Database Backup:Use storage plans

Usage notes

• Subscription storage plans cannot be used to offset the storage space for cross-region backups.
• You can purchase multiple storage plans and use them together. For example, you can use one storage plan of 2 TB or two storage plans of 1 TB each to offset 2 TB of storage space.
• You can renew your storage plans, but you cannot upgrade or unsubscribe from the storage plans.
• You can view the prices of storage plans on the DBS buy page.
• Storage plans become invalid when they expire.

Types of storage plans

Offset methods

• DBS calculates the total backup storage space used by your backup schedules on a daily basis. Offset factors are used to calculate the storage space that can be offset by the purchased storage plans. The excess storage is charged by using the pay-as-you-go billing method. For more information about the offset factors and pay-as-you-go billing method, see Offset factors of storage plans and Storage fees.
  Note For example, if you purchase a storage plan of 1 TB and use storage space of 1.2 TB, 1 TB of storage space is offset by the storage plan, and the rest of 0.2 TB of storage space is billed by using the pay-as-you-go billing method.
• The quota of a storage plan is used to offset the storage space that you use on a daily basis.

  For example, you purchase a storage plan of 100 GB whose validity period is one month. In this case, 100 GB of storage space is available for offsetting the built-in DBS storage space that you use every day within one month.

Purchase a storage plan

1. Go to the buy page of storage plans.
2. Set the Product Type parameter to Storage Bag.
3. Set the Type, Region, Specification, Quantity, and Duration parameters based on your business requirements.

   Parameter	Description
   Type	The type of storage plan. In this example, Backup Instance Storage Plan is selected. For more information about other types, see the Types of storage plans of this topic.
   Region	The region in which you want to use the storage plan. The default value is Global Common. This indicates that the storage plan can be used in the following regions: China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Nanjing-Local Region), China (Beijing), China (Qingdao), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Guangzhou), China (Chengdu), China (Hong Kong), Singapore (Singapore), Australia (Sydney), South Korea (Seoul), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta), Japan (Tokyo), Philippines (Manila), Thailand (Bangkok), India (Mumbai), Germany (Frankfurt), UK (London), US (Silicon Valley), US (Virginia), and UAE (Dubai).
   Specification	The specifications of the storage plan.
   Quantity	The number of storage plans that you want to purchase. Valid values: 1 to 99.
   Duration	The validity period of the storage plan. Valid values: 1 Month, 2 Months, 3 Months, 4 Months, 5 Months, 6 Months, 7 Months, 8 Months, and 9 Months. 1 Year, 2 Years, 3 Years, and 5 Years. Note Storage plans become invalid when they expire. For example, if you purchase a storage plan whose validity period is three months, the storage plan becomes invalid within three months after you purchase it. The larger capacity the storage plan has, the larger discount you can obtain.

4. Click Buy Now.

View a storage plan and its offset details

1. Log on to the DBS console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Storage Pack Management.
3. On the Storage Pack Management page, find the storage plan that you want to view and click Details in the Actions column.
4. On the Details tab of the Manage Reserved Instances page, view offset details of the storage plan, including the initial capacity, offset capacity, and remaining capacity.

Offset factors of storage plans

This section describes the offset factors of storage plans for backup instanceswhen the storage plans are used to offset the storage fees for backup schedules in different regions.

Offset factors of storage plans for backup instances

For example, you purchase a storage plan to offset the storage fees for a backup schedule in the China (Hong Kong) region. If 50 GB of data is stored, 56.5 GB is offset from the storage plan: 50 GB × 1.13 = 56.5 GB.

Comparison between backup instance storage plans and pay-as-you-go

To store large amounts of data, we recommend that you use subscription storage plans because they are more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method. Storage plans of larger storage capacities provide larger discounts. The following table describes the comparison between the prices for backup instance storage plans and pay-as-you-go. In this example, the China (Hangzhou) region is used. For more information, see Storage fees.