Elasticsearch:Create an Alibaba Cloud Elasticsearch cluster

Billing

For information about the pricing and billable items of Alibaba Cloud Elasticsearch, see Elasticsearch billing.

Procedure

1. Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Elasticsearch console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Elasticsearch Clusters.

3. In the upper-left corner of the Elasticsearch Clusters page, click Create.

   Parameter	Description
   Billing Method	Subscription: If you plan to use an Elasticsearch cluster for an extended period of time, we recommend that you select the subscription billing method. You need to pay an upfront fee for a subscription Elasticsearch cluster. The subscription billing method is more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method. Pay-as-you-go: If you want to use an Elasticsearch cluster for a short period of time or for program development or functional tests, we recommend that you select the pay-as-you-go billing method. You are charged for a pay-as-you-go Elasticsearch cluster on an hourly basis. You can release a pay-as-you-go Elasticsearch cluster at any time. After you release the cluster, the billing of the cluster immediately stops. You can create a pay-as-you-go Elasticsearch cluster first. After you confirm that the created Elasticsearch cluster meets your business requirements, you can switch the billing method of the Elasticsearch cluster to subscription. Note For more information, see Billing methods.
   Region and Zone	Select a region based on your business requirements. After an Elasticsearch cluster is created, you cannot change the region of the cluster. A region that is closer to the geographical location of your users provides lower latency and higher access speed. If you want an Elasticsearch cluster to communicate with other Alibaba Cloud services over an internal network, deploy the cluster in the same region as the services.
   Number of Zones	1-AZ: This deployment method is the default deployment method. It is used to handle non-critical workloads. 2-AZ: This deployment method implements cross-zone disaster recovery. It is used to handle production workloads. 3-AZ: This deployment method provides high availability. It is used to handle production workloads that require high service availability. Note When you deploy a cluster across zones, you do not need to specify each zone. The system automatically selects the zones. For more information, see Deploy and use a multi-zone Elasticsearch cluster.
   Network Type	The value of this parameter can be only VPC.
   VPC	Select a virtual private cloud (VPC) in the specified region. Note If you want an Elasticsearch cluster to communicate with other Alibaba Cloud services over an internal network, we recommend that you deploy the cluster in the same VPC as the services. If no VPC meets your business requirements, create a VPC first. For more information, see Create a VPC and a vSwitch.
   VSwitch	Select a vSwitch in the specified VPC. Only available vSwitches in the specified zone are displayed. Note If no vSwitch meets your business requirements, create a vSwitch first. For more information, see Create a VPC and a vSwitch.
   Instance Type	Kernel-enhanced Edition: In addition to open source Elasticsearch features, Elasticsearch clusters of this edition provide more than 10 enhanced features based on the optimized kernel AliES. Standard Edition: Elasticsearch clusters of this edition are fully compatible with all open source Elasticsearch features and provide all advanced features of the X-Pack plug-in for free. For more information, see Version features and Features supported by Kernel-enhanced Edition.
   Version	Kernel-enhanced Edition: 7.10, 7.16, and 6.7 Standard Edition: 8.13, 8.9, 8.5, 7.7, 6.8, 6.3, 5.6, and 5.5 For more information, see Version features and Release Notes. Note The versions supported in different regions and zones may vary. You can view the supported versions on the buy page.
   Parameters for different types of nodes	Configure nodes based on your business requirements. Note If you do not know the specifications of the nodes that you want to purchase, you need to first evaluate specifications and storage capacity for your Elasticsearch cluster. For more information, see Evaluate specifications and storage capacity. For more information about how to configure each type of node, see Configure nodes for an Elasticsearch cluster.
   Resource Group	Select a resource group. You can use resource groups to manage Elasticsearch clusters. For more information, see Classify resources into resource groups and grant permissions on the resource groups.
   Username	The value of this parameter can be only elastic. The elastic account is used to access the Elasticsearch cluster and log on to the Kibana console of the cluster. Note If you change the password of the elastic account, you cannot use the elastic account to access the cluster before the new password takes effect. Therefore, we recommend that you do not use the elastic account in your business. You can log on to the Kibana console of your Elasticsearch cluster and create a user with the required role to access the cluster. For more information, see Use the role-based access control (RBAC) mechanism provided by Elasticsearch X-Pack to implement access control.
   Password	The password of the elastic account. This parameter is required.
   Duration	You need to configure this parameter if you set Billing Method to Subscription. We recommend that you select Auto-renewal to prevent your business from being affected due to cluster suspension or release after the cluster expires. Monthly subscription: The auto-renewal period is one month. Yearly subscription: The auto-renewal period is one year.

