This topic describes the pricing, billable items, billing methods, and billing examples of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium).
Pricing of General-purpose NAS file systems
For more information, see File Storage NAS Pricing.
Billable items of General-purpose NAS file systems
You are charged for General-purpose NAS file systems based on the storage class, data volume (peak value per hour), and retention period. If you enable the lifecycle management feature, you are charged for the storage usage, read traffic, and write traffic based on the storage class. For more information, see Lifecycle management overview.
The following table describes the factors based on which NAS resource plans and storage capacity units (SCUs) in the Chinese mainland are used to offset the storage usage fees of each NAS storage class. For more information about the offset factors of NAS resource plans in each region, use the calculator. For more information about the offset factors of SCUs for other cloud services in each region, see Pricing.
Billable item | Description | Billing method |
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium) | After a General-purpose NAS file system (Capacity, Performance, or Premium) is created, you are charged based on the maximum storage usage1 of the file system per hour. The storage usage of the Infrequent Access (IA) and Archive storage classes is excluded. |
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Storage usage of the IA storage class | After you create a lifecycle policy for a file system, the files that meet the rule specified for the IA storage class are dumped to the IA storage class. You are charged based on the maximum storage usage1 of the IA storage class per hour. The storage usage of the General-purpose NAS file system (Capacity, Performance, or Premium) and the Archive storage class is excluded. |
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Read traffic of the IA storage class | Traffic fees are incurred when the data in the IA storage class is accessed. Fees are calculated based on the total amount of read and write traffic2 per hour. The amount of read and write traffic is reset to 0 each time an hourly bill is generated. The amount of read and write traffic starts from 0 again for the next hour. | Pay-as-you-go: Traffic fee = Cumulative value of read and write traffic per hour × Unit price |
Write traffic of the IA storage class | ||
Storage usage of the Archive storage class | After you create a lifecycle policy for a file system, the files that meet the rule specified for the Archive storage class are dumped to the Archive storage class. You are charged based on the maximum storage usage1 of the Archive storage class per hour. The storage usage of the General-purpose NAS file system (Capacity, Performance, or Premium) and the IA storage class is excluded. |
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Storage usage of the Archive data that is stored for less than the minimum storage duration | If a file in the Archive storage class is deleted or reduced in size but the file is stored for less than 60 days (1,440 hours), you are charged for the remaining storage duration (1,440 - Actual storage duration) based on the original file size. Note The minimum storage duration (60 days) of the Archive storage class starts with the time when a file is accessed, which is indicated by the atime parameter. | Pay-as-you-go: Storage usage fee = Size of deleted files (GiB) × Unit price of the Archive storage class per month/30/24 × (1,440 - Actual storage duration) |
Read traffic of the Archive storage class | Traffic fees are incurred when the data in the Archive storage class is accessed. Fees are calculated based on the total amount of read and write traffic2 per hour. The amount of read and write traffic is reset to 0 each time an hourly bill is generated. The amount of read and write traffic starts from 0 again for the next hour. | Pay-as-you-go: Traffic fee = Cumulative value of read and write traffic per hour × Unit price |
Write traffic of the Archive storage class |
Note 1: Storage usage
The storage usage of a NAS file system indicates the total size of all files in the file system. The size of directories is not included. The basic storage unit is 4 KiB. If the size of a file is less than 4 KiB, the billed storage usage of the file is rounded up to 4 KiB. If the size of a file is larger than 4 KiB, the billed storage usage is rounded up to the nearest multiple of 4 KiB. For example, if the size of a file is 2 KiB, the storage usage is counted as 4 KiB. If the size of a file is 6 KiB, the storage usage is counted as 8 KiB.
File holes occupy storage space in File Storage NAS. You are charged for the file holes in your NAS file systems. A file hole consists of zeros that are not written to a file. You can create a file hole by running the truncate, lseek, or fallocate command.
After you enable the recycle bin feature, you are charged for the storage usage of the temporary files in the recycle bin based on the pricing of the original storage class during the retention period. For example, if you delete a file from a Capacity NAS file system, you are charged for the file based on the unit price of storage space in Capacity NAS file systems. If you delete a file from the IA storage class, you are charged for the file based on the unit price of storage space in the IA storage class. If you delete a file from the Archive storage class, you are charged for the file based on the unit price of storage space in the Archive storage class. For more information, see Recycle bin.
