Elastic Compute Service:Create a preemptible instance

Create a preemptible instance in the ECS console

To create a preemptible instance in the ECS console, perform the following steps. For more information about how to configure an instance, see Create an instance by using the wizard.

1. Log on to the ECS console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
3. On the Instances page, click Create Instance.
4. Set Billing Method to Preemptible Instance.
5. In the Usage Duration section, specify a protection period for the preemptible instance.
   • One Hour: Specify a protection period for the preemptible instance. Currently, the period can be set only to one hour. More options are about to be available in later updates. After the protection period is elapsed, changes in your bidding price and the inventory of your selected resource are checked every five minutes to determine whether you can continue using the resources. This option is suitable for scenarios such as large-scale rendering tasks and simulations.
   • None: Specify no protection period for the preemptible instance. Preemptible instances without a protection period are more cost-effective than preemptible instances with a protection period.
6. In the Maximum Price for Instance Type section, specify your bidding price.

   The preemptible instance that you request is created at the market price only if your bidding price is higher than or equal to the market price and the resources are sufficient. You can bid for a preemptible instance only once. The following bidding modes are supported:

   • Use Automatic Bid: The market price at the time of purchase is used as the bidding price.
   • Set Maximum Price: You must specify the maximum price that you can pay for the instance type.
     Note In the displayed price range, the maximum price is equal to the price for the pay-as-you-go instance of the same instance type. Your bidding price must be specified based on the displayed price range, your business requirements, and the estimated price fluctuations. If you determine all estimated price fluctuations before you specify the bidding price for a preemptible instance, the instance can be retained for an extended period of time. If you do not determine all estimated price fluctuations, the instance may be released at any time after the protection period is elapsed.
7. Select or enter the number of instances that you want to purchase.
8. Configure other parameters.
9. Confirm the order information and click Create Order.

Create a preemptible instance by calling an API operation

Create a preemptible instance by using Terraform

To create a preemptible instance by using Terraform, perform the following steps:

1. Open your browser and enter https://shell.aliyun.com in the address bar to access Cloud Shell.

   For more information, see Use Cloud Shell.

2. Log on to Cloud Shell.
3. Run the vim terraform.tf command to create the terraform.tf file.
4. Enter the following content in the terraform.tf file and enter wq to save configurations.
   Note For information about parameters in the following sample code, see alicloud_instance.

   provider "alicloud" {}
   
   resource "alicloud_vpc" "vpc" {
     name       = "tf_test_foo"
     cidr_block = "172.16.0.0/12"
   }
   
   resource "alicloud_vswitch" "vsw" {
     vpc_id            = alicloud_vpc.vpc.id
     cidr_block        = "172.16.0.0/21"
     availability_zone = "cn-hangzhou-b"
   }
   
   
   resource "alicloud_security_group" "default" {
     name = "default"
     vpc_id = alicloud_vpc.vpc.id
   }
   
   resource "alicloud_instance" "instance" {
     # The zone in which you want to create the preemptible instance.
     availability_zone = "cn-hangzhou-b"
     # The security group with which you want to associate the preemptible instance.
     security_groups = alicloud_security_group.default.*.id
   
     # The instance type of the preemptible instance.
     instance_type        = "ecs.n2.small"
     # The category of the system disk.
     system_disk_category = "cloud_efficiency"
     # The operating system of the image that you want to use to create the preemptible instance.
     image_id             = "ubuntu_140405_64_40G_cloudinit_20161115.vhd"
     # The name of the preemptible instance.
     instance_name        = "test_foo"
     # The vSwitch to which you want to connect the preemptible instance.
     vswitch_id = alicloud_vswitch.vsw.id
     # The public bandwidth of the preemptible instance.
     internet_max_bandwidth_out = 10
     # The billing method of the preemptible instance.
     instance_charge_type = "PostPaid"
     # The bidding policy of the preemptible instance.
     spot_strategy = "SpotAsPriceGo"
     # The protection period of the preemptible instance.
     spot_duration = 0
   }
   
   resource "alicloud_security_group_rule" "allow_all_tcp" {
     type              = "ingress"
     ip_protocol       = "tcp"
     nic_type          = "intranet"
     policy            = "accept"
     port_range        = "1/65535"
     priority          = 1
     security_group_id = alicloud_security_group.default.id
     cidr_ip           = "0.0.0.0/0"
   }

5. Run the terraform init command to initialize the configurations.
6. Run the terraform plan command to preview the configurations.
7. Run the terraform apply command to create the preemptible instance.
8. Run the terraform show command to check the preemptible instance.

   The following sample command output indicates that the preemptible instance is created.