4. Click Buy Now. The Confirm Order page appears. Confirm the order, read the terms of service, select the check box for Terms of Service, and then click Activate Now.

5. In the top navigation bar of the Elasticsearch Clusters page, select the region where the newly created Elasticsearch cluster resides. Then, view the cluster.

   A period of time is required before an Elasticsearch cluster can provide services after it is purchased. The period of time varies based on the specifications, data structure, and data volume of the cluster. In most cases, a few hours are required. You can view the status of the cluster in the Status column.

FAQ

• When I purchase an Elasticsearch cluster, I performed an incorrect configuration. How do I modify the configuration after the cluster is created?

• When I purchase an Elasticsearch cluster, no VPCs are available. What do I do?

• What are the mappings between versions on the Elasticsearch buy page and specific Elasticsearch versions?

• When I purchase an Elasticsearch cluster, no vSwitches are available after I select a VPC, and the error message "vSwitch: may not be empty" is reported. What do I do?

• After I unsubscribe from or release an Elasticsearch cluster, I purchase another cluster. Does the endpoint of the new cluster remain the same as that of the original cluster?

• Can I purchase an Elasticsearch cluster that has only one node?

• When I purchase an Elasticsearch cluster, resources of a specific category are sold out. What do I do?

• Why is an Elasticsearch cluster in the Initializing state for a long period of time after it is purchased?

• Do I need to purchase a Kibana node after I purchase an Elasticsearch cluster?

• What do I do if I am unable to find the Elasticsearch cluster that I created?

What to do next

• View the basic information about the cluster, such as the internal endpoint, status, and node information of the cluster. For more information, see View the cluster status and node information.

• Access the cluster. Multiple access methods are available. For more information, see Access an Elasticsearch cluster.

• Migrate or collect data from other services to the cluster. For more information, see Best practices.

• Log on to the Kibana console of the cluster to analyze, visualize, and search for data. For more information, see Log on to the Kibana console.

• Configure the cluster to improve query efficiency and service security. For more information, see Configure an Elasticsearch cluster.

• Create a user with the required role and specify a password that corresponds to the user in the Kibana console of the cluster. You can use the user and password to access the cluster. For more information, see Use the RBAC mechanism provided by Elasticsearch X-Pack to implement access control.

  Note

  If you change the password of the elastic account, you cannot use the elastic account to access the cluster before the new password takes effect. Therefore, we recommend that you do not use the elastic account in your business.

• Use a scenario-based template to modify the configurations of the cluster to achieve optimal cluster and index configurations and avoid cluster exceptions and performance issues that are caused by incorrect configurations. For more information, see Use a scenario-based template to modify the configurations of a cluster.

• If you purchase warm nodes for the cluster, you can use the index lifecycle management (ILM) feature to separate hot data and cold data in the cluster. For more information, see Use ILM to separate hot data and cold data.

• If the cluster no longer meets your business requirements, you can use the upgrade or downgrade feature to change the configurations of the cluster. For example, you can change the node specifications and capacity of the cluster. For more information, see Upgrade the configuration of a cluster and Downgrade the configuration of a cluster.

  Note

  If the dedicated master nodes of the cluster are free of charge before the upgrade, the nodes are charged after the upgrade.

• If the cluster is a subscription cluster and the auto-renewal feature is not enabled, you can enable the feature for the cluster. For more information, see Renew a cluster.