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CDN:Why am I still charged for resources after I purchase resource plans of Alibaba Cloud CDN?

Last Updated:Mar 14, 2024

Alibaba Cloud CDN provides several types of resource plans that can be used to offset specific resource fees. If you use the HTTPS or QUIC protocol but do not purchase the corresponding resource plans, or if you use the service outside the acceleration region of the purchased resource plan, you may still be charged.

Possible causes and solutions

After you purchase resource plans, you may still be charged for resources due to the following causes. You can resolve this issue based on the corresponding solutions.

  • Possible cause 1: Several billable items are not included in the resource plans

    The billable items of Alibaba Cloud CDN include basic services and value-added services. After you activate Alibaba Cloud CDN, you may be charged for multiple billable items, such as data transfer and requests. Each type of resource plan can offset only specific types of resource fees. For example, you cannot use outbound data transfer plans to offset the fees of HTTP requests for static content. In this case, the fees are deducted from your account balance. If your account balance is insufficient, overdue payments may be generated.

    Note

    Solution

    Check your bills and confirm whether the billable items are included in the resource plans that you have purchased. If a billable item is not included in the resource plans, the fees are deducted from your account balance. If your account balance is insufficient, overdue payments may be generated.

    You can check whether value-added services, such as HTTPS requests for static content, are enabled. You are charged for value-added services based on the pay-as-you-go billing method. The fees are deducted from your account balance. You can also purchase resource plans for value-added services. For more information, see Billing of value-added services.

  • Possible cause 2: The acceleration region of the resource plan is different from the region where fees are generated

    When you purchase a resource plan, you must specify an acceleration region. The resource plan can offset resource fees only in the specified acceleration region. For example, Alice purchased an outbound data transfer plan for the Chinese mainland. In this case, the resource plan can offset outbound data transfer fees only in the Chinese mainland. You cannot use the resource plan to offset outbound data transfer fees in China (Hong Kong), China (Macao), China (Taiwan), or other regions outside the Chinese mainland.

    Solution

    If multiple acceleration regions are specified for your accelerated domain names, we recommend that you purchase resource plans for each acceleration region to ensure that resource fees in the acceleration regions can be offset. To purchase a resource plan, go to the resource plan buy page.

  • Possible cause 3: The metering method of Alibaba Cloud CDN does not support the resource plans that you purchased

    Outbound data transfer plans support only the pay-by-data-transfer metering method. If the metering method of Alibaba Cloud CDN is pay-by-bandwidth or pay-by-95th-percentile, you cannot use outbound data transfer plans to offset outbound data transfer fees. In this case, the fees are deducted from your account balance. If your account balance is insufficient, overdue payments may be generated.

    Solution

    Change the metering method in the Alibaba Cloud CDN console. For more information, see Change the metering method.

  • Possible cause 4: The amount of consumed resources has exceeded the quota of the resource plan

    After you purchase a resource plan, the amount of consumed resources that exceed the quota of the plan is automatically billed based on the pay-as-you-go billing method. For example, Alice purchased an outbound data transfer plan of 100 GB and the amount of outbound data transfer in the month is 110 GB. In this case, Alice is billed for the excess10 GB based on the pay-as-you-go billing method. If the account balance is insufficient to settle the payment, an overdue payment is generated.

    Solution

    • Configure low capacity alerts: Low capacity alerts notify you before your resource plans are exhausted to help prevent overdue payments. To purchase a resource plan, go to the resource plan buy page.

    • Purchase additional resource plans: You can purchase additional resource plans to offset resource fees and prevent overdue payments. However, you cannot use resource plans to offset the fees of resources that are consumed before the resource plans are purchased.

    Note

    For more information, see Query the details of resource plans.

  • Possible cause 5: Bills are delayed

    A resource plan takes effect immediately after you complete the payment. However, Alibaba Cloud CDN takes 3 to 4 hours to issue a bill after a billing cycle ends. For example, the bill that was issued at 10:00:00 (UTC+8) on October 10, 2020 covers the billing cycle from 06:00:00 (UTC+8) on October 10, 2020 to 07:00:00 (UTC+8) on October 10, 2020.

    Solution

    After you receive a bill, check the time when the bill is issued and the billing cycle of the bill.