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Billing FAQ

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This topic answers frequently asked questions about billing and purchasing ApsaraDB RDS.

Cost-saving questions

Why am I charged for a subscription ApsaraDB RDS instance every day, and how can I avoid it?

The subscription fee covers only the instance type and storage space. You will incur additional charges if you use read-only instances, SQL Audit, or paid performance monitoring, or if your backup storage exceeds the free quota. For more information, see Billable items.ApsaraDB RDS offers savings plans to offset all pay-as-you-go billable items and help you save on costs. For more information, see General-purpose savings plans.

Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. Go to the Expenses > Expenses and Costs page. Choose Bill > Bill Details to view the billable items.

You can use the following methods to avoid or reduce pay-as-you-go costs:

  • If your backup storage exceeds the free quota: For more information, see Reduce backup size and costs.

  • Cross-region backup and SQL Audit: You can purchase an ApsaraDB RDS savings plan to offset these costs. For more information, see General-purpose savings plans.

    Note

    ApsaraDB RDS offers storage plans that can be used to offset the usage of SQL Audit (SQL Explorer) to help you save on costs. For more information, see Storage plans. If you upgrade to DAS Enterprise Edition's SQL Explorer and Audit, you cannot use storage plans to offset costs.

  • Read-only instances and clone instances: These billable items support the subscription billing method. We recommend that you select the subscription billing method.

  • Performance monitoring: You can use the free monitoring frequencies (once every 60 seconds and once every 300 seconds).

Am I charged for a pay-as-you-go instance even if I do not use it?

Yes, you are. A pay-as-you-go instance consumes computing and storage resources even when it is not in use, so you are charged an hourly fee. If you do not plan to use the instance for a long time, you can save your data and then release the instance.

How am I charged for changing the configuration of a subscription instance?

For more information, see Change configuration.

Am I charged for applying for a public endpoint?

Currently, you are not charged for the inbound and outbound Internet traffic of subscription and pay-as-you-go instances. The bandwidth is not limited.

How can I reduce pay-as-you-go costs?

  • You can purchase a general-purpose savings plan to offset all pay-as-you-go billable items in ApsaraDB RDS, including instance types, data storage, backup storage, geo-redundancy, SQL Audit, second-level monitoring, and dedicated proxies.

  • You can purchase a storage plan to offset the usage of instance storage, backup storage (long-term backup and cross-region backup), and SQL Audit.

How do I check whether backup fees are generated?

  • To check whether backup fees are currently being generated: On the instance's basic information page, view the Usage Statistics section. If the backup usage is greater than the free quota, backup fees are being generated.查看额度

  • To check whether backup fees were generated in the past: Go to the Billing Details page and check for a bill where the Billable Item is instance backup.

How can I reduce backup size and costs?

If an instance is no longer in use, how do I release it? Can a subscription instance be released?

See Release an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.

Subscription instances cannot be released, but you can unsubscribe from them and receive a refund. There are three types of refunds: five-day unconditional refund, conditional refund, and refund for a renewal order that has not yet taken effect. For more information about the rules, see Unsubscription rules.

How do I view the activation time of a feature?

  • You can view the Payment/Activation Time of a feature on the Order Management page:开通时间intl

  • You can use ActionTrail to view the operation history of the instance.action trail

Instance purchase and billing method questions

Why is there no response after I create an instance, and the instance is not visible in the instance list?

The instance may not appear for the following two reasons:

  • Incorrect region

    The region you are currently viewing may be different from the region you selected when you created the instance. You can switch regions in the upper-left corner of the page.

    选择地域

  • Insufficient resources in the zone

    Resources in a zone are dynamically allocated. The zone may have insufficient resources after you place an order. This can cause the creation to fail, and the instance will not appear in the instance list. We recommend that you try again in a different zone. A refund will be issued for the failed creation. You can view the refund in the order list.

With the same CPU and memory, why do entry-level instance types have higher maximum connections and IOPS than enterprise-level instance types?

Entry-level instance types belong to the shared or general-purpose instance family, while enterprise-level instance types belong to the dedicated instance family. In practice, enterprise-level instance types are more stable because they have dedicated CPU and memory resources. For more information about the differences, see Instance families.

