This topic describes the subscription billing method of Alibaba Cloud VMware Service (ACVS).
Subscription is a billing method that allows you to use resources only after you pay for the resources. This billing method helps you reduce costs at discounted rates.
ACVS supports only the subscription billing method.
Overview
Before you use subscription resources, you must create a subscription dedicated VMware environment. A dedicated VMware environment is also known as a PrivateCloud instance. The PrivateCloud instance is hereinafter referred to as the "instance". The subscription duration of a subscription instance on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail.
When you create a PrivateCloud instance, you can estimate a price by using the ACVS console based on the selected configurations and subscription duration. Then, the related fees are listed in the ACVS console. For more information about how to calculate the fees, see the "Billing" section of this topic. Before you use subscription resources, you need to place an order and pay for the subscription resources.
After you create a PrivateCloud instance, you can purchase more subscription resources for the PrivateCloud instance based on your business requirements, such as creating clusters or adding hosts. The usage duration of the newly purchased subscription resources is the same as the remaining subscription duration of the instance. You can estimate a price by using the ACVS console based on the remaining subscription duration of the instance. Then, the related fees are listed in the ACVS console. For more information about how to calculate the fees, see the "Billing" section of this topic. After you place an order and pay for the purchased resources, the purchased resources are automatically deployed in the instance. After the deployment is complete, you can start using the resources.
Renew a subscription instance: If you want to continue using the subscription resources after the subscription instance expires, you can manually renew the subscription instance in the ACVS console.
Applicable resources
Resource | Description |
Instance | Only the subscription billing method is supported. The subscription duration on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail. |
Cluster | Only the subscription billing method is supported. The subscription duration on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail. |
Host | Only the subscription billing method is supported. The subscription duration on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail. |
Price estimation
Before you create a PrivateCloud instance, renew a PrivateCloud instance, create clusters, or add one or more hosts in the ACVS console, you can estimate a price by using the ACVS console based on the number of hosts and the subscription duration that you selected. Then, the related fees are listed in the ACVS console. Before you place an order and pay for the purchased resource, carefully confirm the estimated price displayed in the ACVS console and the corresponding savings.
If the current remaining subscription duration of a subscription instance is less than a specific period of time, you cannot use the resources at more favorable prices when you create clusters and add hosts. In this case, you can renew the subscription instance to obtain favorable prices before you create clusters and add hosts.
Billing
Billing cycle
The billing cycle (based on UTC+8) of a subscription instance is the subscription duration of the instance. The billing cycle starts from the time when the subscription instance is purchased or renewed and ends at 00:00:00 the next day after the expiration date.
The billing cycles of subscription resources are in the unit of calendar years or months.
For example, you created a subscription instance at 13:00:00 on April 18, 2022 and the subscription duration is one year. Then, you manually renew the instance for another one year before the instance expires. The following billing cycles apply:
The first billing cycle is from 13:00:00 on April 18, 2022 to 00:00:00 on April 19, 2023.
The second billing cycle is from 00:00:00 on April 19, 2023 to 00:00:00 on April 19, 2024.
Billing formulas
The following table describes the related billing formulas of subscription instances.
Operation | Billing formula | Unit price of a resource |
Create a PrivateCloud instance | Price of the instance = Unit price for a specific host type × Number of hosts × Subscription duration | The actual prices on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail. |
Renew a PrivateCloud instance | Price of the instance = Unit price for a specific host type × Number of hosts × Subscription duration | The actual prices on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail. |
Create clusters | Price of the clusters = Unit price for a specific host type × Number of hosts × Current remaining subscription duration of an instance | The actual prices on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail. |
Add one or more hosts | Price of the hosts = Unit price for a specific host type × Number of hosts × Current remaining subscription duration of an instance | The actual prices on the buy page of the ACVS console shall prevail. |
Changes in resource states after a subscription instance expires
After a subscription instance expires, the service status changes in the following aspects:
After the instance expires, it enters the Expired state. You can renew the instance within seven days after the instance expires to retain all of its resources.
If you do not renew the instance within seven days after the instance expires, the instance will be released seven days after expiration and enters the Expired-Releasing state. After the instance is released, it enters the Expired-Released state. All resources of the instance are released, and the data in the local disks of the corresponding hosts is removed. Data such as data in vSAN datastores and content libraries cannot be restored.
Other resources required to run the instance such as NAT gateways and elastic IP addresses (EIPs) belong to you and will not be released after the instance is released. You need to handle such resources by yourselves.
Overdue payments
If your account has an overdue payment, you can still use the existing subscription ACVS resources. However, you cannot perform operations that generate fees, such as creating instances, creating clusters, adding hosts, and creating renewal orders.
Refund
You cannot unsubscribe from ACVS instances. ACVS does not support unsubscription. For more information, see Rules for unsubscribing from resources.