Cloud Phone:Create and manage instance groups

Preparations

• If you use a Resource Access Management (RAM) user instead of an Alibaba Cloud account to access the console, the RAM user must be granted the required access permissions. Otherwise, the operations fail. For more information, see System policies for Cloud Phone.

• Instance groups support shared networks and virtual private cloud (VPC) network. If you want to use a VPC network, you must first create a VPC. For more information, see Create and manage a VPC.

Create an instance group

1. Log on to the Cloud Phone console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Manage Resource > Instance Group.

3. On the Instance Group page, click Create Instance Group.

4. On the Create Instance Group page, set the following parameters.

   Parameter	Description	Example
   Available Region	The region where the Cloud Phone instance group resides. To reduce latency, select a region near your users.	Singapore
   Billing Method	Options: Subscription: A billing method where you pay upfront for a specific duration. Pay-as-you-go: A billing method where you are charged after you use the service. Note For the pay-as-you-go billing method, billing starts when an instance group is created. A billing cycle is 4 hours. Billing stops at the end of the 4-hour billing cycle in which the instance group is released. If your account has an overdue payment during the deduction process, billing stops immediately and you are not charged for the full 4-hour block. For more information about the billing rules for the pay-as-you-go billing method, see [Announcement] Change of billing cycle for pay-as-you-go instances. Important The running state of a cloud phone instance does not affect billing. Billing continues even if you stop a cloud phone instance. For more information, see Billing overview.	Subscription
   Specifications	Specifications are categorized into Lightweight, General-purpose, Standard, Enhanced, and Performance types for different business scenarios. For example, the Lightweight type is suitable for hosting lightweight applications, such as community operations and automated text and image web browsing. The Standard type is suitable for various scenarios, including application hosting and interaction.	Lightweight
   Image Type	Options: System Image Custom Image	System Image
   Network Type	Options: Basic Shared Network and Advanced Shared Network: Include free basic bandwidth. The peak bandwidth for each Cloud Phone is 5 Mbps. These options are suitable for use cases with low Internet access requirements and does not support public Android Debug Bridge (ADB). Note Quota limits for shared networks: You can have a maximum of 10 shared networks. This quota is shared with WUYING Workspace Enterprise Edition. The combined number of basic office networks created in the WUYING Workspace Enterprise Edition console and shared networks for Cloud Phone cannot exceed 10. VPC: Supports public ADB. For more information about the differences between network types, see Manage networks.	Basic Shared Network
   Network	Options: Use Existing Network Auto Create Network Note The feature to automatically create a VPC network depends on Cloud Architect Design Tools (CADT). If you use a RAM user instead of an Alibaba Cloud account to create the instance group, the RAM user must first be granted the AliyunCADTFullAccess policy permissions.	Use Existing Network
   vSwitch	This configuration item is visible when the network type is VPC. Options: Auto manage Use existing	Auto manage
   Attach	Select a control policy to attach to the instance group.	Keep the default setting
   Instance Group Name	The name can be up to 30 characters in length. It must start with an uppercase or lowercase letter. It cannot start with http:// or https://. It can contain only letters, digits, colons (:), underscores (_), periods (.), and hyphens (-).	DemoGroup
   Quantity	The number of instances in the instance group.	1
   Duration	This configuration item is visible when the billing method is subscription. Select a subscription duration and specify whether to enable auto-renewal.	1 Month

5. Read the Product Terms of Service, and then click Buy Now.

6. (Conditional) If the billing method is subscription, confirm the configurations and payment amount on the Purchase page. Then, click Subscribe and complete the payment as prompted.

   You can view the latest status of the instance group on the Instance Group page.

Scale up an instance group

To increase the number of instances in an instance group, you can scale up the group.

1. Log on to the Cloud Phone console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Manage Resource > Instance Group.

3. On the Instance Group page, find the target instance group and click Scale Up in the Actions column.

   Note

   This operation is supported only for instance groups that are in the Available state.

4. On the Scale Out Instance Group page, enter the number of instances that you want to add (from 1 to 200) and click Buy Now.

5. (Conditional) If the billing method is subscription, confirm the configurations and payment amount on the Purchase page. Then, click Subscribe and complete the payment as prompted.

   You can view the latest status of the instance group on the Instance Group page.

Change the policy for an instance group

1. Log on to the Cloud Phone console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Manage Resource > Instance Group.

3. On the Instance Group page, find the target instance group, click the ⋮ icon in the Actions column, and choose Change Policy.

   Note

   This operation is supported only for instance groups that are in the Available state.

4. In the Change Policy panel, select a policy in the Policy section and click OK.

Change the image for an instance group

1. Log on to the Cloud Phone console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Manage Resource > Instance Group.

3. On the Instance Group page, find the target instance group, click the ⋮ icon in the Actions column, and choose Change Image.

   Note

   This operation is supported only for instance groups that are in the Available state.

4. In the Change Image panel, select an image in the Images section and click Confirm.

   Important

   After you change the image, the instance group is re-created. Proceed with caution.

Migrate the network for an instance group

To expand the IP address range of a vSwitch or change private IP addresses, you can migrate the instance group to another network.

Switch between system and application modes

By default, Cloud Phones in an instance group display the full mobile phone operating system. If you want a Cloud Phone to display only specified applications instead of the entire phone operating system, you can switch the instance group to application mode.

1. Log on to the Cloud Phone console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Manage Resource > Instance Group.

3. On the Instance Group page, find the target instance group, click the ⋮ icon in the Actions column, and choose Switch System/Application Mode.

   Note

   This operation is supported only for instance groups that are in the Available state.

4. In the Switch Between System Mode and Application Mode panel, select Application Mode or System Mode in the Modes section and click OK.

   Note

   If you want to select application mode, make sure that applications are installed for the instance group. Otherwise, you cannot switch to application mode.

Renew a subscription instance group

You can manually renew a subscription instance group at any time before it expires.

1. Log on to the Cloud Phone console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Manage Resource > Instance Group.

3. On the Instance Group page, find the target instance group and click Renew in the Actions column.

   Note

   This operation is supported only for instance groups that are in the Available state.

4. On the Renew Instance Group page, select a renewal duration, confirm the price details, and click Renew Now.

5. On the Purchase page, click Subscribe and complete the payment.

Other management operations

1. Log on to the Cloud Phone console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Manage Resource > Instance Group.

3. On the Instance Group page, find the target instance group and perform the following operations as needed:

   • Modify the instance group name: Hover your mouse over the name of the target instance group, click the icon, and modify the name.

   • View the list of instances in an instance group: Click the instance group ID to view the list of instances in the group on the instance group details page.

   • Delete an instance group:

     • For a subscription instance group, you can delete it only when its status is Expired or Failed. Click Delete in the Actions column and confirm the deletion.

     • For a pay-as-you-go instance group, you can delete it only when its status is Available, Overdue, or Failed. Click Delete in the Actions column and confirm the deletion.