Cross-region traffic billing (settled by CDT)
When you use an Express Connect router (ECR) for cross-region connections, Cloud Data Transfer (CDT) generates the data transfer bills. CDT bills both inbound and outbound data transfers over the connection.
CDT charges for both inbound and outbound transfers. Factor both directions into your cost estimates.
Prerequisites
To connect regions in the Chinese mainland to regions outside the Chinese mainland using Express Connect circuits of China Unicom, complete the cross-border compliance verification first. Submit your application on the Apply for cross-border Express Connect circuits of China Unicom page.
Billing rules
Transfer categories
CDT classifies cross-region data transfers into two categories:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Local data transfer | Data transmitted between regions within the Chinese mainland, or between regions outside the Chinese mainland |
| Cross-border data transfer | Data transmitted between regions in the Chinese mainland and regions outside the Chinese mainland |
What CDT bills
CDT bills both inbound and outbound transfers over the ECR connection. The specific traffic flows charged depend on your network topology:
Hybrid cloud networking: Charged for VPC to VBR and VBR to VPC transfers
On-premises networking: Charged for VBR 1 to VBR 2 and VBR 2 to VBR 1 transfers
For pricing details, see Billing overview. For per-region rates, see Inter-region data transfer.
For cross-account, cross-region transfers, bills are generated under the Alibaba Cloud account that owns the ECR.
Cross-region data transfers are billed per ECR. Data transfer allocation across ECRs is not supported.
Transit router charges
After an ECR connects to a transit router, you are charged an ECR connection fee and a data processing fee on the transit router side. No cross-region data transfer fee applies on the transit router side. For details, see Billing rules.
Example
A company has a data center in the China (Hangzhou) region and a virtual private cloud (VPC) in the Germany (Frankfurt) region, connected through an ECR.
The unit prices in this example are for reference only. Actual prices may differ. To view your CDT bills, see Query bills and usage.
The following table shows the cost calculation for outbound data transfers from both ends of the connection.
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| Outbound data from China (Hangzhou) | 200 GB |
| Outbound data from Germany (Frankfurt) | 100 GB |
| Unit price | 0.80 USD/GB |
| Total fee | (200 GB + 100 GB) x 0.80 USD/GB = 240 USD |
USD 0.80/GB × 200 GB + USD 0.80/GB × 100 GB = USD 240