This topic provides answers to frequently asked questions about billing of PolarDB storage plans.

Purchase and usage

  • Do I need to purchase a storage plan after I purchase a cluster?

    No, you do not need to purchase a storage plan after you purchase a cluster. You can purchase storage plans based on your business requirements. After you purchase a storage plan, the storage plan is automatically applied to clusters in the same region. For more information, see Combination with storage plans.

  • The storage capacity of a storage plan is, 1 TB, 3 TB or 5 TB. If my services require 4 TB of storage, which storage plan do I purchase?

    We recommend that you first purchase a 1-TB storage plan and a 3-TB storage plan. If the amount of the stored data increases to approximately 4 TB, you can purchase a new storage plan or upgrade your current storage plan. For more information, see Upgrade a storage plan.

  • Are storage plans effective immediately after I purchase them without affecting the normal running of clusters?

    Storage plans are effective immediately after you purchase them. Storage plans does not affect the normal running of clusters.

  • Can I use storage plans to offset PSL5 and PSL4? What is the offset ratio?

    Storage plans can be used to offset PSL5 and PSL4. For more information about the offset rules, see Rules for the deduction of storage plans.

  • Can a storage plan be used to offset storage space of multiple clusters that belong to different accounts?

    No.

Supported clusters

  • Can multiple clusters share a storage plan?

    Yes. A storage plan can be shared by all clusters in the regions that are specified by the Plan Type parameter. You can specify Chinese Mainland China or Outside Mainland China as Plan Type. For more information, see Purchase a storage plan.

  • Can the clusters that use different engines share a storage plan?

    Yes, clusters that use different engines can share a storage plan. A storage plan can be shared by PolarDB for MySQL, PolarDB for PostgreSQL, and PolarDB for PostgreSQL(Compatible with Oracle) clusters.

Coverage

  • What fees can I offset from storage plans?
    Storage plans can be used to offset the following fees:
  • Are storage plans applied to different resources in an order? Can I apply a storage plan to clusters first?

    Storage plans are used to offset storage space based on the billing order of PolarDB clusters. If the bills of level-1 backups are generated first, storage plans are used to offset the storage costs of level-1 backups first. The remaining capacity (if any) is used to offset the storage space. If the bills of the storage space are generated first, storage plans are used to offset the storage space first. The remaining capacity (if any) is used to offset the storage costs of level-1 backups.

Renewal and upgrade

  • What can I do if the storage capacity of my storage plan is insufficient or exhausted? Can I purchase another storage plan of the same type?

    Yes, you can. You can purchase multiple storage plans of the same type or upgrade your storage plan. For more information, see Upgrade a storage plan.

  • How am I charged for the storage that exceeds the storage capacity of my storage plan? Does this impact the business?

    You are charged for the storage that exceeds the storage capacity of your storage plan based on the pay-as-you-go method. For more information, see Overview. This does not impact the business.

  • How can I renew my storage plan if the storage plan is due to expire?

    You can renew your storage plan in the user center. For more information, see Renew a storage plan.

  • What do I do if the storage capacity of a storage plan is insufficient to offset the storage of level-1 backups that exceeds the free quota?

    If the remaining capacity of the storage plan is insufficient to offset the storage space of level-1 backups, you are charged for additional storage space on a pay-as-you-go basis. You can purchase a new storage plan or increase the storage capacity by upgrading your storage plan. For more information, see Upgrade a storage plan.