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ApsaraDB RDS:Create an RDS MariaDB instance

Last Updated:Jun 10, 2026

Create an ApsaraDB RDS for MariaDB instance in the ApsaraDB RDS console or by calling an API operation.

Prerequisites

RAM users must have the AliyunRDSFullAccess and AliyunBSSOrderAccess permissions. Authorize a RAM user.

Procedure

  1. Go to the ApsaraDB RDS instance creation page.

  2. Select a Billing Method.

    Billing method

    Recommendation

    Benefits

    Subscription

    For long-term use. Select Subscription and pay upfront.

    More cost-effective than pay-as-you-go. Longer duration = higher discount.

    Pay-As-You-Go

    For short-term use. Select Pay-As-You-Go for hourly billing.

    Start with pay-as-you-go, then switch to subscription after confirming the instance fits your needs.

    Release anytime to stop billing.

    Note

    The final price is displayed after you complete all configuration steps.

  3. Select the Region for the instance.

    For best performance, place the RDS instance in the same region as your ECS instance.

    Note
    • The region cannot be changed after creation. For internal network connectivity, use the same region as your ECS instance.

    • To connect from a non-ECS device, select a nearby region and use a public endpoint.

  4. Select the Engine and Storage Type.

    Note
    • Edition only supports High-availability Edition, a primary-secondary architecture suitable for production environments.

    • Product Type currently only supports Standard.

    1. Select the database Engine.

      Select MariaDB.

    2. Select a Storage Type. Storage types.

      Item

      Enhanced SSD

      Elastic scaling

      • Up to 32 TB.

      • Scale up storage without service interruption.

      • Scale instance types up or down and add or remove nodes within minutes.

      • Auto scaling is supported.

      Performance

      • PL1<PL2<PL3

      • PL2 provides up to 2x the IOPS and throughput of PL1.

      • PL3 provides up to 20x the IOPS and 11x the throughput of PL1.

      Backup

      • Backups complete in minutes or seconds.

      • Maximum backup frequency: every 15 minutes.

      Note

      Select Disk Encryption to further protect your data. Cloud disk encryption.

  5. Configure instance networking. The Network Type is preset to VPC.

    1. Select a VPC. Use the same VPC as your ECS instance. Instances in different VPCs cannot communicate over the internal network.

    2. Specify whether to Add to Whitelist the VPC CIDR block. This allows ECS instances in the same VPC to access the RDS instance.

      Note

      If you select No, manually configure the IP address whitelist after creation. Configure an IP address whitelist.

  6. Select the availability zone, vSwitch, network, and Deployment Method for the instance.

    • Availability zone

      • Availability zones in the same region have no substantive differences.

      • ECS instances perform slightly better when accessing an RDS instance in the same availability zone.

    • vSwitch

      Select an existing vSwitch or click Create vSwitch to create one. Create and manage a vSwitch.

    • Deployment solution

      • Multi-zone Deployment (recommended): Primary and secondary nodes run in different availability zones, providing cross-zone disaster recovery.

        If you select Deployment Method for deployment solution, specify the Zone and Network of Primary Node and Zone and Network of Secondary Node.

      • Single-zone Deployment: The primary and secondary nodes are in the same availability zone.

  7. Select an Instance Type.

    1. Select a Category (General-purpose or Dedicated).

      Category

      Description

      Features

      General-purpose

      • Shared memory and I/O

      • Dedicated CPU and storage

      Lower cost and high price-performance ratio

      Dedicated

      Dedicated CPU, memory, storage, and I/O

      Note

      The exclusive type provides dedicated use of a physical server's CPU, memory, storage, and I/O.

      Better and more stable performance

      Note

      The Basic edition does not support dedicated instance types.

    2. Select a specific instance type (CPU cores and memory). Instance types.

  8. Select the Capacity.

    The available range depends on your instance type and storage type.

    Minimum increment: 5 GB.

  9. (Optional) If you selected Billing Method as the Subscription , you must also set the Duration.

    Discounts vary based on the purchase duration. You can hover over View Details to the right of Price to view the fee details.

  10. Configure additional parameters. Default values work for most use cases.

    Parameter

    Description

    Port

    The initial port number. Valid values: 1000 to 5999.

    Release Protection

    For pay-as-you-go instances, enable Release Protection to prevent accidental release. Enable and disable release protection.

    Resource Group

    Select a resource group to organize your instances.

    Instance Name

    Custom name for easy identification.

    Tags

    Classify and manage instances with tags. Filter instances by tag.

  11. In the upper-right corner of the page, select the number of instances to purchase.

    Default: 1. Maximum: 20 per order.

  12. Confirm the order details and subscription duration (if applicable), click Confirm Order, and complete the payment. The console displays a Payment Successful or Activated Successfully message.

    Note

    For subscription instances, select Enable Auto-renewal to avoid service interruptions from expiration.

    Auto-renewal cycles match the subscription period (monthly or yearly). The actual cycle is subject to the order. Cancel anytime. Renew an expired resource and auto-renewal.

  13. View the instance.

    On the Instances page, select the region and find the instance by its Creation time.

    Note

    Instance creation takes 1–5 minutes. Refresh the page if needed.

Next steps

FAQ

How do I view the total number of RDS instances under my Alibaba Cloud account?

Log on to the RDS overview page to view all ApsaraDB RDS instances under your account, including total count, regional distribution, and running instances per region.

image

Why can't I see the instance that is being created in the instance list?

Possible cause

Description

Suggestion

Incorrect region

The current region is different from the region where you created the instance.

In the upper-left corner of the page, switch to the correct region.

Insufficient resources in the availability zone

Instance creation failed due to insufficient resources in the selected availability zone.

If the creation fails, you can find a refund in the Orders list.

Select another availability zone and try again.

A RAM permission policy prohibits the creation of unencrypted RDS instances

A RAM permission policy is preventing RAM users from creating unencrypted ApsaraDB RDS instances.

  • Instance creation fails because disk encryption cannot be enabled for instances that use local SSDs.

  • If a RAM user tries to create an instance that uses cloud disks but does not enable disk encryption, the instance creation fails.

Use a RAM policy to control access to ApsaraDB RDS resources.

When you create an instance, select Cloud Disk for the storage type, enable disk encryption, set a key, and then try again.

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