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NAT Gateway:NAT resource plans

Last Updated:Nov 08, 2024

A NAT resource plan is a subscription plan designed for pay-by-data-transfer Internet NAT gateways and Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) NAT gateways. After a resource plan takes effect, you can use it to offset instance fees and capacity unit (CU) fees of NAT Gateway. You can purchase a resource plan as needed and specify when the resource plan starts to take effect.

Limits

  • Expired and unused resource plans are automatically deleted and cannot transfer to other resource plans.

  • You can use NAT resource plans to offset fees of pay-by-CU Internet NAT gateways and pay-by-CU VPC NAT gateways. You cannot use NAT resource plans to offset fees of existing pay-by-specification Internet NAT gateways. For more information, see FAQ about NAT resource plans.

Benefits

  • Ready-to-use without additional configurations

    When you purchase a resource plan, you can specify the time when you want the resource plan to take effect. After the resource plan takes effect, it automatically offsets the instance fees and CU fees for your NAT gateways. You do not need to configure the resource plan.

  • Multiple sizes

    Alibaba Cloud provides resource plans of different sizes for NAT gateways: 1,000 CUs, 10,000 CUs, and 100,000 CUs. You can purchase multiple resource plans to meet your business requirements.

  • Cost-effective

    Compared with the pay-as-you-go billing method, resource plans are more cost-effective. A larger resource plan provides CUs at a lower unit price. You can use resource plans to reduce the cost of NAT gateways.

Purchase and offset rules

Rule

Description

Purchase rules

  • You can configure a resource plan to take effect immediately after you complete the payment or at a specified time.

  • The number of NAT resource plans that you can purchase is unlimited. If you purchased multiple resource plans, the resource plan that expires the earliest is applied first.

    Note

    If the number of CUs of your resource plans is exhausted, you are charged on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Offset rules

  • Services to which resource plans apply: pay-by-CU Internet NAT gateways and pay-by-CU VPC NAT gateways

  • Fees that can be offset by resource plans: instance fees and CU fees

  • Offset rules

    • Instance fee: One CU is deducted from a resource plan each hour to offset the instance fee.

    • CU fee: The number of CUs actually consumed by a NAT gateway each hour is deducted from a resource plan to offset the CU fee.

Areas and regions that support the resource plans

Area

Region

Chinese mainland

China (Qingdao), China (Beijing), China (Zhangjiakou), China (Hohhot), China (Ulanqab), China (Hangzhou), China (Shanghai), China (Shenzhen), China (Heyuan), China (Guangzhou), and China (Chengdu)

Outside the Chinese mainland

China (Hong Kong), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta), US (Virginia), US (Silicon Valley), Germany (Frankfurt), UK (London), UAE (Dubai), Philippines (Manila), South Korea (Seoul), and Thailand (Bangkok)

Unit prices for different sizes

Size

Chinese mainland (USD)

Outside the Chinese mainland (USD)

1,000 CU

34

43

10,000 CU

337

426

100,000 CU

3,230

4,085

Unsubscription

Full refund

NAT resource plans provide a 5-day money-back guarantee. You can request a full refund within five days after you purchase a NAT resource plan if your NAT resource plan is not used. For more information, see Rules for unsubscribing from resources.

Note

If your NAT resource plan is used within five days after you purchase it, the 5-day money-back guarantee is not supported.

Refund calculation

Refundable amount = Paid amount

Note

The actual amount of an order refers only to the amount paid by the user in cash, excluding the amount deducted by vouchers and coupons.

Partial refund

If your NAT resource plan is used within five days after you purchase it, you can request a partial refund. For more information, see Rules for unsubscribing from resources.

Refund calculation

  • Consumable resource plans

    Refundable amount = (Remaining Quota/Total Quota) × Paid amount

  • Constant resource plans

    Refundable amount = Paid amount - (Original order price/Order duration) × Usage duration

Unsubscription methods

You can unsubscribe from your NAT resource plan in a self-service manner or by submitting a ticket. For more information, see Methods for unsubscribing resources.

Purchase a resource plan

  1. Log on to the NAT Gateway console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose NAT Gateway > NAT Gateway Resource Plan.
  3. On the NAT Gateway Resource Plan page, perform the following operations to purchase a NAT resource plan.

    • If this is your first time purchasing a NAT resource plan, click Buy Now.

    • Otherwise, click Purchase NAT Gateway Resource Plan.

  4. On the NAT CU Package page, select the area and size, set the other parameters, click Buy Now, and then complete the payment as prompted.

    Parameter

    Description

    Type

    Select the area in which the resource plan takes effect. Valid values: Chinese Mainland and Outside Chinese Mainland.

    Size

    Select a size. The number of CUs provided by a resource plan varies based on the size. For more information, see Unit prices for different sizes.

    Activation Time

    Select the time when the resource plan takes effect.

    • Immediately after Payment: The resource plan immediately takes effect after you complete the payment.

    • Custom: The resource plan takes effect at the specified time.

      Note

      If you specify Custom, you cannot change the effective time of the resource plan or cancel the resource plan.

    Select Custom Time

    Select the time when the resource plan takes effect.

