How to change the storage class of a media asset-ApsaraVideo VOD(VOD)-阿里云帮助中心

Storage class comparison

To choose the right storage class, evaluate each one based on data access frequency, supported features, limitations, and cost.

Comparison metric	Use cases	Data access	Feature limitations	Cost
Standard	Ideal for social sharing, audio/video applications, large websites, and big data analytics, such as program downloads and mobile applications.	Real-time access with millisecond latency.	Supports playback and deletion. Supports media processing such as transcoding, editing, and snapshot capture.	High. You are charged standard media storage fees.
Infrequent Access	Suitable for infrequently accessed data (once or twice a month), such as hot backups and surveillance videos.	Real-time access with millisecond latency.	Supports playback and deletion. Does not support media processing such as transcoding, editing, or snapshot capture.	Lower. Accessing data incurs data retrieval fees.
Archive	Suitable for long-term data storage, such as archives, medical images, scientific data, and film and television materials.	Data must be restored before access. After the restore is complete (in about 1 minute), access latency is low.	Supports deletion. You can play restored source files, but not other associated media assets. Does not support media processing such as transcoding, editing, or snapshot capture.	Low. Accessing data incurs a data retrieval fee, and the temporary replica is charged at the Standard storage rate.
Cold Archive	Suitable for cold data requiring very long-term storage, such as compliance data, raw AI/big data, media resources, and archived educational videos.	High latency. Data must be restored before it can be read. A higher restore priority results in a shorter restore time. Restore times for different priorities are as follows: Expedited: Within 1 hour. Standard: 2 to 5 hours. Bulk: 5 to 12 hours.	Supports deletion. You can play restored source files, but not other associated media assets. Does not support media processing such as transcoding, editing, or snapshot capture.	Lowest. Accessing data incurs a data retrieval fee, and the temporary replica is charged at the Standard storage rate.

Scenario 1: Change from Standard storage

If data is accessed less frequently, you can change the storage class from Standard to Infrequent Access, Archive, or Cold Archive to reduce costs.

Important

After a media asset's storage class is changed to Infrequent Access, Archive, or Cold Archive, you cannot perform media processing tasks such as transcoding, editing, or snapshot capture on it.

Console

Log on to the ApsaraVideo VOD console.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Media Files > Audio/Video.
In the Actions column for the target audio or video asset, choose More > Change Storage Class.
Select the target storage class and the scope. The scope defines which files are affected by the change and supports the following options:
- All: Includes the source file and all transcoded outputs.
- Source file: Includes only the source file and not any transcoded outputs.
After you make your selections, click OK. The available target storage classes are Standard, Infrequent Access, Archive, and Cold Archive. Media assets in non-Standard storage classes have a minimum storage duration. If you change the storage class before this duration ends, you are charged a fee for the remaining time. For more information, see Billing. Click OK to complete the change.

OpenAPI

You can call the UpdateMediaStorageClass operation to change the storage class of media assets in batches. To change the storage class to Infrequent Access, set the StorageClass parameter to IA in your request:

com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.UpdateMediaStorageClassRequest updateMediaStorageClassRequest = 
new com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.UpdateMediaStorageClassRequest()
                .setMediaIds("d0386be5bedb71f0801b5017e1**")
                .setScope("All")
                .setStorageClass("IA");

Scenario 2: Change from Infrequent Access

If increased data access frequency leads to excessive data retrieval fees, you can change the storage class from Infrequent Access to Standard.
If the data no longer needs to be read, you can change the storage class from Infrequent Access to Archive or Cold Archive to further reduce storage costs.

Console (after 30 days)

You can change the storage class directly in the console after the media asset has been in Infrequent Access for at least 30 days. If the minimum storage duration has not been met, an error message appears: "Failed to change storage class. The video does not meet the minimum storage duration requirement." In this case, you must use the OpenAPI to make the change.

Log on to the ApsaraVideo VOD console.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Media Files > Audio/Video.
In the Actions column for the target audio or video asset, choose More > Change Storage Class.
Select the target storage class and scope, then click OK.

OpenAPI

You can call the UpdateMediaStorageClass operation to change the storage class. For example, to change an asset from Infrequent Access to Archive before the 30-day minimum storage duration is met, you must set AllowUpdateWithoutTimeLimit = true. This action will incur a fee for the unmet portion of the minimum storage duration. The following sample shows the request:

com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.UpdateMediaStorageClassRequest updateMediaStorageClassRequest = new com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.UpdateMediaStorageClassRequest()
        .setMediaIds("d0386be5bedb71f0801b5017e1f90**")
        .setScope("All")
        .setStorageClass("Archive")
        .setAllowUpdateWithoutTimeLimit(true);

Scenario 3: Access Archive or Cold Archive data

To temporarily access a media asset in Archive or Cold Archive storage, you must first restore it. The asset becomes accessible after the restore process is complete.

