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    PolarDB:How to create a PolarDB-X instance

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    PolarDB:How to create a PolarDB-X instance

    Last Updated:Aug 26, 2026

    This topic describes how to create a PolarDB-X instance.

    Procedure

    1. Log on to the PolarDB Distributed Edition console.

    2. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the instance is deployed.

    3. On the Instances page, click the PolarDB-X 2.0 tab.

    4. In the upper-right corner of the page, click Create a new instance.

    5. On the purchase page, set the following parameters.

      Parameter

      Description

      Billing method

      Select a billing method:

      • PolarDB-X 2.0 subscription

      • PolarDB-X 2.0 pay-as-you-go

      • PolarDB-X 1.0 subscription

      Note

      • The subscription billing method is a prepaid model suitable for long-term needs. It is more cost-effective than pay-as-you-go.

      • The pay-as-you-go billing method is a postpaid, hourly-billed model suitable for short-term needs. You can release the cluster at any time to reduce costs.

      • If you want to create a pay-as-you-go instance, make sure that your Alibaba Cloud account balance is at least 100 USD.

      Region

      The data center location where the instance is deployed.

      Creation Method

      Select a creation method:

      • Default Creation: Creates a new PolarDB-X instance.

      • Migrate from RDS: Migrates data from an existing RDS instance to a new PolarDB-X instance. Instances created this way are Standard Edition (centralized architecture) and do not support automatic database and table sharding. If you need automatic sharding, choose Default Creation and select Enterprise Edition (distributed), and then use DTS to migrate data to the new instance.

        • Source RDS Version: You can select MySQL 5.6, MySQL 5.7, or MySQL 8.0.

        • Source RDS Instance: Select an existing RDS instance.

      Deployment Topology

      Select the deployment topology for the instance.

      • single-zone deployment: All nodes (primary, secondary, and logger) are deployed in the single availability zone that you select.

      • three-zone deployment: The primary, secondary, and logger nodes are deployed in different availability zones to provide cross-zone disaster recovery at no extra cost.

      Primary Node Zone

      Select the availability zone for the primary node.

      Zone of Secondary Node

      Select the availability zone for the secondary node. This parameter applies only to a three-zone deployment.

      Zone of Log Node

      Select the availability zone for the logger node. This parameter applies only to a three-zone deployment.

      Network Type

      This parameter is fixed to VPC.

      VPC

      Select a VPC.

      Note

      • If you do not have a VPC, create a VPC. The VPC must be in the same region as the PolarDB-X instance.

      • For optimal performance, connect from an ECS instance that is in the same VPC as your PolarDB-X instance.

      vSwitch

      Select a vSwitch.

      Note

      • If you do not have a vSwitch, create a vSwitch.

      • If the vSwitch option is grayed out or no options are available, no vSwitch exists in the zone that corresponds to the selected VPC. Go to the VPC console > vSwitches, create a vSwitch in the zone that matches the zone of the PolarDB-X instance, and then refresh this page.

      Compatibility

      You can select MySQL 5.7 or MySQL 8.0.

      Edition

      Select the instance edition: Enterprise Edition (distributed) or Standard Edition (centralized).

      Instance Model

      • If you set Edition to Enterprise Edition, this parameter is fixed to Custom.

      • If you set Edition to Standard Edition, this parameter is fixed to Default.

      Type

      Select from General-purpose or Dedicated.

      • General-purpose: These instances share idle computing resources, such as CPU, with other PolarDB-X instances on the same physical server. This resource-sharing model provides better cost-effectiveness.

      • Dedicated: A PolarDB-X instance has exclusive access to its allocated computing resources (such as CPU) and does not share resources with other clusters on the same server, which ensures more stable performance.

      Compute Node Specifications

      Select the specifications for the compute nodes.

      Storage Node Specifications

      Select the specifications for the data nodes.

      Compute Nodes

      Set the number of compute nodes.

      Storage Nodes

      Set the number of data nodes.

      Node Specifications

      Select the resource specifications for the nodes. This parameter applies only to the Standard Edition.

      Storage Type

      Select a storage type:

      • Local SSD-Custom.

      • Local SSD.

        Note

        You are billed hourly for your actual storage usage, and usage is rounded up to the next hour.

      Data node disk

      The storage capacity per data node. This parameter applies only if Storage Type is Local SSD-Custom.

      Quantity

      Enter the number of instances to create.

      Subscription Duration

      Select the subscription duration for the instance. This parameter applies only to the Subscription billing method.

      Note

      Select the Auto-renewal checkbox to automatically renew the subscription upon expiration.

    6. Click Buy Now (subscription) or Create Now (pay-as-you-go).

    7. On the confirm order page, read and agree to the terms of service and click Pay to complete the payment.

    8. After payment, instance provisioning takes 10 to 15 minutes. You can then find the new instance on the Instances page.