Suspend an instance

Usage notes

• After an instance is suspended, its computing resources are released, and you are no longer billed for its instance type. However, you continue to be charged for resources such as storage space and backups. For more information, see Billable items.

• An instance can remain suspended for a maximum of 30 days. If you do not start the instance within 30 days, it is automatically started for maintenance. You will be notified by internal message, text message, and email after the instance starts.

  Note

  For long-term suspensions, you can use a Serverless instance and configure its auto-suspend feature. A suspended Serverless instance with no active connections can remain suspended indefinitely. For more information, see ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL Serverless instances.

Impacts

• While an instance is suspended, all its features are unavailable. You cannot connect to the instance, create a backup, or resize it.

  Warning

  While an instance is suspended, only its data is retained. The database is inaccessible. Adjust your business services accordingly before you suspend the instance.

• While an instance is suspended, its latest full backup will not expire. However, other backups, including full and incremental backups, still expire after their retention period ends.

  Warning

  After a backup expires, you cannot use it to restore data to a specific point in time. Alibaba Cloud is not liable for any data loss from expired backups. We recommend that you verify the validity of your backup files and configure long-term retention for backups before you suspend an instance.

• When you suspend an instance, its computing resources are reclaimed. When you start the instance again, the instance might fail to start due to insufficient inventory. If this occurs, you can try again later or restore data from a full backup to a new instance.

• The public and internal endpoints of an instance are retained after it is suspended. You can use the same endpoints to connect to the instance when you start it again.

• You cannot modify the IP whitelist of a suspended instance.

Suspend an instance

Follow these steps to stop an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance that meets the prerequisites:

1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides.

2. Find the instance that you want to stop. In the Actions column, choose More > Pause To Use .

   Note

   If the Stop Instance option is not available, verify that your instance meets the prerequisites.

3. In the dialog box that appears, click OK.

   On the Instance Details page, the Status changes to Stopped.

If you cannot suspend an instance and do not plan to use it for a long time, you can release the instance and retain its backups to reduce costs. If you need the instance later, you can restore its data from a backup. For more information, see Release an instance and retain its backups.

Start an instance

1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides.

2. Find the instance that you want to start. In the Actions column, choose More > Start Instance.

3. In the dialog box that appears, click OK and wait for the instance's Instance Status to change to Running.

FAQ

• Q: How does the instance status change when I stop and start an instance?

  A:

  The instance status changes as follows:

  • When you stop an instance, its status changes from Running to Stopping. After the instance is stopped, its status changes to Stopped.

  • When you start an instance, its status changes from Stopped to Starting. After the instance is started, its status changes to Running.

• Q: After I start a stopped instance from the console, do I need to restart it to recover data?

  A: No. After you use the Start Instance operation, the instance is ready to use.

• Q: Is the historical monitoring data of an instance retained after the instance is suspended?

  A: Yes, the historical monitoring data is retained.

• Q: After an instance is suspended, is the data in its storage space and memory retained?

  A: Only the data in the storage space is retained. Data in the memory is not retained.

• Q: Does suspending an instance remove its pending tasks, such as an availability zone migration or a resize scheduled for a maintenance window?

  A: No. While an instance is suspended, you cannot resize it, migrate its availability zone, or restart it. However, pending tasks for the instance are not removed.

• Q: Does the backup retention period include the time during which the instance is suspended?

  A: Yes. During the suspension, backups expire on schedule according to the backup policy. However, the latest full backup of the instance is always retained, even if it exceeds the specified retention period.

• Q: For a multi-AZ instance, can the primary and secondary availability zones switch after the instance is started?

  A: Yes, a primary/secondary switchover might occur when you start the instance, which can swap the primary and secondary availability zones.

• Q: Why can't I suspend some general-purpose instances?

  A: If your instance is of the Basic Edition and has the instance type mysql.n2.xlarge.1 or mysql.n4.xlarge.1, and it was created before September 30, 2022, you must upgrade the minor engine version to the latest version and try again.

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