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Elastic Compute Service:Snapshots

Last Updated:Mar 15, 2024

Snapshots are agentless data backups. You can create a snapshot to capture the point-in-time state of a disk or disk group to back up data. You can use snapshots to restore data, build development or test environments, or create custom images that are used for batch deployment. This topic describes the billing rules of snapshots and the impacts of overdue payments on snapshots in Elastic Compute Service (ECS). This topic also provides examples on how to calculate snapshot fees.

Scenarios

Scenarios in which snapshots are created

Item

Description

Billing formula

Snapshots are not stored on disks and do not consume disk space. You are charged region-specific snapshot storage fees based on the size of the snapshots that are stored in each region.存储费

Billing example: If you have 100 GB of snapshots in the China (Hangzhou) region and the unit price for snapshot storage is USD 0.0173 per GB-month, you are charged USD 0.002403 per hour and USD 0.057667 per day for storage of the snapshots.

Formula: (USD 0.0173 per GB-month × 100 GB × 1 month)/30 days/24 hours ≈ USD 0.002403 per hour.

Note
  • Snapshot unit price: the unit price of snapshot creation in each region. For more information, visit the Elastic Compute Service product page.

  • Snapshot size: the total size of snapshots. Unit: GB. The size of snapshots may be greater than or less than the actual amount of data. For information about how to check the snapshot size, see the "How do I view snapshot sizes?" section in Snapshot FAQ.

  • Billing duration: The billing duration of a snapshot starts when the snapshot is created and ends when the snapshot is deleted. For more information about how to delete snapshots, see Delete a snapshot. Billing durations of snapshots are measured in hours with a 1-hour minimum.

Billing method

  • The default billing method is pay-as-you-go. This billing method allows you to use resources and pay for them afterwards. Fees are automatically deducted from the balance of your Alibaba Cloud account.

    • You are billed every hour.

    • Snapshot storage fees are automatically deducted every hour or every 24 hours. Fees are automatically deducted from your account balance.

  • You can purchase resource plans, such as storage capacity units (SCUs). For information about how to purchase SCUs, see Storage capacity units.

    After you purchase resource plans, the plans are automatically applied to offset your snapshot storage fees on an hourly basis. You are billed for the excess snapshot storage on a pay-as-you-go basis every hour.

Scenarios in which snapshots are copied

Billing rule

Description

Billing formula

When you copy snapshots, you are charged snapshot storage fees and data transfer fees for snapshot replication.复制费

  • Replication unit price: the unit price of snapshot replication in each region. For more information, visit the Elastic Compute Service product page

  • Snapshot size: the total size of snapshots. Unit: GB. For information about how to check the snapshot size, see the "How do I view snapshot sizes?" section in Snapshot FAQ.

Important
  • After you copy a snapshot from one region to another region, you are charged storage fees for the snapshot copy in the destination region.

  • The first time a snapshot of a disk is copied, the snapshot copy is a full copy that contains all data stored on the disk. All subsequent snapshot copies of the disk in the same region are incremental copies, and each incremental copy contains only the data that has changed since the previous copy. You are charged for snapshots based on the snapshot size. Incremental copies can significantly reduce the size of data to be copied.

Billing or settlement cycle

You are charged and billed every hour.

Billing method

Pay-as-you-go. You use resources and pay for them afterwards. Fees are automatically deducted from the balance of your Alibaba Cloud account.

Billing example

Assume that you copied a 100-GB snapshot from the China (Hangzhou) region to the China (Qingdao) region and retained the snapshot copy in the China (Qingdao) region for one month. During this period, you did not enable instant access for the snapshot. The data transfer unit price for snapshot replication from the China (Hangzhou) region to the China (Qingdao) region is USD 0.118 per GB. The unit price for snapshot storage in the China (Hangzhou) region is USD 0.0173 per GB-month.

  • Data transfer fee for snapshot replication: Data transfer unit price × Snapshot size = USD 0.118 per GB × 100 GB = USD 11.8

  • Storage fee for the snapshot copy: Unit price for snapshot storage × Snapshot size × Billing duration = USD 0.0173 per GB-month × 100 GB × 1 month = USD 1.73

  • Total: Data transfer fee for snapshot replication + Storage fee for the snapshot copy = USD 11.8 + USD 1.73 = USD 13.53

Note

The preceding prices are for reference only. The prices displayed on the Pricing tab of the ECS product page prevail.

Scenarios in which instant access is used

Starting 11:00 on October 12, 2023, you are no longer charged for the instant access storage of snapshots or for enabling the instant access feature.

Snapshot cost optimization

  • You can retain an appropriate number of snapshots, delete snapshots that are no longer needed, and cancel necessary snapshot policies to reduce snapshot costs. For more information, see Reduce snapshot fees.

  • We recommend that you purchase SCUs to offset snapshot storage fees.

Stop snapshot billing

If you no longer need snapshots, you can delete them to prevent further charges.

  1. Delete all snapshots, including automatic snapshots, manual snapshots, and snapshot copies. For more information, see Delete a snapshot.

  2. After existing snapshots are deleted, check whether automatic snapshot policies are being applied. If automatic snapshot policies are being applied, delete the policies to ensure that no snapshots are automatically created. For more information, see Delete an automatic snapshot policy.

Impacts of overdue payments

If your Alibaba Cloud account has overdue payments, your snapshot service is affected. For more information, see Overdue payments.

FAQ about snapshot billing

For more information, see Snapshot FAQ.

Operations