Member accounts are containers for resources in a resource directory. These accounts isolate resources and serve as organizational units in the resource directory. You can create member accounts in folders and then manage them in a centralized manner.

Background information

  • A resource directory supports two types of member accounts: resource accounts and cloud accounts.
    • Resource account: A resource account is only used as a resource container and fully depends on a resource directory. Such member accounts are secure and easy-to-create. We recommend that you use resource accounts in a resource directory.
      Note You cannot use a resource account to log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. Instead, you can use the master account to log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console. Then, grant access permissions on resources under resource accounts to RAM users, user groups, or roles. For more information, see Access a member account. In addition, you can upgrade resource accounts to cloud accounts. For more information, see Upgrade a resource account to an Alibaba Cloud account.
    • Cloud account: A cloud account has all the features of an Alibaba Cloud account.
  • The number of member accounts that can be created is limited. For more information, see Limits on resource directories.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Resource Management console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Resource Directory.
  3. In the navigation tree of the Resource Directory page, find the target folder and click its name.
  4. In the section that appears, click Create Member Account.
  5. On the page that appears, enter a name in the Member Account Name field.
    Note The name must be unique in the current resource directory.
  6. Set Member Account Type to Resource (Recommended) or Alibaba Cloud.
    • Resource (Recommended): If you select this option, you do not need to specify an email address. The system automatically generates an email address that ends with @#ID of your resource directory#.rd.aliyunid.com.
    • Alibaba Cloud: If you select this option, specify an email address.

      The system will send a confirmation email to the email address you specify to create the member account.

      • Before confirmation: The account is in the Confirming state. The owner of the master account can perform the Send Confirmation Email Again or Cancel operation.
        Note The confirmation email is valid for 24 hours. If another confirmation email is sent, the original one becomes invalid.
      • After confirmation: The state of the account changes to Joined. The owner of the member account can obtain its account password or view the resource directory to which its account belongs based on instructions.
  7. Set Settlement to Master Account, Other Accounts, or Self-pay.
    Note

    If you select Other Accounts, click Select Settlement Account next to it. In the pane that appears, select an account.

  8. Click OK.
    Note Member accounts created in a resource directory inherit the legal entity of the master account for the resource directory. This means that the real names of member accounts are the same as the real name of the master account.

Result

After member accounts are created in a resource directory, the system manages them in a centralized manner.

  • The system automatically enables the RAM service for member accounts.
  • The system automatically creates a RAM role named ResourceDirectoryAccountAccessRole for each member account and grants the role to the master account of the resource directory for unified management of member accounts.
  • Each member account belongs to only one folder. You can use the master account to move member accounts between folders in the resource directory as needed. After a member account is moved from one folder to another, the resources under the member account are also moved to the new folder.