Instance purchase questions
Spot instance purchase questions
Why can't I see the spot instance option when I purchase an ECS instance?
What is the relationship between the maximum bid for a spot instance and the current market price?
Can I see the current market price before I purchase a spot instance?
Can I view the price history of a spot instance type? If so, how?
FAQ
How do I choose an ECS instance that suits my business?
For information about how to choose an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, see Best practices for instance type selection.
How do I check if I can purchase an instance in a specific region or zone?
You can go to the Instance Types Available for Each Region page to view the instance types available in each region.
What should I do if resources are sold out when I try to purchase an instance?
If resources are sold out when you try to create an instance, you can adjust your requirements as needed:
Change the region
Change the zone
Change the resource configuration
Instance resources are dynamic. Alibaba Cloud replenishes resources based on availability. If no resources are available after you adjust your requirements, you can wait for a period of time and try again.
How long does it take to create an ECS instance?
It typically takes 1 to 2 minutes to create an instance. After the instance is created:
For a Linux instance, you can connect to it. For more information, see Log on to a Linux instance using Workbench.
For a Windows instance, the operating system needs to be initialized using
sysprep. Do not restart the instance during initialization. After the initialization is complete, you can connect to the instance. For more information, see Use Workbench to connect to a Windows instance over RDP. The time required for initialization depends on whether the instance is I/O optimized:For an I/O optimized Windows instance, initialization typically takes 2 to 3 minutes.
For a non-I/O optimized Windows instance, initialization typically takes 10 minutes.
I paid for an instance, but it was not created. Why?
This may be because the system automatically issued a refund due to insufficient resources in the zone. You can check your orders in My Orders to confirm this.
If this occurs, you can create the instance again in a different zone.
You can go to the Instance Types Available for Each Region page to view the instance types available in each region.
After I purchase an instance, why is the memory size different from the one defined in the instance type?
The memory size defined in the instance type refers to the total available memory. This includes memory reserved by the system for overhead, such as BIOS-reserved memory, kernel operations, and the hypervisor. Therefore, the real-time available memory that you see is less than the memory size defined for the instance type. The proportion of memory occupied by the system may vary slightly because different instance families may use different technology stacks.
Which ECS instance types support spot instances?
The same instance types that are available on a pay-as-you-go basis are supported. If certain instance types cannot be purchased due to resource constraints, you can purchase other instance types.
Which regions support spot instances?
All regions support spot instances. If you cannot purchase a spot instance in a specific region due to resource constraints, you can select a different region.
Why can't I see the spot instance option when I purchase an ECS instance?
Your eligibility to use spot instances depends on your Elastic Compute Service usage. If you cannot see the spot instance option, your account is not yet eligible to use this feature.
How do I bid for a spot instance?
When you create a spot instance, you must set the maximum hourly price that you are willing to pay. If your bid is higher than the current market price, the instance runs and is billed at the current market price. For more information, see Create a spot instance.
What is the relationship between the maximum bid for a spot instance and the current market price?
If your maximum bid is higher than the current market price, the spot instance is created and billed at the current market price. After the instance is created, it is not released during its protection period, even if the market price fluctuates and exceeds your maximum bid.
After the protection period ends, the system checks the current market price and inventory of the instance type every 5 minutes. If the current market price exceeds your maximum bid, or if the inventory is insufficient, the running spot instance is released.
Can I see the current market price before I purchase a spot instance?
Yes, you can. When you create a spot instance in the console, you can view the market price range and price history of the selected instance type after you select it. The total cost of the current configuration, which includes the instance type, storage, and network bandwidth, is displayed at the bottom of the page. The price for the instance type is its current market price.
Can I view the price history of a spot instance type? If so, how?
Yes, you can. When you create a spot instance in the console, you can view the price history of the instance type after you select it. You can also call the DescribeSpotPriceHistory operation to query the price history.
How many spot instances can an account purchase?
The quota for spot instances is measured in vCPUs, not by the number of instances. When you create a spot instance, you can view your available vCPU quota after you select an instance type. For more information, see Instance limits.