Simple Log Service:Cost Manager FAQ

This topic answers frequently asked questions about Cost Manager.

Does Cost Manager incur extra charges?

No. Both the new and legacy versions of Cost Manager are free of charge. The associated Log Service projects and Tablestore instances are also free.

Data not visible in the Logstore

In the new Cost Manager, bill data is stored in Tablestore and linked to a Log Service Logstore as an external table named instance_bill. Therefore, you cannot view the bill data directly on the Logstore's query and analysis page. To query the data, you must run the statement: * | select * from instance_bill.

Query returns no data

• Check the time range.

  Cost Manager retrieves bill data with a one-day delay, meaning you cannot query data for the current day. If a query returns no results, verify that the selected time range is not too recent. We recommend using preset options like Yesterday, The Day before Yesterday, 1 Week, 30 Days, This Week, or This Month.

• If you are using the new Cost Manager, ensure your query statement references the external table by including from instance_bill. For example: * | select * from instance_bill.

Filter conditions not working

If you are using the new version of Cost Manager, verify that all filter conditions are placed within the where clause of your query statement. Because the new version queries data from an external table, conditions placed before the vertical bar (|) are ignored. All filters must be in the where clause. For example: * | select * from instance_bill where ProductCode='sls'.

Why is my bill data delayed or inaccurate?

• Cost Manager retrieves instance bill data with a one-day delay. As a result, you cannot query data for the current day, only for previous days.

  The timestamp for each daily bill is set to 00:00. Ensure your query's time range includes 00:00 on the target date.

• If you are using the legacy version of Cost Manager, upgrade to the new version to improve data accuracy and timeliness. The new version of Cost Manager automatically performs a full data update every morning.

  If you want to continue using the legacy version, you can re-import bills on the Cost Manager Settings page.

  Re-importing bills takes approximately 3 hours. The actual time varies with the volume of bill data.

• After you upgrade to the new Cost Manager, Log Service automatically submits a data import job. Data becomes available in approximately 1 to 2 hours, depending on the data volume.

• If you are enabling Cost Manager for the first time, check the Settings page to confirm that a data import job has been submitted. After the job is submitted, data becomes available in approximately 1 to 2 hours, depending on the data volume.

Missing resource errors

To resolve missing resource errors, such as "xxx not found," go to the Settings page, click Next, and then Update Resources & Next.

Cannot subscribe to a dashboard

You cannot subscribe to a dashboard directly within Cost Manager because it is in template mode. To subscribe, you must first save a copy of the dashboard to the corresponding project.

1. In Cost Manager, open the target dashboard and click Save As.

2. Enter a name for the dashboard and click Confirm.

3. Return to the Log Service console homepage. In the project list, click the Cost Manager project, named bill-analysis-${Alibaba Cloud account UID}.

4. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Dashboard > Dashboard List, and then click the target dashboard.

5. On the dashboard page, click Subscribe.

Cannot edit a dashboard

You cannot edit a dashboard directly within Cost Manager because it is in template mode. To make changes, you must first save a copy of the dashboard to the corresponding project.

1. In Cost Manager, open the target dashboard and click Save As.

2. Enter a name for the dashboard and click Confirm.

3. Return to the Log Service console homepage. In the project list, click the Cost Manager project, named bill-analysis-${Alibaba Cloud account UID}.

4. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Dashboard > Dashboard List, and then click the target dashboard.

5. On the dashboard page, click Edit.

Do I need to re-import bills?

No. The new Cost Manager automatically updates all data daily, so you do not need to re-import bills manually.

RAM user permission issues

If you use a RAM user to enable or upgrade Cost Manager and encounter a permission error like "role_invalid", ensure the user has the LogFullAccess permission.

Upgrade built-in alerts for the legacy Cost Manager

You can perform the upgrade automatically using a script. Download the upgrade script.

To use the script:

# Download the script, navigate to its directory, replace the placeholders with your actual parameter values, and then run the command.
# Parameter description: The project is the Cost Manager project, in the format bill-analysis-{Alibaba Cloud account ID}. The endpoint is the Log Service endpoint for the project. Replace accesskey_id and accesskey_secret with an AccessKey pair that has permissions for alert management.

python UpdateBillAlert.py {project} {endpoint} {accesskey_id} {accesskey_secret}