If the billing method for network usage of an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance that uses a public IP address does not suit your business requirements, you can change the billing method.

Prerequisites

Before you change the billing method for network usage of a subscription instance from pay-by-bandwidth to pay-by-traffic, make sure that your account has been granted the privilege to perform configuration downgrades.
Note You can click Privileges on the Overview page in the ECS console to go to the Privileges and Quotas page and check whether your account has been granted the privilege to perform configuration downgrades.

Background information

The billing methods available for network usage are pay-by-bandwidth and pay-by-traffic. You can change the billing method for network usage based on your business requirements.
  • Pay-by-bandwidth: You are charged based on the specified bandwidth. The actual outbound bandwidth does not exceed the specified bandwidth.
  • Pay-by-traffic: You are charged based on the actual volume of traffic. You can configure a peak bandwidth for outbound traffic to prevent unexpected high fees caused by traffic bursts.
    Notice When the pay-by-traffic billing method is used for network usage, the peak inbound and outbound bandwidth values are used as traffic limits instead of guaranteed performance specifications. If you need guaranteed bandwidths for your instances, use the pay-by-bandwidth billing method.
This topic describes how to change the billing method for network usage of an instance. For information about how to change the bandwidth value, see the following topics:

This topic describes how to change the billing method for network usage of an instance that uses a public IP address. For more information about how to change the billing method for network usage of an instance that uses an elastic IP address (EIP), see Modify the bandwidth of an EIP.

Change from pay-by-bandwidth to pay-by-traffic

  1. Log on to the ECS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. Find the instance for which you want to change the billing method for network usage. Then, use one of the following methods to go to the configuration page based on the billing method of the instance:
    • Subscription

      Find the subscription instance for which you want to change the billing method for network usage. Click Upgrade/Downgrade in the Actions column. In the Upgrade/Downgrade Wizard dialog box, choose Downgrade > Bandwidth Configuration and then click Continue.

    • Pay-as-you-go
      • To change the billing method for network usage of a single pay-as-you-go instance at a time, find the instance and choose More > Configuration Change > Change Pay-as-you-go Instance Bandwidth in the Actions column.
      • To change the billing method for network usage of multiple pay-as-you-go instances at a time, select the instances and choose More > Configuration Change > Change Pay-as-you-go Instance Bandwidth in the lower part of the Instances page.
  5. On the Change Bandwidth page, select Pay-By-Traffic and specify a peak bandwidth in the Bandwidth section.
  6. Read the notes. Read and select ECS Service Terms.
  7. Confirm the configuration costs, click Confirm in the lower part of the page, and then perform the subsequent operations as instructed.
    The new configurations take effect immediately after the billing method is changed.

Change from pay-by-traffic to pay-by-bandwidth

  1. Log on to the ECS console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
  4. Find the instance for which you want to change the billing method for network usage. Then, use one of the following methods to go to the configuration page based on the billing method of the instance:
    • Subscription
      • To change the billing method for network usage of a single instance at a time, find the instance and click Upgrade/Downgrade in the Actions column. In the Upgrade/Downgrade Wizard dialog box, select Upgrade and click Continue.
      • To change the billing method for network usage of multiple instances at a time, select the instances and choose More > Configuration Change > Change Subscription Instance Bandwidth in the lower part of the Instances page. In the dialog box that appears, select Modify Peak Bandwidth Value and click Continue.
    • Pay-as-you-go
      • To change the billing method for network usage of a single pay-as-you-go instance at a time, find the instance and choose More > Configuration Change > Change Pay-as-you-go Instance Bandwidth in the Actions column.
      • To change the billing method for network usage of multiple pay-as-you-go instances at a time, select the instances and choose More > Configuration Change > Change Pay-as-you-go Instance Bandwidth in the lower part of the Instances page.
  5. On the Change Bandwidth page, select Pay-By-Bandwidth and specify a bandwidth in the Bandwidth section.
  6. Read the notes. Read and select ECS Service Terms.
  7. Confirm the configuration costs, click Confirm in the lower part of the page, and then perform the subsequent operations as instructed.
    The new configurations take effect immediately after the billing method is changed.