When you purchase a cloud box, you must also purchase Elastic Block Storage (EBS) resources. This topic describes how EBS resources are billed.
Billing methods
Elastic Block Storage in CloudBox supports PL0 ESSDs. ESSDs are ultra-high performance cloud disks based on a new-generation distributed block storage architecture. A single disk provides 10,000 random read/write IOPS and lower single-path latency. For more information, see Cloud disk overview and ESSDs.
Elastic Block Storage resources are billed based on the unit price, capacity, and subscription duration of disks. The formula is: Cost = Unit price × Capacity × Subscription duration.
Unit price: This service uses tiered billing. The unit price is lower for capacities of 36 TiB or more. For specific pricing, see the purchase page in the CloudBox console.
Capacity
Minimum purchase capacity: 12 TiB
Scaling step size: 12 TiB
Maximum capacity: 1520 TiB
Subscription period: You can purchase a subscription by the year. For your first CloudBox purchase, you must select a 3-year or 5-year subscription.
Billing
Cloud box supports only enhanced SSDs (ESSDs) at performance level 0 (PL0) as EBS resources. PL0 ESSDs are built on a next-generation distributed block storage architecture and deliver up to 10,000 random read/write IOPS with low one-way latency. For more information, see Disks and ESSDs.
EBS resource fees are calculated as follows:
Fees = Capacity × Unit price × Subscription duration
Capacity
| Constraint | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum | 12 TiB |
| Scaling step | 12 TiB |
| Maximum | 1,520 TiB |
Unit price
EBS resources use a tiered pricing model. Capacity at or above 36 TiB is charged at a lower unit price. For price details, see the buy page for cloud boxes.
Subscription duration
EBS resources are billed on a yearly basis. For your first cloud box purchase, the initial subscription must be three or five years.
EBS resource fees are paid together with the fees for all other resources in the same cloud box order.
Payment options
Two payment options are available for cloud box subscriptions:
| Option | How it works |
|---|---|
| All Upfront | Pay the full amount at the time of purchase. |
| Half Upfront | Pay 50% upfront, then pay the remaining balance in equal monthly installments. |
Post-acceptance billing
After you accept a cloud box, Alibaba Cloud generates bills on the first day of each month based on the remaining unpaid fees and the subscription duration. Each monthly bill is the same amount.
If a bill is not paid within seven calendar days of receipt, your cloud box stops providing services normally. Make sure your account has sufficient balance to cover monthly bills.