Alibaba Cloud guarantees the following monthly uptime targets for Container Compute Service (ACS). If the guarantee is not met, you can file a claim for a Service Credit. For full legal terms, see Container Compute Service - Service Level Agreement.
Availability commitments
| Deployment type | Monthly uptime guarantee |
|---|---|
| Single instance | ≥ 99.9% |
| Single-region multi-zone instance (≥ 2 availability zones) | ≥ 99.95% |
Single-region multi-zone instance applies when your ACS instances run across at least 2 availability zones in the same region. Downtime is counted only when all running instances across all zones are simultaneously unavailable.
What counts as downtime
Downtime definition varies by deployment type:
Single instance: An instance is Unavailable when the connection between the instance configured with access permitted rules and any IP address over TCP or UDP — in both inbound and outbound directions — is interrupted for more than one minute. Interruptions of less than one minute do not count as downtime.
Single-region multi-zone instance: An instance is Unavailable when the connections from all running instances configured with access permitted rules across all availability zones are simultaneously interrupted for more than one minute. A failure in a subset of zones does not count as downtime.
The following events are excluded from the uptime calculation (Exclusions):
Alibaba Cloud-initiated suspension or termination under the Membership Agreement
Force majeure events (earthquakes, epidemics, submarine cable failures, telecommunications outages, riots, acts of God, etc.)
Actions or omissions on your part
Failures caused by your equipment, software, or third-party technology not under Alibaba Cloud's control
Failure to follow required configuration guidelines
Illegal use, breach of Product Terms, Terms of Use, or Membership Agreement
Non-payment of charges
Critical failures of internet service providers
Scheduled Downtime (planned maintenance; Alibaba Cloud provides advance written notice)
Service credits
If the monthly uptime falls below the guaranteed level, you are entitled to a Service Credit — a percentage of that billing month's service fee, applied against future ACS charges.
Single instance:
| Monthly uptime percentage | Service credit |
|---|---|
| Less than 99.9% but ≥ 99% | 10% |
| Less than 99% but ≥ 95% | 25% |
| Less than 95% | 100% |
Single-region multi-zone instance:
| Monthly uptime percentage | Service credit |
|---|---|
| Less than 99.95% but ≥ 99.9% | 10% |
| Less than 99.9% but ≥ 95% | 25% |
| Less than 95% | 100% |
Service Credits are capped at 100% of your Monthly Service Fee for the affected billing month. Credits must be used within 2 months of being issued and apply only to ACS charges, not to other Alibaba Cloud services.
File a claim
Submit a claim within 30 days after the end of the billing month in which the outage occurred. Claims submitted after this deadline are not accepted.
Your claim must include:
A detailed description of the incident, including request failure logs or error messages
The date, time, and duration of the downtime
The affected instance IDs
Any other information that Alibaba Cloud reasonably requests to support your claim
To submit a claim, open a support ticket with Alibaba Cloud. After Alibaba Cloud validates the claim, the Service Credit is applied to your account.
Alibaba Cloud's system records are the authoritative source for calculating downtime and Service Credits. If your records differ from Alibaba Cloud's, Alibaba Cloud's records prevail unless you can demonstrate a material system error.
What's next
Container Compute Service - Service Level Agreement — full legal terms
Create and manage ACS instances — deploy instances across multiple availability zones to qualify for the higher uptime guarantee