What is renewal?
The Alibaba Cloud resources that you purchase comply with strict lifecycle management rules. If a subscription instance expires, the instance is stopped or released based on the lifecycle management rules. You can renew an instance to extend the validity period of the instance. The following figure shows the operations.
Renewal rules
A subscription instance can be involved in the following renewal scenarios based on whether the instance is renewed before the instance is stopped.
Renewal before the instance is stopped: After the instance is renewed, the instance can be used without service interruption.
Renewal after the instance is stopped: The instance is stopped as expected after it expires. The instance can automatically restart after renewal.
Grace period: Due to the lifecycle management rules for cloud services, specific subscription instances are not immediately stopped but given a grace period after the instances expire. The specific rule is based on the lifecycle management rules of each cloud service.
Immediate release: Specific instances of cloud services, such as the Object Storage Service (OSS) resource plan with a fixed capacity, are immediately released after they are stopped. The instances can be renewed only before they are stopped. The specific rule is based on the lifecycle management rules of each cloud service.
For a pay-as-you-go instance, you only need to make sure that your Alibaba Cloud account has a sufficient balance. You do not need to renew the instance.
Renewal methods
Renewal method | Scenario | When to renew |
Manual renewal | You can manually renew an instance to extend the validity period of the instance. | Before the instance is released |
Auto-renewal | You can enable auto-renewal for an instance to ensure that the instance is renewed if you forget to manually renew the instance. The system can automatically renew the instance before the instance is stopped.
| Before the 14th day after the instance expires |
You can renew an instance for which non-renewal upon expiration or auto-renewal is configured.
Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances cannot be renewed together with the instances of other cloud services.
You can enable auto-renewal for multiple instances only of the same cloud service at a time.
Manual renewal
Navigate to the Renewal page.
On the Manual Renewal tab, select one or more services and click Renew or Batch Renewal. This section describes the operations after you click Batch Renewal.
On the Batch Renewal page, configure the Renewal Duration and Batch Setting parameters. You can set the Renewal Duration parameter to By Year or By Month. If you select By Year, you can set the Batch Setting parameter to 1 Year, 2 Years, and 3 Years. If you select By Month, you can set the Batch Setting parameter to 1 Month, 2 Months, 3 Months, and 6 Months. After you configure the parameters, you can view the expiration time of the instances. Then, click Pay.
On the Purchase page, confirm the information of the unpaid order and click Subscribe.
After the payment is complete, view the renewal result on the Resource Renewal page.
Auto-renewal
After you configure auto-renewal for an instance, the renewal is not immediately performed. The auto-renewal cycle that you specify takes effect from the next day. After the auto-renewal cycle takes effect, the system attempts to deduct the auto-renewal fee on the 1st day before the instance expires, the expiration day, and the 6th and 14th days after the instance expires.
If the system fails to deduct the auto-renewal fee 14 days after the instance expires, the system stops deducting the fee. After the instance is stopped, you must manually renew the instance within the specified time.
Navigate to the Renewal page.
On the Manual Renewal tab, select one or more services and click Enable Auto-renewal. In the Enable Auto-renewal dialog box, configure the Auto-renewal Period parameter and click Enable Auto-renewal.
After the configuration is complete, click the Auto-renewal tab on the Resource Renewal page to view the renewal result.
(Optional) After you enable auto-renewal for an instance, you can perform the following operations on the instance.
Renew: Manually renew the instance for which auto-renewal is enabled but renewal is not performed.
Edit Auto Renewal: Change the auto-renewal cycle.
Nonrenewal: Configure non-renewal upon expiration for the instance for which auto-renewal is enabled.
Enable Manual Renewal: Enable manual renewal for the instance for which auto-renewal is enabled.
Usage notes on auto-renewal
Renewal-related features
Specify a unified expiration date
You can configure a unified expiration date only for ECS instances that have not expired. For more information, see Synchronize the expiration dates of subscription instances.
If you have multiple subscription instances that expire on different dates, the instances must be managed separately, incur additional management costs, and are more likely to be released due to late renewal. To resolve the issue, you can specify a unified expiration date to align the subscription instances to the unified expiration date when you renew the instances. This way, multiple instances that have different expiration dates can expire on the same day. This helps you manage the instances and prevents your business from being disrupted if you forget to renew the instances. The following figure shows the operations.
Change the instance configurations during renewal
If you want to extend the validity period of an instance and change the configuration of the instance at the same time, you can change the configuration of the instance during renewal. The operations are performed in the console of each cloud service. Specific cloud services may not allow you to change the instance configurations during renewal. The rules of the configuration change during renewal also vary depending on the cloud service. For more information, see Renew an instance and downgrade its configurations.
Export renewal bills
Exporting the renewal list of instances does not mean renewing the subscription of the instances.
Before you renew instances, you can request a renewal inquiry and download a list of charges to apply for funding payments from the finance department of your company. The following figure shows the operations.
Use the resource renewal feature by using an MA or an administrator account
The resource renewal feature only allows you to view the resources within the accounts of your enterprise or organization by using a management account (MA) or an administrator account.
If your account is not an enterprise account, upgrade your account to an enterprise account before you can use the feature.
The resource renewal feature allows you to manage resources within multiple accounts of your enterprise or organization. On the Resource Renewal page, you can view the resources within the accounts of your enterprise or organization by using an MA or an administrator account. The following figure shows the operations.
