Create an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance

Prerequisites

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

Procedure

1. Go to the ApsaraDB RDS buy page.
2. Configure the Billing Method parameter.

   Billing method	Description	Benefit
   Subscription	A subscription instance is an instance for which you pay an upfront fee. If you want to use an instance for a long period of time, we recommend that you select the Subscription billing method. If you select the subscription billing method, configure the Duration parameter in the lower part of the page.	In most cases, the subscription billing method is more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method for long-term usage. Alibaba Cloud provides lower prices for longer subscription periods.
   Pay-As-You-Go	You are charged on an hourly basis for a pay-as-you-go instance based on your actual resource usage. If you want to use an instance for a short period of time, we recommend that you select the Pay-As-You-Go billing method. You can create a pay-as-you-go RDS instance. After you confirm that the new RDS instance meets your business requirements, you can change the billing method of the RDS instance from pay-as-you-go to subscription.	You can release a pay-as-you-go RDS instance based on your business requirements. The billing cycle of a pay-as-you-go RDS instance immediately stops after you release the instance.

   Note You can view the price in the lower-right corner of the page. The price is displayed only after you configure all required parameters.
3. Configure the Region parameter.
   We recommend that you use an RDS instance that resides in the same region as the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance on which your application is deployed. 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 the optimal performance.

   Note

   • After an RDS instance is created, you cannot change the region of the RDS instance. If you want to connect an ECS instance and an RDS instance over an internal network, make sure that the RDS instance and the ECS instance reside in the same region.
   • For more information about how to view the region in which an ECS instance resides, see Get ready to use ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL.
   • If your application is deployed on an on-premises server or on-premises computer, we recommend that you select a region that is near your on-premises server or on-premises computer. This way, you can use the public endpoint of the RDS instance to connect to the RDS instance from your application.
4. Configure the Database Engine parameter.
   In this example, select MySQL.

   We recommend that you select MySQL 8.0 or MySQL 5.7 or select the database engine version that your self-managed MySQL instance runs. The default value of this parameter is 8.0.

5. Configure the Edition parameter. The default value of this parameter is High-availability.

   Edition	Description	Benefit
   Basic	In RDS Basic Edition, the database system consists of only a primary RDS instance.	RDS Basic Edition is cost-effective and is suitable for learning and testing scenarios. RDS instances that run RDS Basic Edition require a long period of time to restart or recover from faults.
   High-availability	This is the recommended RDS edition. In RDS High-availability Edition, the database system consists of a primary RDS instance and a secondary RDS instance. You can create read-only RDS instances and attach the read-only RDS instances to the primary RDS instance.	RDS High-availability Edition is suitable for more than 80% of business scenarios that require production environments.
   Enterprise	In RDS Enterprise Edition, the database system consists of a primary RDS instance, a secondary RDS instance, and a logger RDS instance. You can create read-only RDS instances and attach the read-only RDS instances to the primary RDS instance.	RDS Enterprise Edition is suitable for financial institutions that have high requirements for reliability.

   Note

   • The available RDS editions vary based on the region and database engine version that you select. If you select MySQL 5.6, Basic is not displayed.
   • For more information, see Overview of ApsaraDB RDS editions.
6. Configure the Storage Type parameter.

   Comparison item	ESSD (recommended)	Local SSD
   Scalability	★★★★★ You can increase the storage capacity up to 32 TB. No transient connections occur during storage expansion. You can upgrade, downgrade, create, or release the RDS instance in minutes. Automatic storage expansion is supported.	★★ You can increase the storage capacity up to 6 TB. Transient connections occur during storage expansion. A few hours may be required to upgrade, downgrade, create, or release the RDS instance. Automatic storage expansion is not supported.
   Performance	★★★★★ PL1<PL2<PL3 An enhanced SSD (ESSD) of performance level 2 (PL2) provides twice the IOPS and throughput of an ESSD of performance level 1 (PL1). An ESSD of PL3 provides 20 times the IOPS and 11 times the throughput of an ESSD of PL1.	★★★★★
   Backup	★★★★★ A backup can be completed in minutes or seconds. The highest backup frequency is one backup every 15 minutes.	★★★ A backup requires a long period of time to complete. The highest backup frequency is one backup every day.

   Note

   • RDS instances that run MySQL 5.7 or MySQL 8.0 on RDS Basic Edition support only standard SSDs and ESSDs. RDS instances that run MySQL 8.0 or MySQL 5.7 on RDS Enterprise Edition support only local SSDs. RDS instances that run MySQL 5.6 or MySQL 5.5 on RDS High-availability Edition support only local SSDs. Serverless RDS instances support only standard SSDs and ESSDs.
   • The available features vary based on the storage type that you select. For more information, see MySQL 8.0.
   • For more information about different types of storage media, see Features.
7. Select the zone where the RDS instance resides.
   • Select a zone.
     • No significant differences exist between the zones in the same region.
     • If the RDS instance resides in the same zone as the ECS instance on which your application is deployed, these instances can provide the optimal performance. If the RDS instance and the ECS instance reside in different zones in the same region, the performance of the RDS instance and the ECS instance is slightly lower than the performance of the RDS instance and the ECS instance that reside in the same zone.
   • Select a deployment method.
     • Multi-zone Deployment: The RDS instance and its secondary RDS instance reside in different zones to allow users to perform zone-disaster recovery. This is the recommended deployment method.
     • Single-zone Deployment: The RDS instance and its secondary RDS instance reside in the same zone.
     Note If you select Basic for the Edition parameter, only the Single-zone Deployment method is supported.
8. Configure the Instance Type parameter.
   1. Select an instance family. You can select General-purpose or Dedicated.

