Cloud Data Transfer:FAQ

Does CDT support centralized billing for subscription products?

No, CDT does not support centralized billing for subscription products. CDT allows you to aggregate the Internet data transfers of various Alibaba Cloud products and supports tiered pricing. The larger the amount of Internet data transfers, the lower the unit price. CDT also supports the pay-by-data-transfer metering method for Alibaba Cloud products that provide cross-region access. CDT supports only the pay-as-you-go billing method.

Can data transfers incurred by Alibaba Cloud products that provide cross-region access be billed based on tiered pricing?

No, data transfers incurred by Alibaba Cloud products that provide cross-region access cannot be billed based on tiered pricing.

What is tiered pricing?

You can use CDT to aggregate and bill the Internet data transfers of multiple Alibaba Cloud services in each region that provide access to the Internet based on tiered pricing. CDT provides multiple price tiers for Internet data transfers. The unit prices vary based on price tiers. You can multiply the amount of the used Internet data transfers by the unit price of the Internet data transfers in the corresponding tier, and then sum the fees calculated based on the tiered prices to learn about the total data transfer fee.

For more information, see Examples of tiered pricing.

Can I use data transfer plans to offset the fee of data transfers in CDT?

CDT allows you to use data transfer plans to offset the fee of data transfers that fall into only Tier 1 (0 TB to 10 TB).

Are other settings required after I activate CDT?

No, other settings are not required. CDT separates resource use and management from resource billing. You are not charged if you only activate CDT. After CDT is activated (the billing method of some Alibaba Cloud products needs to be switched to CDT billing manually), CDT bills the data transfers that are incurred by all existing and new pay-by-data-transfer instances.

Does CDT support features such as throttling, instance upgrading, and instance downgrading?

No, CDT does not support features such as throttling, instance upgrading, and instance downgrading. CDT centrally bills Alibaba Cloud products, whereas the Alibaba Cloud products provide resource management features. For example, CDT does not limit the maximum public bandwidth of an Alibaba Cloud product. The public bandwidth is managed in the Alibaba Cloud product. After CDT takes effect for the Alibaba Cloud product, the maximum public bandwidth remains unchanged.

Can CDT be activated in multiple accounts?

No, CDT cannot be activated in multiple accounts.

Will original Alibaba Cloud products continue to generate bills after CDT is activated?

After CDT is activated, CDT centrally bills the data transfers that are incurred by Alibaba Cloud products, whereas the Alibaba Cloud products generate other types of bills such as the bills of bandwidth, instance usage, and configurations.

How do I query the bills of monthly free 200 GB Internet data transfers?

1. Log on to the Expenses and Costs console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane of the Expenses and Costs console, choose Bills > Bill Details > Billing Details.

3. Select cloud data transfer-internet from the Product Details drop-down list and click Search.

   In the bills for Internet data transfers in CDT, the unit price of the monthly free 200 GB Internet data transfers is 0. Internet data transfers exceeding 200 GB per month are normally charged according to tiered pricing in CDT.

   Important

   200 GB Internet data transfers per month consist of two parts:

   • 20 GB per month: It can be used in global regions (including regions in the Chinese mainland).

   • 180 GB per month: It can be used only in regions outside the Chinese mainland.