    Note

    This parameter is available if you set the Activation Time parameter to Custom.

    Subscription Duration

    Select the validity period of the resource plan. By default, you can select only 1 Year.

    Quantity

    Specify the number of resource plans that you want to purchase.

View information about a resource plan

Before you view the details of a resource plan, make sure that you have purchased a resource plan.

  1. Log on to the NAT Gateway console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose NAT Gateway > NAT Gateway Resource Plan.
  3. On the NAT Gateway Resource Plan page, find the resource plan that you want to view and click Details in the Actions column.

  4. On the Manage Reserved Instances page, you can view the basic information and usage details about the resource plans of NAT Gateway.

    • On the Instances tab, you can view the following information about a NAT resource plan: owner account, name, remaining quota, effective time, and expiration time.

      • In the upper-right corner of the resource plan list, you can click Customize Column Options to specify the columns that you want to display.

      • In the upper-right corner of the resource plan list, you can click Export to export and download the list.

    • On the Details tab, you can view the usage details about resource plans.

      • You can filter usage details by setting the Start Time, Instance Name, and Deducted instance ID parameters.

      • In the upper-right corner of the details list, you can click Customize Column Options to specify the columns that you want to display.

      • In the upper-right corner of the details list, you can click Export to export and download the list.

Set alert rules for your NAT resource plan

  1. Log on to the NAT Gateway console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose NAT Gateway > NAT Gateway Resource Plan.
  3. On the NAT Gateway Resource Plan page, find the resource plan that you want to view and click Details in the Actions column.

  4. On the Manage Reserved Instances page, click Set Threshold Alert in the upper-right corner of the resource plan list

  5. In the Set Threshold Alert dialog box, specify the threshold value and click OK.

    Note

    You can configure a threshold value based on your business requirements. For example, you can specify 20%. In this case, you are notified when the remaining capacity of a resource plan is equal to or lower than 20%.

    The following section describes the parameters.

    • Set Quota Alert: If you turn on Set Quota Alert, the alert rule applies to all resource plans.

    • Set Batch Threshold Proportion: Specify a proportion as the threshold value for multiple resource plans at a time. Valid values: 5, 10, 20, and 30. Unit: percentage.

    • Resource Package Name: If you need to specify different threshold values for different resource plans, you can turn on Threshold Alert and set the Proportion parameter. Valid values: 5, 10, 20, and 30. Unit: percentage.

  6. In the top navigation bar, move the pointer over 123 and click Message Settings.

  7. On the Common Settings page, select Notifications of Product Expiration, select the check boxes in the Internal Messages and Email columns, and then click Add Message Recipient.

  8. In the Modify Contact dialog box, select an existing contact and click Save.

FAQ about NAT resource plans

Do NAT resource plans apply to Internet NAT gateways or VPC NAT gateways?

  • NAT resource plans apply to Internet NAT gateways and VPC NAT gateways that are billed on a pay-by-CU basis. Whether an Internet NAT gateway or a VPC NAT gateway is used does not affect how a resource plan is purchased or used. For example, if you purchased a resource plan that provides 1,000 CUs, the resource plan applies to both Internet NAT gateways and VPC NAT gateways. If you purchased multiple resource plans, the resource plan that expires the earliest is used first.

  • NAT resource plans do not apply to existing Internet NAT gateways that are billed on a pay-by-specification basis. For more information about Internet NAT gateways that are billed on a pay-by-specification basis, see Billing of Pay-by-specification NAT gateways (purchase discontinued).

How do I view the billing information about an Internet NAT gateway?

Log on to the VPC console. On theInternet NAT Gatewaypage, find the Internet NAT gateway that you want to manage. You can view whetherBilling MethodisPay-As-You-GoorSubscriptionand whetherMetering MethodisPay-By-CUorPay-By-Specification. For more information, see Billing of Internet NAT gateways.

When does a NAT resource plan take effect?

  • When you purchase a NAT resource plan, you can selectImmediately After Paymentto immediately activate the resource plan.

  • You can also selectCustomto schedule a time for the resource plan to take effect.

How are resource plans used if I purchased multiple resource plans?

If you purchased multiple resource plans, the resource plan that expires the earliest is used first.

Can I request a refund for a resource plan if the resources are not used up when the resource plan expires?

No, you cannot request a refund for a resource plan after the resource plan expires. After a resource plan expires, unused CUs are automatically cleared. You cannot transfer the unused CUs to another resource plan.

Are resource plans more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method?

Resource plans that provide more than 1,000 CUs are more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method. Larger resource plans provide CUs at lower unit prices.

Can I purchase multiple resource plans?

Yes, you can purchase multiple resource plans. If you purchased multiple resource plans, the resource plan that expires the earliest is used first.

How do I view the information about a resource plan?

You can view the basic information and usage details about a resource plan in the Expenses and Costs console. You can search for resource plans by specifying theEffective AtorInstance Nameparameter and view the unused CUs and usage details about the resource plans. For more information, go to the Manage Reserved Instances page.

How do I select the size of a resource plan?

You can use the NAT CU calculator to calculate the CU consumption for your NAT gateways and select a size.