Important

Restoring a media asset incurs a data retrieval fee. For more information, see Media storage fees.
When you restore an asset from Archive or Cold Archive, a temporary replica in the Standard storage class is created for access. This replica is billed at the Standard storage rate during its validity period.
You cannot restore a media asset that is already in the Restoring state. Playback and media processing operations such as transcoding, editing, and snapshot capture are also not supported for assets in this state.

Console

Log on to the ApsaraVideo VOD console.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Media Files > Audio/Video.
In the Actions column for the target audio or video asset, choose More > Restore.
Review the information in the prompt and click OK.

Set the replica validity period and restore mode, then click OK.

Parameter

Description

Replica validity period

A restore operation creates a temporary replica in the Standard storage class. This parameter specifies how many days the replica remains available.

Restore mode

This parameter is required only when you restore an asset from the Cold Archive storage class. A higher priority results in a shorter restore time. Restore times for different priorities are as follows:

Expedited: Within 1 hour.
Standard: 2-5 hours.
Bulk: 5 to 12 hours.

OpenAPI

You can also call the RestoreMedia operation to restore a media asset from the Archive or Cold Archive storage class. The following sample shows how to restore a video from Archive storage:

com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.RestoreMediaRequest restoreMediaRequest = new com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.RestoreMediaRequest()
        .setScope("All")
        .setMediaIds("d0386be5bedb71f0801b5017e1f90**")
        .setRestoreDays("1");

Scenario 4: Change to Standard storage

If a media asset is accessed more frequently and the latency of a restore does not meet your business requirements, you can change its storage class to Standard. You cannot change the storage class to Infrequent Access.

After a media asset has met the minimum storage duration of 60 days for Archive or 180 days for Cold Archive, you can change its storage class directly in the console. Otherwise, you must use the OpenAPI.

Important

Changing the storage class automatically triggers a restore, which incurs a data retrieval fee. For more information, see Media storage fees.

Console (after minimum duration)

If the minimum storage duration has not been met, the change will fail in the console and an error message appears: "Failed to change storage class. The video does not meet the minimum storage duration requirement." In this case, you must use the OpenAPI.

Log on to the ApsaraVideo VOD console.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Media Files > Audio/Video.
In the Actions column for the target audio or video asset, choose More > Change Storage Class. A confirmation dialog box appears.

The dialog box explains that this action automatically restores the data, which incurs a data retrieval fee based on the data size. After confirming, click OK.
Select Standard as the target storage class and choose a scope.

OpenAPI

You can call the UpdateMediaStorageClass operation to change the storage class. For example, to change an asset from Archive to Standard before the 60-day minimum storage duration is met, you must set AllowUpdateWithoutTimeLimit = true. This action will incur a fee for the unmet portion of the minimum storage duration. The following sample shows the request:

com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.UpdateMediaStorageClassRequest updateMediaStorageClassRequest = new com.aliyun.vod20170321.models.UpdateMediaStorageClassRequest()
        .setMediaIds("d0386be5bedb71f0801b5017e1f90**")
        .setScope("All")
        .setStorageClass("Standard")
        .setAllowUpdateWithoutTimeLimit(true);

Limitations

Currently, you can change the storage class of media assets only in the China (Shanghai), China (Beijing), and China (Shenzhen) regions.
This feature supports only audio and video files; other types like images and auxiliary media assets are not supported.

Billing

Changing a storage class can incur the following four types of fees. For details about storage and retrieval fees, see Media storage fees:

Storage fees: Billed monthly based on the selected storage class and the amount of data. The unit price decreases in the following order: Standard > Infrequent Access > Archive > Cold Archive.
Data retrieval fees: Incurred when you:
- Read data from Infrequent Access storage.
- Restore data from Archive or Cold Archive storage.
- Change the storage class from Archive or Cold Archive to Standard, which triggers an automatic restore.
Minimum storage duration fees: If you modify or delete a media asset in Infrequent Access, Archive, or Cold Archive storage before its minimum storage duration ends, you are charged a one-time fee for the remaining days.
Temporary replica storage fees: A restore operation creates a temporary Standard storage replica. During its validity period, this replica is billed at the Standard storage rate.

FAQ

Extra fee for changing from Infrequent Access

This fee applies if the media asset has not met the 30-day minimum storage duration in the Infrequent Access storage class. You are billed for the remaining time. For example, if you change the storage class after 10 days, you are charged for the remaining 20 days.

Restore vs. change storage class

A restore is a temporary operation that creates a Standard storage replica for access, while the original file's storage class remains unchanged.
Changing the storage class is a permanent operation that transitions an asset from Archive or Cold Archive to the Standard class. This change incurs a data retrieval fee. After the transition, the asset is billed at the Standard storage rate and supports permanent, real-time access.