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    ApsaraDB RDS:Billing FAQ

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    ApsaraDB RDS:Billing FAQ

    Last Updated:Mar 04, 2024

    This topic provides answers to some frequently asked questions about ApsaraDB RDS billing.

    FAQ about cost saving

    Why am I charged additional fees for a subscription RDS instance? How do I prevent additional fees?

    The fee that you pay for a subscription RDS instance covers the instance type and the storage capacity that you select. If you create read-only RDS instances, enable the SQL audit feature or the performance monitoring feature, or consume more storage than the free quota on backup storage, you are charged additional fees. For more information, see Billable items.

    You can use the following methods to prevent or reduce the costs of billable items on your subscription RDS instance:

    • Backup storage: Reduce the backup frequency and make sure that the size of your backups does not exceed the free quota.

    • Database proxy: Disable the database proxy feature. The database proxy feature is used to implement automatic read/write splitting. You can specify whether to enable the database proxy feature based on your business requirements. For more information, see What are database proxies?

    • Read-only RDS instance and cloned RDS instance: Select the subscription billing method for the instances.

    • Performance monitoring: Use the 60-second or 300-second monitoring frequencies. The monitoring frequencies are provided free of charge.

    Am I still charged if I do not use a pay-as-you-go RDS instance?

    Yes, you are charged an hourly fee for each pay-as-you-go RDS instance that you create. A pay-as-you-go RDS instance consumes computing and storage resources even if the RDS instance is not used. If a pay-as-you-go RDS instance is no longer needed, we recommend that you save the data that you require and release the RDS instance.

    How much do I need to pay if I change the specifications of a subscription RDS instance?

    For more information, see Specification changes.

    Do I need to make a payment when I apply for a public endpoint?

    You are not charged for inbound or outbound Internet traffic that you consume for your subscription and pay-as-you-go RDS instances. Alibaba Cloud does not impose bandwidth limits on RDS instances.

    How do I check whether backup fees are generated?

    • To check whether backup fees are generated, log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console, go to the Basic Information page of your RDS instance, and then check the value of the Backup Size parameter in the Usage Statistics section of the page. If the value exceeds the free quota, backup fees are generated.View quota

    • To check whether fees are generated for historical backups, go to the Billing Details tab in the Billing Management console and check whether a bill for which Billing Item is BackupCharged exists.

    How do I reduce the size of backup files and backup storage costs?

    If I release a read-only RDS instance, are my workloads affected?

    Yes, your workloads are affected if you release a read-only RDS instance. Before you release a read-only RDS instance, we recommend that you set the read weight of the read-only RDS instance to 0. For more information, see Modify the latency threshold and read weights of ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances.

    Note

    The cached connection to the read-only RDS instance remains valid. If you want to forward read requests to other read-only RDS instances, you must establish new connections.

    How do I view the time when a feature was enabled?

    • You can go to the Orders page in the Billing Management console and check the value of the Paid/Activated At (UTC+8) parameter.Enabling time

    • You can use ActionTrail to check the management history of your RDS instance.action trail

    FAQ about instance purchase and billing methods

    After I submit an order to purchase an RDS instance, the system does not respond and I cannot find the RDS instance in the Creating state. Why?

    This issue may occur due to the following reasons:

    • Incorrect region

      The region is different from the region in which your RDS instance resides. You can select the region in which the RDS instance resides in the top navigation bar.

      Select Region

    • Insufficient resources

      Resources in a zone are dynamically allocated. After you submit a purchase order, the zone that you selected may fail to provide sufficient resources. As a result, the RDS instance fails to be created. We recommend that you select a different zone and try again. If the RDS instance fails to be created, you are issued refunds. You can go to the Order page to view details.

    When an entry-level RDS instance and an enterprise-level RDS instance have the same CPU and memory specifications, why does the entry-level RDS instance support a larger number of connections and deliver higher IOPS than the enterprise-level RDS instance?

    An entry-level RDS instance belongs to the shared or general-purpose instance family, whereas an enterprise-level RDS instance belongs to the dedicated instance family. The shared and general-purpose instance families do not have exclusive access to CPU resources. Therefore, an entry-level RDS instance supports a larger maximum number of connections and delivers higher IOPS than an enterprise-level RDS instance. However, an enterprise-level RDS instance delivers higher reliability because the dedicated instance family has exclusive access to CPU and memory resources. For more information about the differences, see Instance families.

    FAQ about instance expiration and overdue payments

    • Causes and impacts of instance expiration and overdue payments

      What happens if my RDS instance expires or becomes overdue?

      For more information, see Overdue payments and Renewal policy.

      What are the billing rules for serverless ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances? Do serverless ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances expire?

      For more information about the billing rules, see Pricing of serverless RDS instances. Serverless RDS instances use the pay-as-you-go billing method and do not expire.

      Do I need to unsubscribe from a subscription RDS instance after the instance expires? Are fees generated if I do not unsubscribe from the instance?

