IoT Platform provides public instances and Enterprise Edition instances. You can connect devices to IoT Platform instances and manage the devices by using the instances. This topic describes public instances and Enterprise Edition instances. This topic also describes the differences between the instances.

Important

Enterprise Edition instances are available only in the China (Shanghai), Singapore, and Japan (Tokyo) regions.

Terms

TermDescription
Enterprise Edition instanceThe instance that needs to be purchased is an Enterprise Edition instance. Enterprise Edition instances are deployed in Alibaba Cloud virtual private clouds (VPCs). You can use an Alibaba Cloud account to purchase multiple Enterprise Edition instances. You have exclusive access to the resources of these instances.
public instanceAfter you activate IoT Platform, a public instance is provided for trial use. Public instances are deployed in Alibaba Cloud classic networks.

Only public instances in the China (Shanghai) region are classified into public instances of the new version and public instances of the old version. By default, public instances in other regions are of the old version. For more information, see Public instances.

Public instances

You cannot have public instances of the old and new versions at the same time in the same region. The following table describes the differences between public instances of the new version and public instances of the old version.

Important Public instances of the new version are available only in the China (Shanghai) region.
InstanceDescription
Public instances of the old versionThe ID of a public instance of the old version is not displayed.
Public instance of the new versionBy default, public instances of the new version are disabled. You must enable a public instance of the new version. For more information, see Enable a public instance of the new version.

After you enable a public instance of the new version, the instance ID is displayed.

By default, the specifications of a public instance of the new version are fixed. If the specifications of a public instance of the new version no longer meet your business requirements, you can upgrade the public instance to an Enterprise Edition instance. For more information, see Purchase Enterprise Edition instances.

Features

  • For regions in which Enterprise Edition instances are available, you can view a public instance and the Enterprise Edition instances that you purchased on the Overview page in the IoT Platform console. You can click the card of the instance that you want to manage to go to the Instance Details page. The features of the instance are displayed on the page.
  • For regions in which Enterprise Edition instances are unavailable, IoT Platform does not provide the Overview page. By default, the features of a public instance are displayed in the left-side navigation pane.

Differences between public instances and Enterprise Edition instances

  • The billing methods of public instances of the new and old versions are different from the billing methods of Enterprise Edition instances. For more information, see Billing overview.
  • You can use IoT Platform instances to manage products, devices, and rules. Instances of different specifications provide different features.
    ItemPublic instances of the old versionPublic instances of the new versionEnterprise Edition instances
    RegionChina (Shanghai), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, Germany (Frankfurt), US (Silicon Valley), and US (Virginia). China (Shanghai) The following section describes the regions that support Enterprise Edition instances by instance type:
    • Standard: China (Shanghai), Singapore, and Japan (Tokyo).
    • Video: Japan (Tokyo).
    • Ultimate: China (Shanghai)
    Maximum number of online devicesThe maximum value is fixed. For more information, see Device access fees. 50 Unlimited. The maximum value and minimum value vary based on the region.
    • China (Shanghai):
      • Standard: This item is supported by Standard instances. The minimum value is 1,000 and the maximum value is 1,000,000.
      • Exclusive: This item is supported by Exclusive instances. The minimum value is 10,000 and the maximum value is 5,000,000.
    • Singapore and Japan (Tokyo): This item is supported by Standard instances and Video instances. The minimum value is 1,000 and the maximum value is 100,000.
    Maximum number of devices that you can create500 The value is the product of 10 and the specified maximum number of online devices.
    Messaging-based transactions per second (TPS)The value is fixed. For more information, see Messaging fees. 5 Unlimited. The minimum value is 100. The maximum value varies based on the region.
    • China (Shanghai): This item is supported by Standard instances and Exclusive instances. The maximum value is 100,000.
    • Singapore and Japan (Tokyo): This item is supported by Standard instances and Video instances. The maximum value is 10,000.
    Message forwarding TPS5 Unlimited. The minimum value is 100. The maximum value varies based on the region.
    • China (Shanghai): This item is supported by Standard instances and Exclusive instances. The maximum value is 100,000.
    • Singapore and Japan (Tokyo): This item is supported by Standard instances and Video instances. The maximum value is 10,000.
    Instance-level monitoring and alertingNot supported. Supported.
    Connection over Alibaba Cloud VPCsNot supported. Supported.
    Fixed IP addressesNot supported. Supported.
    Custom endpointsNot supported. Only Exclusive instances support custom MQTT endpoints and certificates.
    Connection over custom protocolsNot supported. Supported.
    LinkVisualNot supported. This item is supported by the Video instances in the Japan (Tokyo) region.
    Auto scalingNot supported. Supported.

    For more information about the types of Enterprise Edition instances supported by IoT Platform, see Types of Enterprise Edition instances.

Usage notes

You can purchase instances that meet your business requirements based on the preceding differences among instances. For more information, see the following topics:

FAQ

FAQ about IoT Platform instances