      Instance family	Description	Benefit
      General-purpose	A general-purpose RDS instance occupies all the allocated memory and I/O resources. A general-purpose RDS instance shares CPU and storage resources with other general-purpose RDS instances that are deployed on the same host.	General-purpose RDS instances are cost-effective.
      Dedicated	A dedicated RDS instance occupies all the allocated CPU, memory, storage, and I/O resources. Note The dedicated host instance family is the highest configuration of the dedicated instance family. A dedicated host RDS instance occupies all CPU, memory, storage, and I/O resources of the host on which the RDS instance is deployed.	A dedicated RDS instance provides higher performance and higher stability. Note An RDS instance that runs RDS Basic Edition does not support the dedicated instance family.

   2. Select an instance type.
      • In a test environment, select an instance type that provides one or more CPU cores.
      • In a production environment, select an instance type that provides four or more CPU cores.
      Note For more information, see Primary ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance types.
      
9. Configure the Capacity parameter.

   The value range of the storage capacity varies based on the instance type and storage type that you select.

   You can change the storage capacity at a step size of 5 GB.
10. Configure the following parameters. This step is required only if you select the Subscription billing method and the Local SSD storage type.
    We recommend that you set the Backup Retention After Release parameter to Latest or All. This way, you can retrieve the data of the RDS instance if the RDS instance is released due to overdue payments and data is lost.
11. In the lower-right corner of the page, click Next: Instance Configuration.
    
12. Configure the Network Type parameter.
    1. Network Type: If your application is deployed on an ECS instance, the network type of the ECS instance and the RDS instance must be the same. Otherwise, you cannot connect the ECS instance and the RDS instance over an internal network.
       Note

       • For more information about how to view the network type of the ECS instance, see Get ready to use ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL.
       • If you do not want to connect the ECS instance and the RDS instance over an internal network, you can select the classic network type or the VPC network type.
       • Specific RDS instances do not support the classic network type.
    2. VPC and vSwitch: If you select the VPC network type, you must also select a VPC and a vSwitch. We recommend that you select the VPC of the ECS instance on which your application is deployed. If the RDS instance and the ECS instance reside in different VPCs, you cannot connect these instances over an internal network.
       Note

       • For more information about how to view the VPC in which your ECS instance resides, see Get ready to use ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL.
       • 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.
13. Configure other custom parameters. If you do not have special business requirements, you can use the default values of these parameters.

    Parameter	Description
    Release Protection	Specifies whether to enable the release protection feature. The release protection feature is used to prevent a pay-as-you-go RDS instance from being released due to incorrect operations. For more information, see Enable or disable the release protection feature for an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance.
    Minor Version Upgrade Policy	The policy based on which the minor engine version of the RDS instance is updated. Automatic Upgrade: ApsaraDB RDS automatically updates the minor engine version of the RDS instance to the most recent version during the scheduled maintenance window. For more information about how to change the maintenance window, see Set the maintenance window of an ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL instance. For more information about how to change the upgrade time, see Manage pending events. Manual Upgrade: You must manually update the minor engine version of the RDS instance on the Basic Information page. If you do not want to use the latest minor engine version, select Select Minor Version. Then, you can select a minor engine version from the drop-down list that is displayed.
    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.

14. In the lower-right corner of the page, click Next: Confirm Order.
    
15. Confirm the configuration of the RDS instance in the Parameters section, configure the Purchase Plan and Duration parameters, read and select Terms of Service, and then click Pay Now. You must configure the Duration parameter only if you select the subscription billing method for the RDS instance.
    Note If you select the subscription billing method for the RDS instance, we recommend that you select Auto-Renew Enabled. This way, you can prevent interruptions on your application even if you forget to renew the RDS instance.
    The "Congratulations." or "The service is activated" message is displayed in the ApsaraDB RDS console.
16. View the RDS instance.
    Go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance based on the Creation Time parameter.

    ApsaraDB RDS requires 1 to 10 minutes to create an RDS instance. You can refresh the page to view the RDS instance that you created.

    

What to do next

FAQ

References

• For more information about how to create an RDS instance by calling an API operation, see Create an instance.
• For more information about how to create an RDS instance that runs a different database engine, see the following topics:
  • Create an ApsaraDB RDS for SQL Server instance
  • Create an ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance
  • Create an ApsaraDB RDS for MariaDB TX instance