:Quick start

(Optional) Grant permissions to RAM users

A Resource Access Management (RAM) user is a physical identity. You can create RAM users for an Alibaba Cloud account and grant the RAM users the permissions to access different resources.

If you want to use a RAM user to create and use an RDS Custom instance, go to the Users page in the RAM console, find the RAM user, and then click Add Permissions in the Actions column to grant permissions to the RAM user. For more information, see Grant permissions to a RAM user.

• AliyunRDSFullAccess: the permission to manage all ApsaraDB RDS resources.

• AliyunECSReadOnlyAccess: the read-only permission on all Elastic Compute Service (ECS) resources.

• AliyunBSSOrderAccess: the permission to view orders, pay for orders, and cancel orders in the Expenses and Costs console.

• AliyunBSSRefundAccess: the permission to cancel the subscription in the Expenses and Costs console.

• AliyunBSSRenewFullAccess: the renewal management permission in the Expenses and Costs console.

Create an RDS Custom instance

1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, choose RDS Custom > Instances. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which you want to create the RDS Custom instance.

2. On the page that appears, click Create Instance.

3. Configure the required parameters. The following table describes the parameters.

   Parameter		Description
   Billing Method		The billing method of the RDS Custom instance. Select one of the following values based on your requirements: Subscription: You must pay for resources before you use them. This billing method is applicable to stable and long-term business. Pay-as-you-go: You pay only for the resources that you have actually used. This billing method is applicable to business in which workloads significantly fluctuate.
   Database Engine		The database type of the instance. Set the value to RDS Custom.
   Region		The region in which you want to create the RDS Custom instance. Important You can create custom RDS instances in the following regions: China (Beijing), China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Shenzhen), China (Chengdu), and Singapore. After an RDS Custom instance is created, you cannot change the region of the RDS Custom instance. If you have created a deployment set for RDS Custom instances and want to deploy the new RDS Custom instance to the deployment set, you must select the region in which the deployment set resides.
   Mode		The billing mode of the instance. This parameter is available only when the Billing Method parameter is set to Pay-as-you-go. Valid values: Fixed Price: The instance is billed based on its actual usage duration at a fixed price. Bidding: The instance is billed based on its actual usage duration at a price that varies with the supply and demand of instance resources. Important The price of an instance in Bidding mode indicates the price only for the instance specification and does not include the price for other resources such as cloud disks and Internet traffic. Instances in the Bidding mode are cost-effective compared with instances in the Fixed Price mode. However, instances in the Bidding mode may be automatically released when the resources of the instance type become insufficient in the zone.
   SLR Authorization		If service-linked role (SLR) authorization is complete, you do not need to configure this parameter. If SLR authorization is not complete, click Authorize Now For more information, see RDS Custom service-linked roles.
   VPC vSwitch		If you have an existing VPC that meets your business requirements, select the VPC. If you do not have a VPC that meets your business requirements, you can use the default VPC and vSwitch. For more information, see Default VPCs and default vSwitches. If the default VPC and vSwitch cannot meet your business requirements, you can create a VPC and a vSwitch. For more information, see Create and manage a VPC. Important If you also use another Alibaba Cloud service, such as Elastic Compute Service (ECS) or AnalyticDB for MySQL, make sure that your RDS Custom instance resides in the same VPC as your ECS instance or AnalyticDB for MySQL cluster. If they reside in different VPCs, your RDS Custom instance cannot communicate with your ECS instance or ApsaraDB RDS for MySQL cluster over an internal network to deliver optimal performance.
   Instance Type	Architecture	The architecture of the RDS Custom instance. Valid values: Standard, YiTian and AI Node. For more information about RDS Custom instance types, see RDS Custom instance types.
   	Category	The storage type of the RDS Custom instance. Valid values: Local SSD and Cloud Disk. Note The YiTian architecture is available only if you set the Category parameter to Cloud Disk.
   Maximum Unit Price of Instance		The value of this parameter is fixed to Automatic Bidding, which indicates that the instance specification is billed at the real-time market price. Note This parameter is available only when Mode is set to Bidding.
   Image		The image of the RDS Custom instance. Valid values: Default Image: The default image that is built from the Alibaba Cloud Linux 2.19 image is used to deploy the operating system of the instance. Custom Image: If you have a custom image, click Image Catalog and select the custom image. If you do not have a custom image, create one. For more information, see Create a custom image from an instance. Note If your custom image is not built from the Alibaba Cloud Linux 3, Alibaba Cloud Linux 2, CentOS 8, CentOS 7, Ubuntu 22, Ubuntu 20, or Ubuntu 16 image, you must manually create a network initialization script on the original image before you create a custom image. For more information, see Configure network initialization for a custom image.
   System Disk		The system disk of the RDS Custom instance. By default, a performance level 1 (PL1) ESSD that provides a storage capacity of up to 100 GB is provided free of charge based on the image size. You do not need to configure this parameter.
   Data Disk		The data disk of the RDS Custom instance. A data disk is used to store application data. You must select the specifications and PL based on your business requirements. This parameter is optional. You can attach only one data disk to an RDS Custom instance. The storage type of the data disk must be PL1 ESSD.
   Security Group		The security group of the RDS Custom instance. You can select a custom security group or create a security group. If you want to create a security group, you must configure the Security Group Name, Security Group Type, and Open IPv4 Ports/Protocols parameters. For information about how to configure a security group, see Create a security group.
   Logon Credential		The logon credential that is used to securely log on to the RDS Custom instance. Valid values: Custom Password: Enter and confirm a password. Key Pair: If you have created a key pair in the same region as the RDS Custom instance, select the key pair. If you do not have a key pair, click Create Key Pair to go to the ECS console. Then, create a key pair in the same region as the RDS Custom instance. For more information, see Create an SSH key pair. Configure Later: Bind a key pair or reset the password after the RDS Custom instance is created.
   More (optional)	Hostname	The hostname of the RDS Custom instance. A hostname is a unique name for a computer or device in a LAN.
   	Instance Description	The description of the RDS Custom instance.
   	Resource Group	The resource group of the RDS Custom instance. You can use the default resource group or select a custom resource group based on your business requirements. This facilitates instance management.
   	Tags	The tags of the RDS Custom instance. If you create a large number of RDS Custom instances, you can attach tags to the instances to facilitate instance management.
   	Deployment Set	If you have created a deployment set in the same region as the RDS Custom instance, select the deployment set. If you do not have a deployment set, click Manage deployment sets to create a deployment set. For more information, see Create a deployment set.

