Resource Advisor is an end-to-end service that helps you optimize Elastic Compute Service (ECS) resource usage. It allows you to make resource plans beforehand and reserve resources to obtain capacity assurance. It monitors and analyzes resource configurations and usage telemetry and provides actionable recommendations on how to optimize your resource usage. Resource Advisor helps you use the cloud in an efficient, cost-effective, and secure manner.
Resource planning
When you plan to migrate your business to the cloud, resource planning helps you determine resources and purchase methods based on your business requirements.
Feature | Description |
Provision health score | Provision health scores reflect the real-time availability of ECS instance types in terms of the stock level, replenishment capability, and popularity. Before you migrate on-premises servers to the cloud, you can make resource plans based on provision health scores. For more information, see View the provision health scores of resources. |
Resource specifications recommendation |
For more information, see Obtain recommendations on resource schemes. |
Introduction
Resource Assurance is a service that can help guarantee the provision of ECS resources as your needs change. It allows you to quantify the amount of available resources, reserve resources, plan private pools, and gain a better experience when you query, reserve, purchase, and use resources.
Resource Assurance provides the Quota Management, Resource Reservation, Private Pool, and Privilege services. The following table describes the services and their features.
Service | Feature | Description |
Elastic Quota | Displays quotas on resources such as instance types, images, disks, and security groups. Resources are provided within quota limits. | |
| Allows you to reserve resources for different scenarios. After you purchase an elasticity assurance or capacity reservation, Alibaba Cloud reserves resources that match the attributes of the elasticity assurance or capacity reservation in a private pool. | |
Private Pool | Provides guaranteed access to resources for you to create instances. | |
Privilege | Allows you to view the privileges that are granted to your account, including feature privileges and network privileges. |
Quota Management
The following table describes the different types of elastic quotas.
Elastic quota type | Description |
Instance quota | Instance quotas are allocated based on zones, instance types, billing methods, and network types. Instance quotas are classified into the following types based on how well the provision of resources is guaranteed:
|
Resource quota | Resource quotas are quotas on other ECS resources such as images, disks, and security groups. You can apply to increase the quotas. For more information, see View and increase resource quotas. |
Resource Reservation
You can purchase resource reservations to ensure that resources are in place to meet your business requirements. Resource reservations are classified into the following types based on usage scenarios:
Elasticity assurances: are suitable for scenarios in which resource demand patterns are highly irregular. Elasticity assurances provide guaranteed resources only for pay-as-you go instances. Elasticity assurances can take effect immediately after creation or at the specified time. For more information, see Overview of Elasticity Assurance.
Capacity reservations: are suitable for scenarios in which resource demands are stable and high. Capacity reservations are classified into different types. Capacity reservations provide guaranteed resources for subscription and pay-as-you go instances. Capacity reservations can take effect immediately after creation or at the specified time. For more information, see Overview of Immediate Capacity Reservation.
Resource reservations do not provide guaranteed resources for preemptible instances.
The following figure shows the classification of resource reservations.
When you use resource reservations, configure an appropriate resource reservation plan based on your requirements on usage scenarios, resource types, and effective time. The following table compares the plans.
Item | Elasticity assurance | Immediate capacity reservation | Capacity reservation with Savings Plan | Capacity reservation for subscription resources |
Usage scenario | Resource usage shows discrete spikes over time, but the overall resource usage is not high, as shown in the following figure. Instances need to be released and then created from time to time. Elasticity assurances are suitable for the following scenarios:
| The overall resource usage is stable and high, as shown in the following figure. Instances need to be released and then created from time to time. Immediate capacity reservations are suitable for the following scenarios:
| The overall resource usage is stable and high, as shown in the following figure. Instances need to be released and then created from time to time. Capacity reservations with Savings Plan are suitable for scenarios in which data is migrated to the cloud. You must reserve resources and upgrade systems from time to time after migration. Instances need to be released and then created. | The overall resource usage is stable and high, as shown in the following figure. Instances do not need to be released and then created. Capacity reservations for subscription resources are suitable for scenarios in which resources need to be filed. |
Resource | Pay-as-you-go instances | Pay-as-you-go instances | Pay-as-you-go instances | Subscription instances |
Time flexibility |
|
|
|
|
Billing |
|
|
|
|
Cost optimization | If you purchase regional reserved instances or savings plans, you can use them for created pay-as-you-go instances. | If you purchase regional reserved instances or savings plans, you can use them for the unused reserved capacity and created pay-as-you-go instances. | When you create a capacity reservation with Savings Plan, you must create a savings plan at the same time. This savings plan is applied to provide savings on the resources that are reserved by the capacity reservation. Note If you release a capacity reservation with Savings Plan, the savings plan can continue to be applied to reduce your bill on resources, but cannot be used to create another capacity reservation with Savings Plan. | None. Note Regional reserved instances or savings plans cannot be used to offset the bills of the capacity reservation for subscription resources and the unused capacity. |
Regional reserved savings plans can provide reserved resources but cannot be used to offset the bills of resources that are reserved by resource reservations.
