Release your Cloud Firewall instance when you no longer need protection to avoid additional costs. After release, Cloud Firewall can no longer protect your network assets, and all configured policies become invalid.
After release, Cloud Firewall can no longer protect your network assets, and all configured policies become invalid. Release during off-peak hours after confirming your business is running normally.
Before you release
Billing and refunds
| Billing method | What happens when you release |
|---|---|
| Subscription (Premium, Enterprise, and Ultimate Edition) | Billing does not stop early. Early release does not provide a refund. |
| Pay-as-you-go | Billing stops immediately. Because bills are generated on day T+1, you will still receive one final bill the day after release. |
Data retention
Configuration data — including access control policies, protection policies, and traffic analysis policies — is retained for 7 days after release. Use this window to renew or repurchase (subscription) or reactivate (pay-as-you-go) without losing your settings.
After 7 days, all data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
Note for subscription instances: Log analysis statistics are not retained after release.
Subscription
Release methods
Subscription instances support two release paths:
Automatic release — If your subscription expires, the instance enters a stopped state and is automatically released 15 days after expiration. Complete your renewal before this deadline to prevent release. For renewal steps, see 15Renewal policy.
Manual release — Release the instance yourself during the window from 15 days before expiration through 7 days after expiration.
Manually release a subscription instance
Early manual release does not provide a refund.
Log on to the Cloud Firewall console. In the upper-right corner of the Overview page, select More > Release Before Expiration.
If you are using Enterprise Edition or Ultimate Edition, disable the VPC firewall switches before releasing. For details, see Configure a VPC firewall for an Enterprise Edition transit router.
Pay-as-you-go
Log on to the Cloud Firewall console. In the upper-right corner of the Overview page, select More > Self-service Release.
What's next
Why are fees still deducted after I release a pay-as-you-go instance?
For refund policies based on your billing method, see Self-service unsubscription and release.
To continue using Cloud Firewall later, see Purchase Cloud Firewall.