Create a serverless ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance - ApsaraDB RDS

This topic describes how to create a serverless ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.

Prerequisites

The AliyunRDSFullAccess policy is attached to the RAM user that you use to create an RDS instance. For more information, see Use RAM for resource authorization.

Billing rules

The fee for a serverless RDS instance consists of the fees that are generated for RDS Capacity Units (RCUs) and storage resources. For more information, see Pricing of serverless ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instances.

Procedure

Go to the ApsaraDB RDS buy page.
Set the Billing Method parameter to Serverless.
Configure the Region parameter.
Select the region in which you want to create the serverless RDS instance. Serverless RDS instances can be created in the China (Hong Kong) and Singapore regions.
Note
- If your application or client is deployed on an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, we recommend that you set this parameter to the region in which the ECS instance resides. If the RDS instance and the ECS instance reside in different regions, you cannot connect these instances over an internal network. In this case, these instances cannot deliver optimal performance. You cannot change the region after the serverless RDS instance is created.
- If your application is deployed on an on-premises server or computer, we recommend that you select a region that is in close proximity to the on-premises server or computer. This way, you can connect to the RDS instance from your application by using the public endpoint of the instance.

Configure the Database Engine, Edition, RDS Capacity Units (RCUs), and Storage Type parameters.

Parameter	Description	Example
Database Engine	Set the value to SQL Server and select an engine version. SQL Server 2016 SE, SQL Server 2017 SE, and SQL Server 2019 SE are supported.Database Engine	2019 SE
Edition	Set the value to High-availability Edition. Serverless RDS instances run only RDS High-availability Edition.	High-availability Edition
RDS Capacity Units (RCUs)	The performance of an RCU is equivalent to the performance of an RDS instance that has 1 CPU core and 2 GB of memory. The minimum value of the Minimum parameter is 2. The maximum value of the Maximum parameter is 8. After you configure the Minimum and Maximum parameters, the system automatically scales the RCUs of the serverless RDS instance within the range specified by the parameters based on the actual workloads.	Minimum: 2 Maximum: 8
Storage Type	Set the value to ESSD PL1. Serverless RDS instances support only enhanced SSDs (ESSDs) of performance level 1 (PL1). For more information about storage types, see Storage types.	ESSD PL1

Configure the Zone of Primary Node parameter. A zone is an independent physical area within a region.
Select a zone
- No significant differences exist between the zones in the same region.
- If the RDS instance resides in the same region as the ECS instance that you want to connect, these instances can deliver optimal performance. If the RDS instance and the ECS instance reside in different zones in the same region, the performance of these instances slightly decreases.
  Note
  If Sold Out appears in the name of the zone that you selected, try another zone.
Configure the Capacity parameter.
Drag the slider to adjust the storage capacity. You are charged for the total storage capacity that you select when you create a serverless RDS instance. For example, if you select 100 GB of storage capacity when you create the serverless RDS instance, you are charged based on 100 GB even if the storage usage is less than 100 GB.
Note
If the storage capacity cannot meet your business requirements, you can manually expand the storage capacity. After the storage capacity is expanded, the storage capacity cannot be reduced, and you are charged based on the new storage capacity. For more information, see Change the number of RCUs for a serverless ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.
Click Next: Instance Configuration.
Configure the VPC and VSwitch of Primary Node parameters.
If you want to connect a serverless RDS instance to your ECS instance over an internal network, select the same VPC as the ECS instance for the serverless RDS instance. If the RDS instance and the ECS instance reside in different VPCs, these instances cannot communicate over an internal network.
Note
You can connect the RDS instance and the ECS instance over an internal network even if the instances use different vSwitches in the same VPC.
Configure the Add to Whitelist parameter to specify whether to add the CIDR block of the selected VPC to the whitelist of the RDS instance. If you select Yes for the Add to Whitelist parameter, the ECS instances that reside in the selected VPC can access the RDS instance.

Configure other custom parameters. If you do not have special business requirements, you can retain the default values of these parameters.

Parameter	Description
Release Protection	You can select Release Protection to prevent the serverless RDS instance from being released due to unintended operations. For more information, see Enable or disable the release protection feature for an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.
Resource Group	The resource group to which the RDS instance belongs. You can use the default resource group or select a custom resource group based on your business requirements.
Instance Description	The value must be 2 to 255 characters in length and can contain letters, digits, underscores (_), and hyphens (-). It must start with a letter.
Tags	You can add a tag to the serverless RDS instance to facilitate instance management.
Privileged Account	You can select Now and configure the Database Account and Password parameters to create a privileged account when you create the serverless RDS instance. You can also click Later and create a privileged account after the serverless RDS instance is created. For more information about privileged accounts, see Create an account and a database for an ApsaraDB RDS instance that runs SQL Server 2012, 2016, 2017 SE, or 2019 SE. Note Each RDS instance supports only one privileged account. The privileged account cannot be deleted.

Click Next: Confirm Order.
Confirm the configuration in the Parameters section, configure the Purchase Plan parameter, read and select Terms of Service, and then click Pay Now to complete the payment.
View the serverless RDS instance.
Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance based on the Creation Time parameter.

What to do next

FAQ

Does a serverless RDS instance support all features of a regular RDS instance?
Serverless RDS instances do not support the following features: time zone change, character set change, self-managed domain connection, TDE, SSL encryption, and disk encryption.
After I submit the order for creating an RDS instance, why does the ApsaraDB RDS console not respond and why am I unable to find the RDS instance in the Creating state?

The following table describes the possible causes.

Cause	Description	Suggestion
Incorrect region	The RDS instance does not reside in the region that you selected in the top navigation bar of the ApsaraDB RDS console.	In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides.
Insufficient resources	The zone that you selected cannot provide sufficient resources. If the RDS instance still cannot be created, you can go to the Orders page in the Billing Management console to view the refund.	Select a different zone and try again.
RAM policies that do not allow users to create unencrypted RDS instances	RAM policies that do not allow users to create unencrypted RDS instances are attached to a RAM user. If you use the credentials of the RAM user to create an RDS instance that uses local SSDs, the RDS instance cannot be created. When you create an RDS instance that uses local SSDs, you cannot enable disk encryption. If you use the credentials of the RAM user to create an RDS instance that uses standard SSDs or ESSDs and you do not enable disk encryption for the RDS instance, the RDS instance cannot be created. For more information, see Use RAM policies to manage the permissions of RAM users on ApsaraDB RDS instances.	When you create an RDS instance, select the standard SSD or ESSD storage type, select Disk Encryption, configure the Key parameter, and then try again.

References

For more information about how to change the scaling range of RCUs for a serverless RDS instance, see Change the scaling range of RCUs for a serverless ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.
For more information about how to expand the storage capacity of a serverless RDS instance, see Expand storage capacity.
For more information about how to release a serverless RDS instance, see Release or unsubscribe from an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance.
For more information about how to create a serverless RDS instance by calling an operation, see Create an instance.