Resource Directory allows you to quickly establish an organizational structure based on your business requirements and consolidate the accounts of your enterprise into this structure to form a hierarchy for the resources of your enterprise.

Step 1: Enable a resource directory

The Alibaba Cloud account you use to enable a resource directory has passed enterprise real-name verification. An account that has passed only individual real-name verification cannot be used to enable a resource directory.

By default, an Alibaba Cloud account that is used to enable a resource directory is the management account of the resource directory. The management account has all administrative permissions on the resource directory and can be used to manage all members in the resource directory and the resources of the members. We recommend that you use an Alibaba Cloud account only as the management account of a resource directory and do not use the account to deploy your business. This prevents management issues caused by the excessive responsibilities of the management account.

When you use an Alibaba Cloud account to enable a resource directory, the system checks whether the account has passed enterprise real-name verification, whether the account has resources, and whether the account is configured with security information, such as a mobile phone number or an email address. If the account meets requirements, the system then recommends one of the following methods for you to enable a resource directory based on the check results:

  • Use the current account to enable a resource directory

    You can use this method to enable a resource directory if your account has passed enterprise real-name verification, is configured with security information, and does not have resources.

  • Use a new account to enable a resource directory

    You can use this method to enable a resource directory if your account has passed enterprise real-name verification but is not configured with security information or has resources. If you use this method, you must create an Alibaba Cloud account and use this account as the management account of the resource directory. The new account inherits the enterprise real-name verification information of the current account. The current account becomes a member of the resource directory.

To use the current logon account to enable a resource directory, perform the following steps:

  1. Log on to the Resource Management console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Directory > Overview.
  3. On the page that appears, click Enable Resource Directory.
  4. On the Confirm Management Account page, select Current Account.
  5. Click Enable.
  6. In the Security Verification dialog box, enter the verification code that is sent to the mobile phone number or email address bound to the current account and click OK.

    After you enable the resource directory, the system creates a Root folder and uses the current account as the management account of the resource directory.

    In addition, the system creates a service-linked role named AliyunServiceRoleForResourceDirectory within the management account. This role is used to grant access permissions on the resource directory to trusted services that are integrated with the Resource Directory service. For more information about service-linked roles, see RAM roles in a resource directory.

Step 2: Create folders

A folder is an organizational unit in a resource directory. A folder may indicate a branch, a line of business, or a project of your enterprise. Each folder can contain members and subfolders, which forms a tree-shaped organizational structure.

  1. Log on to the Resource Management console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Directory > Overview.
  3. Click the Organization tab.
  4. In the left-side navigation tree, click the name of a folder. In the right-side section that appears, click Create Folder.
    A subfolder will be created in the folder.
  5. In the Create Folder panel, specify Folder Name.
    Note The name must be unique in the current resource directory.
  6. Click OK.

Step 3: Create members or invite Alibaba Cloud accounts

A member can be a resource account or cloud account. Members that are created in a resource directory are resource accounts. A resource account is used to isolate the resources of a project or application on Alibaba Cloud from other resources. You can invite existing Alibaba Cloud accounts to join your resource directory. After the owners of the Alibaba Cloud accounts accept the invitations, the accounts become the members of the resource directory. These members are cloud accounts.

Create a member

  1. Log on to the Resource Management console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Directory > Overview.
  3. On the Organization tab, find the folder in which you want to create a member and click the folder name.
  4. In the right-side section that appears, click Create Member.
  5. On the Create Member page, configure the Alibaba Cloud Account Name parameter.
    The Alibaba Cloud account name that is specified for a member must be unique in the current resource directory. The name must be 2 to 50 characters in length and can contain letters, digits, underscores (_), periods (.), and hyphens (-). The name must start and end with a letter or digit and cannot contain consecutive special characters.
  6. Configure the Display Name parameter.
    The display name of a member must be 2 to 50 characters in length and can contain letters, digits, underscores (_), periods (.), and hyphens (-).
  7. Configure the Settlement parameter.
    • Use Management Account for Settlement of New Member: If you select this option, the management account of the resource directory is used as the billing account of the member that is being created.
    • Use Existing Member for Settlement of New Member: If you select this option, you must select an existing member from the panel that appears. This member is used as the billing account of the member that is being created.
    • Use New Member Itself for Settlement: If you select this option, the member that is being created is used as its billing account.
  8. Optional:In the Tags section, add tags to the member.
    1. Click the Edit icon.
    2. In the Edit tags dialog box, enter tag keys and tag values, and click OK.
  9. Click OK.
    Note Members created in a resource directory inherit the legal entity of the management account for the resource directory. This indicates that the real-name verification information of the members is consistent with the real-name verification information of the management account.

Invite an Alibaba Cloud account

  1. Log on to the Resource Management console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Resource Directory > Invite Member.
  3. On the Invite Member page, click Invite Member.
  4. In the Invite Member panel, configure the Account ID/Logon Email parameter.
    Note If you want to enter the email address of an Alibaba Cloud account, you must enter the email address that you specified when you created the account. You can enter multiple account IDs or email addresses. Separate the account IDs or email addresses with commas (,).
  5. Configure the Remarks parameter.
    Note The remarks help the invitee confirm the credibility of the invitation and quickly complete the invitation process.
  6. Read the risk warning and select the check box.
  7. Click OK.
    Note
    • If you enter an email address for an invitation, the system sends a confirmation email to the email address.
    • If you enter an account ID for an invitation, the system sends a confirmation email to the email address that is associated with the account.
    • If you enter an account ID for an invitation but no email address is associated with the account, the invitee can log on to the Resource Management console to view and process the invitation.

After the owner of the Alibaba Cloud account you invite receives an invitation, the owner can view the information about the invitation in the Resource Management console or in an email. Then, the owner can choose to accept or reject the invitation. For more information, see Process an invitation.