A NAT resource plan is a subscription plan designed for pay-by-data-transfer Internet NAT gateways and Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) gateways. After a resource plan takes effect, you can use it to offset instance fees and capacity unit (CU) fees of NAT Gateway. You can purchase a resource plan as needed and specify when the resource plan starts to take effect.
Limits
NAT resource plans do not support refunds. Expired and unused resource plans are automatically deleted and cannot transfer to other resource plans.
You can use NAT resource plans to offset fees of pay-by-CU Internet NAT gateways and pay-by-CU VPC NAT gateways. You cannot use NAT resource plans to offset fees of existing pay-by-specification Internet NAT gateways. For more information, see FAQ about NAT resource plans.
Benefits
-
Ready-to-useWhen you purchase a resource plan, you can specify the time when you want the resource plan to take effect. After the resource plan takes effect, it automatically offsets the instance fees and CU fees for your NAT gateways. You do not need to configure the resource plan.
-
Multiple sizesAlibaba Cloud provides resource plans of different sizes for NAT gateways: 1,000 CUs, 10,000 CUs, and 100,000 CUs. You can purchase multiple resource plans to meet your business requirements.
-
Cost-effectiveCompared with the pay-as-you-go billing method, resource plans are more cost-effective. A larger resource plan provides CUs at a lower unit price. You can use resource plans to reduce the cost of NAT gateways.
Purchase and offset rules
Rule | Description |
Purchase rules |
|
Offset rules |
|
Areas and regions that support NAT resource plans
Area | Region |
Chinese mainland | China (Qingdao), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Guangzhou), and China (Chengdu) |
Outside the Chinese mainland | China (Hong Kong), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, Australia (Sydney), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta), US (Virginia), US (Silicon Valley), Germany (Frankfurt), UK (London), India (Mumbai), UAE (Dubai), Philippines (Manila), South Korea (Seoul), and Thailand (Bangkok) |
Unit prices for different sizes
Size | Chinese mainland (USD) | Outside the Chinese mainland (USD) |
1,000 CU | 34 | 43 |
10,000 CU | 337 | 426 |
100,000 CU | 3,230 | 4,085 |
Unsubscription
Full refund
NAT resource plans provide a 5-day money-back guarantee. You can request a full refund within five days after you purchase a NAT resource plan if your NAT resource plan is not used. For more information, see Rules for unsubscribing from resources.
If your NAT resource plan is used within five days after you purchase it, the 5-day money-back guarantee is not supported.
Refund calculation
Refundable amount = Paid amount
The actual amount of an order refers only to the amount paid by the user in cash, excluding the amount deducted by vouchers and coupons.
Partial refund
If your NAT resource plan is used within five days after you purchase it, you can request a partial refund. For more information, see Rules for unsubscribing from resources.
Refund calculation
Consumable resource plans
Refundable amount = (Remaining Quota/Total Quota) × Paid amount
Constant resource plans
Refundable amount = Paid amount - (Original order price/Order duration) × Usage duration
Unsubscription methods
You can unsubscribe from your NAT resource plan in a self-service manner or by submitting a ticket. For more information, see Methods for unsubscribing resources.
Purchase a resource plan
- Log on to the NAT Gateway console.
- In the left-side navigation pane, choose .
On the NAT Gateway Resource Plan page, perform the following operations to purchase a NAT resource plan.
If this is your first time purchasing a NAT resource plan, click Buy Now.
Otherwise, click Purchase NAT Gateway Resource Plan.
On the NAT CU Package page, select the area and size, set the other parameters, click Buy Now, and then complete the payment as prompted.
Parameter
Description
Type
Select the area in which the resource plan takes effect. Valid values: Chinese Mainland and Outside Chinese Mainland.
Size
Select a size. The number of CUs provided by a resource plan varies based on the size. For more information, see Unit prices for different sizes.
Activation Time
Select the time when the resource plan takes effect.
Immediately after Payment: The resource plan immediately takes effect after you complete the payment.
Custom: The resource plan takes effect at the specified time.
Select Custom Time
Select the time when the resource plan takes effect.
NoteThis parameter is available if you set the Activation Time parameter to Custom.
Subscription Duration
Select the validity period of the resource plan. By default, you can select only 1 Year.
Purchase Quantity
Specify the number of resource plans that you want to purchase.
