Vector Retrieval Service for Milvus:FAQ

How do I estimate the required computing resources?

Use the Alibaba Cloud Milvus resource calculator to estimate required resources. Before going live, adjust the configuration based on your test results. For more information, see Milvus resource estimation and configuration recommendations.

How do I choose between the Basic and Standard editions of Alibaba Cloud Milvus?

Choose an Alibaba Cloud Milvus edition based on your use case and requirements:

• Basic Edition (single-node): Suitable for new Milvus users or for testing. Use it to quickly explore Milvus features.

• Standard Edition (cluster): Designed for production environments and offers higher stability. Choose the Standard Edition for optimal service and performance.

During the public preview, neither the Basic Edition nor the Standard Edition is covered by a service-level agreement (SLA).

How do I configure alert rules?

After you create an Alibaba Cloud Milvus instance, go to the Monitoring & Alerting page on the Alibaba Cloud Milvus console. On the Alert Settings tab, enable the One-Click Alert feature to set up alert monitoring. You can also click Alert Rule Settings to go to the CloudMonitor console and customize alert rules.

How do I choose an index?

Indexes directly affect vector search speed, precision, and resource usage. The following list compares common Milvus index types and provides selection recommendations:

• IVF_FLAT: Balances accuracy and query speed, making it suitable for most scenarios. Quantization reduces computational complexity, significantly improving performance over the FLAT index at lower resource cost. Ideal for large datasets where both query performance and cost matter.

• HNSW (Hierarchical Navigable Small World): A graph-based index that delivers high query efficiency, especially for high-dimensional data. Requires significant compute and memory resources. Best suited for scenarios that demand the fastest query speeds and have sufficient resources.

• IVF_SQ8: Accelerates the retrieval process through quantization, making it suitable for resource-constrained scenarios that require high recall. However, its query precision may be lower compared to HNSW.

• FLAT (exact index): Delivers the highest query precision by performing exact matching, but at the cost of slower queries on large datasets. Best for smaller datasets (for example, tens of millions of entities) where precision is the priority and slower query speeds are acceptable.

How do I change the configuration of an instance?

Query and modify instance configurations in the Alibaba Cloud Milvus console. For more information, see Update instance configurations.

How do I reset the password for an instance?

You can reset the password for the instance in one of the following ways.

from pymilvus import MilvusClient

# Create a Milvus client.
client = MilvusClient(
    uri="http://c-b26606e936****.milvus.aliyuncs.com:19530",  # The public endpoint of the Alibaba Cloud Milvus instance.
    token="<yourUsername>:<yourPassword>",  # The username and password used to log on to the Alibaba Cloud Milvus instance.
    db_name="default"  # The name of the database to connect to. This example uses the default database.
)

client.update_password(
    user_name="root",  # Specify the username whose password you want to change. This example uses root.
    old_password="old_password",  # Enter the old password.
    new_password="new_password",  # Enter the new password.
    using="default"  # The database name.
)

Why can't I access my Alibaba Cloud Milvus instance?

If you cannot access your Alibaba Cloud Milvus instance, follow these steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check network connectivity.

   Use a command-line tool to check the network connectivity to the Milvus instance by using the following command, where c-xxxx.milvus.aliyuncs.com is your actual public domain name.

   telnet c-xxxx.milvus.aliyuncs.com 19530

   • If the output is Connected to c-xxxx.milvus.aliyuncs.com, the network connection is normal.

   • If the connection fails, verify that internet access is enabled and that your IP address has been added to the public access allowlist of the instance.

2. Check Python SDK version compatibility.

   After you verify the network connection, run the pip list command in your local command line to check whether your local Python SDK meets the version requirements. If your local pymilvus version is earlier than 2.0, we recommend that you upgrade to a later version and then try again.

How do I use the Python SDK to access an Alibaba Cloud Milvus instance?

Install the PyMilvus library locally to connect to your Alibaba Cloud Milvus instance. For more information, see Quickly implement vector search.

How do I grant Milvus permissions to a RAM user?

You must use your Alibaba Cloud account to grant the AliyunMilvusFullAccess permission to a RAM user. For more information, see Authorize a RAM user.

Does Alibaba Cloud Milvus support a graphical user interface for management?

Alibaba Cloud Milvus integrates with Attu for managing databases, collections, indexes, and entities. For more information, see Manage tools with Attu.

How do I access the Attu page?

You must enable internet access and add your local public IP address to the allowlist. For more information, see Access the Attu page.