Can I switch between the subscription and pay-as-you-go billing methods?

They are mutually transformable.

If a resource plan expires or its quota is fully used, how is the excess usage billed?

The excess usage is automatically billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Expired or overdue instances

  • Causes and impacts of expiration or overdue payments

    What are the impacts if an instance expires or has an overdue payment?

    For more information, see Overdue payments and Renewal policy.

    If my Alibaba Cloud account has an overdue payment due to other billable items on a subscription instance (such as backup storage exceeding the free quota or using SQL Audit), what are the impacts?

    The subscription instance and its pay-as-you-go billable items are not affected. However, all pay-as-you-go instances under the account will enter an overdue state.

    If I no longer use a subscription instance after it expires, do I need to manually unsubscribe from it? Will other fees be generated if I do not unsubscribe?

    No, you do not. After a subscription instance expires, it will enter the following states. If you no longer use it, you do not need to take any action, and no additional fees will be generated.

    • From day 1 to day 7 after expiration, the instance is locked and cannot be accessed.

    • From day 8 to day 15 after expiration, the compute resources of the instance are released, but its data backups are retained.

    • On day 16 after expiration, the data of the instance is no longer retained.

    If an instance is locked due to an overdue account payment, are other fees generated during the locked period?

    No, additional fees are not generated while the instance is locked. For more information about the impacts of overdue payments, see Overdue payments.

    If an instance expired more than 16 days ago and its data has been released, can the data be recovered?

    No, it cannot. On day 16 after the instance expires, its data is no longer retained and cannot be recovered. If you still need to use the instance, you must purchase a new one and deploy your data.

    Which ApsaraDB RDS instances are affected by an overdue account payment?

    An overdue account payment causes pay-as-you-go instances to become overdue. For more information, see Overdue payments.

    What does the ApsaraDB RDS instance error The MySQL server is running with the LOCK_WRITE option so it cannot execute this statement mean?

    This error indicates that the instance is currently locked. To learn how to unlock it, see What do I do if my instance is in the "Locked" state?.

  • Operations related to expiration or overdue payments

    Can I change the configuration of an instance that is locked due to an overdue payment or expiration?

    No, you cannot. You must first unlock the instance and then change its configuration. For more information, see Overdue payments and Renewal policy.

    My instance is locked due to expiration. I have renewed it, but it still shows as locked. What should I do?

    It takes time to unlock an instance after renewal. Please wait for the process to complete. The instance is usually unlocked within 5 minutes.

    Can I get the same discount for renewal that I received at the time of purchase?

    The renewal price is subject to the price displayed in the console.

    If I renew a locked instance and then downgrade its configuration, will I be refunded the price difference?

    The price difference is refunded. For more information, see Downgrade refund rules.

    If an instance is locked due to expiration or an overdue payment, can I still back up the instance and export backups?

    No, you cannot. You cannot back up a locked instance or export its backup files. The instance must be in the running state. We recommend that you top up your account or renew the instance to unlock it before you perform backups and exports.

    How do I change the billing method of a locked subscription instance to pay-as-you-go?

    You cannot directly change the billing method of an expired subscription instance to pay-as-you-go. You must first renew the instance for a short period to unlock it, and then change the billing method. When you switch from subscription to pay-as-you-go, the system refunds the price difference. For more information, see Refund rules for changing the billing method from subscription to pay-as-you-go.

    My instance was locked due to expiration. I have renewed and unlocked it. Do I need to perform any other configurations? Will the instance automatically return to normal?

    From day 1 to day 7 after an instance expires, it is locked and cannot be accessed. If you manually renew the instance during this period, it will immediately return to normal. No other configurations are needed.

    After an instance was released, I rebuilt it from the recycle bin. Is the data in the new instance identical to the data in the released instance?

    The data is identical to that of the original instance, but the endpoint, instance ID, and other information will be different.

    After an instance was released, why did the price increase when I rebuilt it from the recycle bin?

    After an instance is released, you can use the recycle bin to create a new instance and restore the data from the original instance to the new one. When you rebuild an instance from the recycle bin and restore data, you cannot select discontinued instance types, versions, or storage types. Changes to the new instance's type, version, or storage type may cause the price to change. The price displayed in the console is the final price.