View information about a resource plan
Before you view the details of a resource plan, make sure that you have purchased a resource plan.
- Log on to the NAT Gateway console.
- In the left-side navigation pane, choose .
On the NAT Gateway Resource Plan page, find the resource plan that you want to view and click Details in the Actions column.
On the Manage Reserved Instances page, you can view the basic information and usage details about the resource plans of NAT Gateway.
On the Instances tab, you can view the following information about a NAT resource plan: owner account, name, remaining quota, effective time, and expiration time.
In the upper-right corner of the resource plan list, you can click Customize Column Options to specify the columns that you want to display.
In the upper-right corner of the resource plan list, you can click Export to export and download the list.
On the Details tab, you can view the usage details about resource plans.
You can filter usage details by setting the Start Time, Instance Name, and Deducted instance ID parameters.
In the upper-right corner of the details list, you can click Customize Column Options to specify the columns that you want to display.
In the upper-right corner of the details list, you can click Export to export and download the list.
Set a threshold alert for your NAT resource plan
- Log on to the NAT Gateway console.
- In the left-side navigation pane, choose .
On the NAT Gateway Resource Plan page, find the resource plan that you want to view and click Details in the Actions column.
On the Manage Reserved Instances page, click Set Threshold Alert in the upper-right corner of the resource plan list
In the Set Threshold Alert dialog box, specify the threshold value and click OK.
NoteYou can configure a threshold value based on your business requirements. For example, you can specify 20%. In this case, you are notified when the remaining capacity of a resource plan is equal to or lower than 20%.
The following section describes the parameters.
Set Quota Alert: If you turn on Set Quota Alert, the alert rule applies to all resource plans.
Set Batch Threshold Proportion: Specify a proportion as the threshold value for multiple resource plans at a time. Valid values: 5, 10, 20, and 30. Unit: percentage.
Resource Package Name: If you need to specify different threshold values for different resource plans, you can turn on Threshold Alert and set the Proportion parameter. Valid values: 5, 10, 20, and 30. Unit: percentage.
In the top navigation bar, move the pointer over the
icon and select Message Settings. On the Common Settings page, select Notifications of Product Expiration, select the check boxes in the Internal Messages and Email columns, and then click Add Message Recipient.
In the Modify Contact dialog box, select an existing contact and click Save.
FAQ about NAT resource plans
- NAT resource plans apply to Internet NAT gateways and VPC NAT gateways that are billed on a pay-by-CU basis. Whether an Internet NAT gateway or a VPC NAT gateway is used does not affect how a resource plan is purchased or used. For example, if you purchased a resource plan that provides 1,000 CUs, the resource plan applies to both Internet NAT gateways and VPC NAT gateways. If you purchased multiple resource plans, the resource plan that expires the earliest is used first.
- NAT resource plans do not apply to existing Internet NAT gateways that are billed on a pay-by-specification basis. For more information about Internet NAT gateways that are billed on a pay-by-specification basis, see Pay-by-specification (applicable only to some of the existing Internet NAT gateways).
Log on to the VPC console. On the Internet NAT Gateway page, find the Internet NAT gateway that you want to manage. You can view whether Billing Method is Pay-As-You-Go or Subscription and whether Metering Method is Pay-By-CU or Pay-By-Specification. For more information, see Billing of Internet NAT gateways.
- When you purchase a NAT resource plan, you can select Immediately After Payment to immediately activate the resource plan.
- You can also select Custom to schedule a time for the resource plan to take effect.
If you purchased multiple resource plans, the resource plan that expires the earliest is used first.
No, you cannot request a refund for a resource plan after the resource plan expires. After a resource plan expires, unused CUs are automatically cleared. You cannot transfer the unused CUs to another resource plan.
Resource plans that provide more than 1,000 CUs are more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method. Larger resource plans provide CUs at lower unit prices.
Yes, you can purchase multiple resource plans. If you purchased multiple resource plans, the resource plan that expires the earliest is used first.
You can view the basic information and usage details about a resource plan in Alibaba Cloud User Center. You can search for resource plans by specifying the Effective At or Instance Name parameter and view the unused CUs and usage details about the resource plans. For more information, go to the Manage Reserved Instances page.
You can use the CU calculator to calculate the CU consumption for your NAT gateways and select a size.