Custom sales lets you control how customers use your private services—without building a license management system from scratch. As a service provider, configure a validity period to set how long service instances remain active, and attach custom metadata that your software can read at runtime to enforce usage rules.
Limitations
| Setting | Applies to |
|---|---|
| Validity period | Private service instances created in Compute Nest |
| Custom metadata | Private service instances created in Alibaba Cloud Marketplace or Compute Nest |
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Custom sales settings can only be configured on private services.
Configure custom sales settings
Set a validity period or custom metadata for a private service, then verify the settings by creating a test service instance.
Step 1: Configure the service
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Log on to the Compute Nest console.
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In the left-side navigation pane, click My Services.
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On the Created Services tab, find the private service you want to configure.
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Click the service name. On the Service Details tab, go to the Sales Configuration section and click Custom Sales Configuration.
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In the Custom Sales Configuration dialog box, turn on Custom Sales Configuration.
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Set the Validity Period parameter.
The maximum validity period is 1,000 days. When a service instance expires, its resources are not released automatically.
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Click Add Metadata. In the Add Metadata dialog box, configure the following parameters and click Yes.
After you define the custom metadata, call the CheckOutLicense operation from the software deployed in the service instance to query the metadata at runtime.
Parameter Description Template The template you used to create the service Plan The parameter set configured when you created the service. Leave blank if no parameter set is available. If at least one parameter set exists, this field is required. Custom Metadata The custom data to attach to the service instance
Step 2: Test and publish the service
Skip this step if the service is already published. Go directly to step 3.
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Test the service to confirm it is working. For more information, see Test a service.
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Submit the service for review. After it passes, publish the service. For more information, see Publish a service.
Step 3: Verify the settings
Create a service instance based on the service. If the validity period appears on the Create Service Instance page, the custom sales settings are active. For details, see the "Create a service instance in the Compute Nest console" section in Create a private service instance.
Custom sales settings only take effect on service instances created after the settings are saved.
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Service instances created before the settings were first configured cannot be updated retroactively.
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Service instances created before a subsequent modification can have their settings updated. See Modify the custom sales settings of a service instance.
Modify the custom sales settings of a service instance
Update the validity period or custom metadata on a specific customer service instance—for example, to extend the validity period for a customer whose instance has expired.
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Log on to the Compute Nest console.
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In the left-side navigation pane, click Service Instance.
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On the Service Instance page, click the Customer's Service Instances tab, then click the Private Service tab. Find the service instance to update.
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In the Actions column, click Modify Custom Sales Configurations.
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In the Modify Custom Sales Configurations dialog box, update the parameters and click Yes.
Parameter Description Validity Period Turn on to terminate the license immediately or extend the validity period. Extend by day or by specific date. Modify Custom Metadata Enter the custom metadata to update usage limits for the service instance. 