    What permissions does a RAM user need to renew an ApsaraDB RDS instance?

    You need to grant the RAM user the following permissions for the User Center: AliyunBSSFullAccess, AliyunBSSReadOnlyAccess, AliyunBSSOrderAccess, AliyunBSSRenewFullAccess, and AliyunBSSRenewReadOnlyAccess, and the AliyunRDSFullAccess permission for ApsaraDB RDS.

    How do I migrate data from a locked instance to another instance using DTS?

    You cannot migrate data from a locked instance using DTS. You must first unlock the instance and then perform the migration. To learn how to unlock it, see What do I do if my instance is in the "Locked" state?.

    My subscription instance has expired. How do I recover it?

    After a subscription instance expires, the recovery method depends on how long it has been expired:

    • From day 1 to day 7 after expiration, the instance is locked and cannot be accessed. You can unlock it by renewing it. For more information, see Renewal policy.

    • From day 8 to day 15 after expiration, the compute resources of the instance are released, but its data backups are retained. You can recover the instance. For more information, see Rebuild an instance.

    • On day 16 after expiration, the data of the instance is no longer retained and cannot be recovered. If you still need to use the instance, you must purchase a new one and deploy your data.

    My subscription instance is about to expire. How can I downgrade its configuration while renewing it?

    You cannot downgrade the configuration while renewing the instance. You can first downgrade the configuration and then renew the instance.

    My instance is locked and I cannot write data to it. What should I do?

    You cannot write data to an instance when it is in the locked state. You must first unlock the instance. To learn how to unlock it, see What do I do if my instance is in the "Locked" state?.

    I received a text message reminder to renew an ApsaraDB RDS instance, but I cannot find the instance in the ApsaraDB RDS console. What should I do?

    You can troubleshoot the issue as follows:

    • Confirm that you are logged on with the correct Alibaba Cloud account for the instance. The instance may belong to a different account.

    • In the ApsaraDB RDS console, switch regions. You can only see the instance in the region where it resides.

    • In the navigation pane on the left of the ApsaraDB RDS console, click Recycle Bin to check if the instance expired more than 8 days ago and has been moved to the recycle bin.

    • If the instance expired more than 16 days ago, it has been released and its data has been purged. The data cannot be recovered.

    My subscription instance was locked due to expiration. After renewing it, how do I change the billing method to pay-as-you-go?

    After renewing the instance, you must wait for a short period. When the instance status changes to running, you can change the billing method. For more information, see Change the billing method of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go.

    Where in the console can I see instances that are about to expire?

    At the top of the ApsaraDB RDS console, choose Expenses > Renewal Management to view products that are about to expire. You can renew your instances on this page.

    image

    How do I apply for a contract before renewal?

    When you renew, do not pay immediately. An unpaid order will be generated. Then, go to the Contract Management page to apply for an electronic contract and select the unpaid order.

    How do I change the contact for text message notifications about instance expiration?

    Add a contact

    1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud console. Click your profile picture in the upper-right corner, and then click Addresses and Contacts from the navigation pane on the left.

    2. On the Contacts tab, click Add Contact.

    3. In the Add Contact dialog box, enter the new contact information and click OK.

    Modify a contact

    1. In the navigation pane on the left of the Message Center, choose Message Receiving Management > Basic Receiving Management.

    2. Select the Text Message notification for the relevant message types and modify the Message Recipient. The default message recipient is the account contact.

    Will a free trial instance be automatically shut down after it expires? Will it generate extra fees?

    • Free trial products are subscription-based.

      After the product trial expires, the instance is automatically shut down and released. The instance cannot be recovered after it is released. Back up your data in advance.

    • The free trial product is the Serverless pattern.

      After the product trial expires, the instance continues to run and generate fees. If you no longer need the instance, manually release it promptly. The instance cannot be recovered after it is released. Back up your data in advance.

    You can go to the My Free Trial page to view the expiration dates, trial progress, and other information for all your trial products. For more information about free trials, see Free trial FAQ.

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