Private Pool
Resources that are automatically scheduled constitute a public pool. All users have access to the resources in the public pool. Instances may fail to be created when resources in the public pool are insufficient. When you purchase a resource reservation, Alibaba Cloud reserves resources that have matched attributes in a private pool for your use to create instances.
The capacity in private pools is displayed as reserved quotas to provide an overview of guaranteed resources. For information about how to view reserved quotas, see View and increase instance quotas.
You can purchase resource reservations based on your planned demands to create private pools to accommodate reserved instances. Then, you can use the reserved resources in the private pools to create instances. You can perform the following private pool-related operations:
When you purchase an elasticity assurance or capacity reservation, configure private pool attributes including the following ones:
Private pool type: open or targeted private pool. Open private pools are suitable for business that requires the guaranteed provision of resources. You can use an open private pool of your choice by specifying its ID or by matching the tags of its associated elasticity assurance or capacity reservation, or use an open private pool that is selected by the system. Targeted private pools are suitable for critical business that requires dedicated reserved resources. To use a targeted private pool, you must specify its ID.
Tag matching: You can enable tag matching to use open private pools based on tags.
For example, you developed a script to create instances that have specific tags for your critical business. If your key business requires guaranteed provision of resources, purchase an elasticity assurance or capacity reservation. When you purchase the elasticity assurance or capacity reservation, set the private pool type to Open and add the instance tags specified in the script. After the elasticity assurance or capacity reservation is purchased, tag matching is automatically enabled for the associated open private pool. When you run the script to create instances, the associated open private pool is automatically matched and used. This eliminates the need to modify the instance creation script and reduces unnecessary communication and O&M costs.
For more information, see Purchase a resource reservation.
When you create instances, you can use one of the following methods to configure the private pool that you want to use:
Manually specify the ID of an open or targeted private pool.
Manually add tags to use the open private pool that is associated with an elasticity assurance or capacity reservation that has the tags.
Set the private pool type to Open to use an open private pool that is selected by the system.
For more information, see Use a private pool to create instances.
The following figure shows the workflow for creating and using private pools.
Alibaba Cloud utilizes the capacity of private pools as much as it possibly can.
When you purchase elasticity assurances or capacity reservations, Alibaba Cloud takes the instances that you have into account to evaluate whether the current resource inventory can meet your demands.
For example, you have 100 pay-as-you-go instances and you want to release the instances to create new instances. When you attempt to purchase a capacity reservation to reserve resources, your purchase request is denied due to insufficient resources. To resolve the preceding issues, you can set the private pool type of your existing instances to Open. This way, the instances are deemed as matchable resources. Then, you can purchase a capacity reservation.
After a private pool is created, it is automatically used by existing instances that match its attributes.
NoteOnly private pools that apply to pay-as-you-go instances can match existing instances. Private pools that apply to subscription instances can be used only to create instances.
If instances no longer match a private pool after instance attributes such as the instance type and operating system are changed, the system checks the instances and matches them to other private pools.
The following section describes some of the scenarios for which private pool are suitable:
Resources allocated based on business types
A system administrator creates multiple targeted private pools and informs O&M personnel and developers of different pool IDs. This ensures that different private pools are used to create instances for the O&M and development purposes.
Resources allocated for all business types
A system administrator creates open private pools. O&M personnel and developers use the reserved resources in the open private pools to create instances. When the reserved resources in the private pools are used up, resources in the public pool are used.
Resources allocated based on tags
A system administrator creates open private pools and adds business-specific tags to the open private pools. When you create instances for a specific business, add tags to the instances. The instances automatically match the open private pools that have the same tags.
Resources allocated exclusively to specific business
A system administrator creates targeted private pools and allows instances to be created only by using the targeted private pools for specific business. When the reserved resources in the private pools have been used up, instances cannot be created.
Privilege
You can view the privileges that are granted to your account, including feature privileges and network privileges.
Feature privileges include the privileges on the instance configuration downgrade, image copy, image import, and image export features. If the privileges on a feature are not displayed, you are not granted the privileges.
Network privileges allow you to check whether the classic network is available in a specified region.
For information about how to view privileges, see View privileges.
Optimization suggestions
After resources are created, Resource Advisor can provide suggestions based on the CPU utilization and memory usage of ECS instances to help optimize the performance of the instances. You can obtain solutions based on the suggestions.
You can also analyze resource creation failures to obtain methods to successfully create resources.