance upgrades, see Billing for instance upgrades.

You can renew an existing Reserved Capacity plan.

1. Log on to the OSS console.

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

3. On the Reserved Capacity Management page, find the target Reserved Capacity plan and click Renew in the Actions column.

   Note

   To allow a RAM user to renew plans, you must grant them the system policy AliyunBSSOrderAccess, which permits viewing, paying for, and canceling orders on the Billing Management console. For more information about how to grant permissions to a RAM user, see Manage permissions for a RAM user.

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

An unused Reserved Capacity plan is eligible for a full refund during its validity period. Once a Reserved Capacity plan has been used, it is not eligible for a refund. For more information, see Refund guidelines for resource plans and Updates to rules for unsubscribing from resource plans.

If your plan is eligible for a refund, follow these steps to request one.

1. Log on to the Billing Management console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Orders > Resource Unsubscription.

3. On the Unsubscribe Resource tab, click the Resource Plan tab. For Type, select Unused - Full Refund. Find the Reserved Capacity plan that you want to refund and click Unsubscribe Resource in the Actions column.

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

FAQ