ImportantTo ensure the performance of a file system, infrequently accessed files are dumped from the Standard storage class to the IA or Archive storage class only in batches. Dumped files no longer occupy the storage space of the Standard storage class. When the files are being dumped, each file has a replica in the storage space of the Standard storage class and the IA or Archive storage class. This temporarily increases storage usage and generates additional fees. After the files are dumped, the replica and files in the Standard storage class are deleted and no longer generate additional fees.
Note 2: Read and write traffic
If the data in a file system meets the rule specified in the lifecycle policy, the data is automatically dumped to the IA or Archive storage class. No write traffic fees are generated for the data transfer.
If you access files in the IA or Archive storage class, you are charged for the actual read and write traffic that is generated. If you read only a part of a file, you are charged for the read traffic that is generated.
When you read data from or write data to the IA or Archive storage class, you are charged for the read and write traffic regardless of the network environment.
If you run a data retrieval task, you are charged for read traffic based on the size of the retrieved files.
If you back up files from the IA or Archive storage class, you are charged for read traffic based on the size of the files.
If you use security services such as the anti-ransomware service of Security Center to scan files in the IA or Archive storage class, you are charged for the actual read and write traffic that is generated.
You are not charged for managing metadata in the IA or Archive storage class. For example, you are not charged for running the ls command to show the metadata of specified files.
Comparison of billing methods
The default billing method of General-purpose NAS file systems is pay-as-you-go. After you create a General-purpose NAS file system, you can purchase resource plans and SCUs to offset storage usage fees. The following table compares the billable items and operations that are supported by each billing method.
If you have resource plans, SCUs, and storage plans within your Alibaba Cloud account, storage usage fees are offset based on the following order: storage plans, resource plans, and SCUs. Then, you are charged based on the pay-as-you-go billing method. The following figure shows the offset order.
Billing method | Billable item | Purchase | Offset the fees for different storage classes | Offset the fees of multiple NAS file systems | Offset only the fees of NAS file systems | Renew | Upgrade | Purchase multiple |
Pay-as-you-go | All billable items of General-purpose NAS file systems | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Resource plans (recommended) |
| Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | |||
Storage plans (no longer available for purchase) |
| Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Supported | Not supported | ||
SCUs | Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium) | Supported | Supported | Not supported | Not supported | Not supported | Supported |
Billing examples
The following billing examples are for reference only. The actual prices are subject to the data published on the File Storage NAS Pricing page.
Storage usage fees are calculated in
USD per GiB-month, as stated on the File Storage NAS Pricing page. When you use the pay-as-you-go billing method, fees are calculated based on the following formula:Fees = Storage usage × Unit price per hour. Therefore, when you calculate the actual storage usage fees, you must convert the unit toUSD per GiB-month. For example, if the unit price of a Capacity NAS file system isUSD 0.06 per GiB-month, the unit price settled on an hourly basis is approximatelyUSD 0.000083333 per GiB-hour (0.06/30/24).
Example 1: Billing of a Capacity NAS file system
Stable storage usage (for example, the maximum storage usage per hour is 90 GiB)
Mr. Wang has created a Capacity NAS file system in the China (Hangzhou) region. The maximum storage usage per hour in January 2021 is 90 GiB. The following tables list the monthly fees that were generated by the file system based on resource plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If Mr. Wang uses only the pay-as-you-go billing method, the total fee is USD 5.4.
Billable item
Fee
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
90 GiB × USD 0.06 per GiB-month = USD 5.4
If Mr. Wang uses a resource plan to offset fees, the total fee is USD 4.57.
Billable item
Fee
Description
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
USD 4.57 (a General-purpose NAS resource plan with a base capacity of 100 GiB for one month)
To make sure that a General-purpose NAS resource plan can offset the storage usage fees of a General-purpose NAS file system, you can use the calculator to estimate the base capacity that you need.
For each type of NAS file system, the storage usage fees are offset based on a specific conversion coefficient. For more information, see Offset rules of resource plans.
Fluctuating storage usage (for example, the maximum storage usage for one hour is 100 GiB, and the maximum storage usage for each of the remaining hours is 90 GiB)
Mr. Wang has created a Capacity NAS file system in the China (Hangzhou) region. The maximum storage usage for one hour is 100 GiB, and the maximum storage usage for each of the remaining hours is 90 GiB in June 2021. The following tables list the monthly fees that were generated by the file system based on resource plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If Mr. Wang uses only the pay-as-you-go billing method, the total fee is USD 5.40081173.