      No, you do not need to unsubscribe from a subscription RDS instance after the instance expires, and no fees are generated if you no longer use the instance. After a subscription RDS instance expires, the instance enters the following states:

      • Day 1 to 7: The instance is locked and cannot be accessed.

      • Day 8 to 15: The computing resources of the instance are released. However, the data backups of the instance are retained.

      • Day 16: The data backups of the instance are deleted.

      If an RDS instance is locked due to overdue payments, are fees generated when the instance is locked?

      No, no fees are generated when the instance is locked. For more information about the impacts of overdue payments, see Overdue payments.

      The data of an RDS instance is deleted on the 16th day after the instance expires. Can I restore the data?

      No, the data of the RDS instance is no longer retained, and you cannot restore the data 16 days after the RDS instance expires. If you need to use the instance, you must purchase another RDS instance and deploy the data.

      Which RDS instances are affected by overdue payments?

      Pay-as-you-go RDS instances are affected by overdue payments. For more information, see Overdue payments.

      What do I do if the The MySQL server is running with the LOCK_WRITE option so it cannot execute this statement error message is displayed when I use my RDS instance?

      The error message indicates that the RDS instance is locked. For more information about how to unlock the instance, see What do I do if my ApsaraDB RDS instance is in the Locking state?

    • Operations related to instance expiration or overdue payments

      Can I change the configuration of an RDS instance that is locked due to expiration or overdue payments?

      No, you must unlock the RDS instance before you change its configuration. For more information, see Overdue payments and Renewal policy.

      What do I do if an RDS instance is still in the Locked state after it is renewed?

      It requires approximately 5 minutes to unlock the RDS instance after renewal.

      Can I use the discount that is provided when I purchase an RDS instance for instance renewal?

      The price that is displayed in the ApsaraDB RDS console takes precedence.

      If an RDS instance is locked due to expiration or overdue payments, can I back up the instance and export the backup files?

      No, you cannot back up a locked RDS instance or export the backup files. We recommend that you top up your account or renew the RDS instance to unlock the instance, back up the instance, and then export the backup files of the instance.

      An RDS instance is locked due to expiration and is renewed. Do I need to perform other operations? Does the RDS instance automatically run as normal?

      In the first seven days after your instances expire, the instance is locked and cannot be accessed. If you manually renew the instance during this period, the RDS instance immediately runs as normal, and no other operations are required.

      After an RDS instance expires and is released, the instance is rebuilt from the recycle bin. Is the data of the rebuilt RDS instance the same as the data of the released RDS instance?

      The data is the same as the data of the released RDS instance. However, the endpoint and instance ID are changed.

      If I use a RAM user to renew an RDS instance, what permissions do I need to grant to the RAM user?

      You must attach the following policies to the RAM user: AliyunBSSFullAccess, AliyunBSSReadOnlyAccess, AliyunBSSOrderAccess, AliyunBSSRenewFullAccess, AliyunBSSRenewReadOnlyAccess, and the AliyunRDSFullAccess.

      How do I use DTS to migrate the data of a locked RDS instance to another RDS instance?

      If an RDS instance is locked, you cannot use Data Transmission Service (DTS) to migrate data of the RDS instance. Before you migrate data, you must unlock the instance. For more information about how to unlock an RDS instance, see What do I do if my ApsaraDB RDS instance is in the Locking state?

      How do I restore a subscription RDS instance if the instance expires?

      You can restore your subscription RDS instance based on the expiration status.

      • Day 1 to 7: The instance is locked and cannot be accessed. In this period, you can renew the RDS instance to unlock the instance. For more information, see Renewal policy.

      • Day 8 to 15: The computing resources of the instance are released, but the data backups of the instance are retained. You can use the data backups to restore the instance. For more information, see Manage ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instances in the recycle bin.

      • Day 16: The data backups of the instance are deleted, and you cannot restore the instance. If you need to use the instance, you must purchase another instance and deploy the data.

      A subscription RDS instance is about to expire. How do I downgrade the configuration when I renew the RDS instance?

      You cannot downgrade the configuration when you renew the RDS instance. You can downgrade the configuration and then renew the instance.

      What do I do if an RDS instance is locked and data cannot be written to the instance?

      If an RDS instance is locked, data cannot be written to the instance. Before you write data to the instance, You must unlock the instance. For more information about how to unlock an instance, see What do I do if my ApsaraDB RDS instance is in the Locking state?

      My subscription RDS instance is locked due to expiration and is renewed. How do I change the billing method of the RDS instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go?

      After the RDS instance is renewed, you must wait until the instance is in the Running state before you change the billing method. For more information, see Change the billing method of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go, Change the billing method of an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go, Change the billing method of an ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go, and Change the billing method of an ApsaraDB RDS for MariaDB instance from subscription to pay-as-you-go.

      Where can I view the RDS instances that are about to expire?

      In the top navigation bar of the ApsaraDB RDS console, choose Expenses > Renewal Management. On the page that appears, you can view and renew the RDS instances that are about to expire.

      How do I apply for a contract before I renew an RDS instance?

      Contact your account manager.