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    Elastic Compute Service:Use snapshot instant access

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    Elastic Compute Service:Use snapshot instant access

    Last Updated:Apr 27, 2026

    Make ESSD snapshots available within seconds of creation, before the upload to OSS completes.

    How it works

    Before a snapshot is fully uploaded to OSS, instant access lets you:

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    Note

    • Creating a disk from an in-progress snapshot supports only ESSD series disks (ESSD, ESSD AutoPL, ESSD Entry, and ESSD zone-redundant).

    • A snapshot does not provide zone-redundant storage until it is fully uploaded to OSS. If the zone of the source disk fails, you cannot use the snapshot to create or roll back disks.

    Billing

    Instant access is free of charge. After a snapshot is created, Alibaba Cloud charges a storage fee based on the snapshot size and retention period. See Snapshot billing.

    Limitations

    • The snapshot instant access feature is supported only for ESSD series disks (ESSD, ESSD AutoPL, ESSD Entry, and ESSD zone-redundant).

    • Instant access is enabled by default when you create a snapshot for an ESSD series disk. You cannot manually enable or disable this feature after creation.

    • Instant access is enabled by default for new snapshots, shared snapshots, and snapshots managed by other cloud products, such as snapshots created by Cloud Backup. Copied snapshots and snapshots created from images are not supported.

    Enable instant access

    When you create a snapshot for an ESSD, Instant Access is enabled by default and cannot be disabled. See Create a snapshot.

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    Note

    For legacy instant access snapshots, you can disable instant access by calling ModifySnapshotAttribute with the DisableInstantAccess parameter.

    Legacy vs. new instant access snapshots

    The snapshot instant access feature was upgraded on 11:00 on October 12, 2023. See the official announcement.

    Comparison Item

    Legacy version

    New version

    Version timeline

    Before 11:00 on October 12, 2023

    11:00 on October 12, 2023 and later

    Instant access status

    The snapshot list shows the instant access expiration time, for example, Oct 20, 2023, 11:07:07 Remaining Before Expiration.

    image.png

    Note

    Existing legacy instant access snapshots remain usable. Instant access is automatically disabled when they expire.

    The snapshot list shows the instant access status as Enabled.

    image.png

    Fees

    • Before 11:00 on October 12, 2023, instant access incurred a usage fee.

    • As of 11:00 on October 12, 2023, instant access is free of charge in all regions.

    Free of charge in all regions.

    Snapshot type

    Only manual snapshots are supported.

    Both manual and automatic snapshots are supported.

    How to enable

    Manually enabled when you create a snapshot.

    Enabled by default when you create a snapshot.

    Shutdown procedure

    Call ModifySnapshotAttribute with the DisableInstantAccess parameter.

    Cannot be disabled.

    Disk re-initialization with instant access snapshots

    Not supported

    Note

    First call ModifySnapshotAttribute to disable instant access, then re-initialize the disk. See Re-initialize a disk.

    Supported

    Maximum instant access snapshots per disk

    10

    Same as the maximum snapshots per disk. See Snapshots overview.