4. Read Terms of Service, click Pay Now, and then complete the payment.

5. View the RDS Custom instance.

   Go to the ApsaraDB RDS console. In the left-side navigation pane, choose RDS Custom > Instances. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS Custom instance resides. Then, view the RDS Custom instance based on the creation time.

   Note

   It requires 1 to 10 minutes to create an RDS Custom instance. You can refresh the page to check whether the instance is created.

For more information about how to create an RDS Custom instance in the ApsaraDB RDS console, see Create an RDS Custom instance.

Connect to an RDS Custom instance

You can run the ssh command to connect an ECS instance that resides in the same VPC and region as the RDS Custom instance to the RDS Custom instance. The connection command varies based on the logon credential that you specified when you created the RDS Custom instance. For more information, see Connect to an RDS Custom instance. In the topic, Custom Password is used.

1. Log on to the ECS instance. For more information, see the Connect to an instance section of the Create and manage an ECS instance in the console (express version) topic.

2. Run the following command and enter the password of the RDS Custom instance to connect to the RDS Custom instance:

   ssh username@IP

   username specifies the username of the account of the RDS Custom instance. IP specifies the private IP address of the RDS Custom instance.

What to do next

• Manage an RDS Custom instance

  • Start an RDS Custom instance

  • Stop an RDS Custom instance

  • Restart an RDS Custom instance

  • Unsubscribe from an RDS Custom instance

  • View the database kernel package

• Use the monitoring and alerting feature