Billable item
Fee
Description
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
90 GiB × [(30 × (24 - 1)] × USD 0.000083333 per GiB-hour + 100 GiB × USD 0.000083333 per GiB-hour = USD 5.40081173
Storage usage fees are calculated in
USD per GiB-month, as stated on the File Storage NAS Pricing page. When you use the pay-as-you-go billing method, fees are calculated based on the following formula:Fees = Storage usage × Unit price per hour. Therefore, you must convert the unit toUSD per GiB-month.For example, if the unit price of a Capacity NAS file system is
USD 0.06 per GiB-month, the unit price settled on an hourly basis is approximatelyUSD 0.000083333 per GiB-hour (0.06/30/24).If Mr. Wang uses a resource plan to offset fees, the total fee is USD 4.57.
Billable item
Fee
Description
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
USD 4.57 (a General-purpose NAS resource plan with a base capacity of 100 GiB for one month)
To make sure that a General-purpose NAS resource plan can offset the storage usage fees of a General-purpose NAS file system, you can use the calculator to estimate the base capacity that you need.
For each type of NAS file system, the storage usage fees are offset based on a specific conversion coefficient. For more information, see Offset rules of resource plans.
Example 2: Billing of a Performance NAS file system and a Capacity NAS file system
Mr. Zhang has created a Performance NAS file system and a Capacity NAS file system in the China (Hangzhou) region. The maximum storage usage per hour for the Performance NAS file system in January 2021 is 20 GiB. The maximum storage usage per hour for the Capacity NAS file system in January 2021 is 90 GiB. The following tables show the monthly fees that were generated by the file systems based on resource plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If Mr. Zhang uses only the pay-as-you-go billing method, the total fee is USD 11.4.
Billable item
Fee
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
Storage usage fee of the Capacity NAS file system = 90 GiB × USD 0.06 per GiB-month = USD 5.4
Storage usage fee of the Performance NAS file system = 20 GiB × USD 0.3 per GiB-month = USD 6
If Mr. Zhang uses a resource plan to offset fees, the total fee is USD 9.14.
Billable item
Fee
Description
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
USD 9.14 (a General-purpose NAS resource plan with a base capacity of 200 GiB for one month)
To make sure that a General-purpose NAS resource plan can offset the storage usage fees of a General-purpose NAS file system, you can use the calculator to estimate the base capacity that you need.
For each type of NAS file system, the storage usage fees are offset based on a specific conversion coefficient. For more information, see Offset rules of resource plans.
Example 3: Billing of a Performance NAS file system and the IA storage class
Mr. Zhang has created a Performance NAS file system named File System A in the China (Beijing) region. The storage usage of File System A in January 2021 is 100 GiB per hour. In the storage usage, 10 GiB of data is stored in a General-purpose NAS file system, and 90 GiB of data is stored in the IA storage class. The read traffic of the IA storage class is 1 GiB and the write traffic of the IA storage class is 2 GiB within the month. The following tables list the fees that are generated for File System A within the month based on resource plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If Mr. Zhang uses only the pay-as-you-go billing method, the total fee is USD 5.11767.
Billable item
Fee
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
10 GiB × USD 0.3 per GiB-month = USD 3
Storage usage of the IA storage class
90 GiB × USD 0.02322 per GiB-month = USD 2.0898
Read traffic of the IA storage class
1 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.00929
Write traffic of the IA storage class
2 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.01858
Combination of resource plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method
If Mr. Zhang has purchased a General-purpose NAS resource plan with a base capacity of 100 GiB for one month in the China (Beijing) region, the total fee is USD 4.59787.
Billable item
Fee
Description
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
USD 4.57 (a General-purpose NAS resource plan with a base capacity of 100 GiB for one month)
To make sure that a General-purpose NAS resource plan can offset the storage usage fees of a General-purpose NAS file system, you can use the calculator to estimate the base capacity that you need.
For each type of NAS file system, the storage usage fees are offset based on a specific conversion coefficient. For more information, see Offset rules of resource plans.
Storage usage of the IA storage class
Read traffic of the IA storage class
1 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.00929
Only the pay-as-you-go billing method is supported.
Write traffic of the IA storage class
2 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.01858
Only the pay-as-you-go billing method is supported.
Example 4: Billing of a Capacity NAS file system and the IA storage class
Mr. Zhang has created a Capacity NAS file system named File System A in the China (Beijing) region. The storage usage of File System A in January 2021 is 1,000 GiB per hour. In the storage usage, 200 GiB of data is stored in a General-purpose NAS file system, and 800 GiB of data is stored in the IA storage class. The read traffic of the IA storage class is 1 GiB and the write traffic of the IA storage class is 2 GiB within the month. The following tables list the fees that are generated for File System A within the month based on storage plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If Mr. Zhang uses only the pay-as-you-go billing method, the total fee is USD 30.60387.
Billable item
Fee
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
200 GiB × USD 0.06 per GiB-month = USD 12
Storage usage of the IA storage class
800 GiB × USD 0.02322 per GiB-month = USD 18.576
Read traffic of the IA storage class
1 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.00929
Write traffic of the IA storage class
2 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.01858
Combination of storage plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method
If Mr. Zhang has purchased a 500 GiB storage plan for one month in the China (Beijing) region, the total fee is USD 25.202192.
Billable item
Fee
Description
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
USD 22.85 (a 500 GiB storage plan for one month)
For each type of NAS file system, the storage usage fees are offset based on a specific conversion coefficient. For more information about the deduction rules of storage packages, see Storage packages (new purchases are not supported).
Storage usage of the IA storage class
[800 GiB - (500 GiB - 200 GiB) × 2.333] × USD 0.02322 = USD 2.324322
Read traffic of the IA storage class
1 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.00929
Only the pay-as-you-go billing method is supported.
Write traffic of the IA storage class
2 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.01858
Only the pay-as-you-go billing method is supported.
Example 5: Billing of a Performance NAS file system, a Capacity NAS file system, and the IA storage class
Mr. Zhang has created a Performance NAS file system named File System A in the China (Beijing) region. The lifecycle management feature is enabled for the file system. The storage usage of File System A in January 2021 is 220 GiB per hour. In the storage usage, 20 GiB of data is stored in a Performance NAS file system and 200 GiB of data is stored in the IA storage class. The read traffic of the IA storage class is 1 GiB, and the write traffic of the IA storage class is 2 GiB within the month. Mr. Zhang also has a Capacity NAS file system named File System B. The storage usage of File System B in January 2021 is 100 GiB per hour. The following tables list the fees that are generated for File System A within the month based on resource plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method.
If Mr. Zhang uses only the pay-as-you-go billing method, the total fee is USD 16.67187.
Billable item
Fee
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
Storage usage fee of the Performance NAS file system = 20 GiB × USD 0.3 per GiB-month = USD 6
Storage usage fee of the Capacity NAS file system = 100 GiB × USD 0.06 per GiB-month = USD 6
Storage usage of the IA storage class
200 GiB × USD 0.02322 per GiB-month = USD 4.644
Read traffic of the IA storage class
1 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.00929
Write traffic of the IA storage class
2 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.01858
Combination of resource plans and the pay-as-you-go billing method
If Mr. Zhang has purchased a 100 GiB resource plan for one month and a 200 GiB resource plan for one month in the China (Beijing) region, the total fee is USD 13.73787.
Billable item
Fee
Description
Storage usage of General-purpose NAS file systems (Capacity, Performance, and Premium)
USD 4.57 (a 100 GiB General-purpose NAS resource plan for one month) + USD 9.14 (a 200 GiB General-purpose NAS resource plan for one month) = USD 13.71
To make sure that a General-purpose NAS resource plan can offset the storage usage fees of a General-purpose NAS file system, you can use the calculator to estimate the base capacity that you need.
For each type of NAS file system, the storage usage fees are offset based on a specific conversion coefficient. For more information, see Offset rules of resource plans.
Storage usage of the IA storage class
Read traffic of the IA storage class
1 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.00929
Only the pay-as-you-go billing method is supported.
Write traffic of the IA storage class
2 GiB × USD 0.00929/GiB = USD 0.01858
Only the pay-as-you-go billing method is supported.
References
For more information about how to view the storage usage of a General-purpose NAS file system and the IA storage class in real time, see View the capacity monitoring data of a NAS file system.
You can create an alert rule to monitor the usage of General-purpose NAS file systems. For more information, see Configure a basic alert rule.
For more information about how to view the usage details of a NAS file system, see Resource usage and bills.
For frequently asked questions (FAQ) related to the billing of General-purpose NAS file systems, see Billing FAQ.