Server Load Balancer:Modify the configurations of a pay-as-you-go CLB instance

Overview of the pay-as-you-go billing method

Switch from pay-by-specification to pay-by-LCU

You can change the metering method of your CLB instance based on your business requirements. Changes of metering methods do not interrupt your services.

Rules for changing metering methods

• Alibaba Cloud provides the same specification for all pay-by-LCU CLB instances. Each pay-by-LCU CLB instance supports up to 1,000,000 concurrent connections, 100,000 new connections, 50,000 queries per second (QPS), and 5 Gbit/s of bandwidth.

  Note

  • If the specification of your current CLB instance is Super Large I or higher, and you change the metering method from pay-by-specification to pay-by-LCU, the performance of your instance may be degraded.

  • By default, Alibaba Cloud no longer offers CLB instances of Super Large I or higher. If you require Layer 4 load balancing that supports more concurrent connections, use Network Load Balancer (NLB). If you require Layer 7 load balancing that provides higher QPS, use Application Load Balancer (ALB).

    • For more information about NLB, see What is NLB?

    • For more information about ALB, see What is ALB?

• After you change the metering method, the bill is updated after 1 to 2 hours.

Effective time

Impacts on billing

After you change the metering method of a CLB instance from pay-by-specification to pay-by-LCU CLB, you do not need to select a specification for the CLB instance. You are charged a Load Balancer Capacity Unit (LCU) fee based on the actual usage. For more information about LCUs and their prices, see Pay-as-you-go.

Scenarios

The pay-by-LCU metering method is ideal for scenarios in which workloads expect periodic or large fluctuations.

Procedure

1. Log on to the CLB console.

2. Select the region where the CLB instance is deployed.

3. On the Instances page, find the instance that you want to manage and choose > Change Specification > Change Specifications in the Actions column.

4. On the Upgrade/Downgrade page, set Instance Billing Method to Pay-by-CLCU.

5. Select the Terms of Service, click Buy Now, and then complete the payment.

   You can view the new metering method of the instance on the Instance Details page.

Change the metering method of a CLB instance from pay-by-LCU to pay-by-specification

1. Log on to the CLB console.

2. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the CLB instance is deployed.

3. On the Instances page, find the CLB instance that you want to manage and choose > Change Specification > Change Specifications in the Actions column.

4. On the Upgrade/Downgrade page, configure the following parameters.

   Parameter	Description
   Instance Billing Method	Select an instance metering method. Valid values: Pay-By-CLCU and Pay-By-Specification. In this example, Pay-By-Specification is selected.
   Specification	Select a specification. The performance metrics of a CLB instance varies based on the instance specification. For more information, see Instance types.
   SLB instance	The instance type is displayed. You cannot change the instance type.
   Internet Data Transfer Fee	Select a metering method for Internet data transfer. This method is used to calculate the resource usage over the Internet. By traffic: If you use an Internet-facing CLB instance, you are charged based on the data transfer. By bandwidth: If you use an Internet-facing CLB instance, you are charged based on the maximum bandwidth. Note For an internal-facing CLB instance, only By traffic is displayed. However, you are not charged for Internet data transfer.
   SLB bandwidth max	Specify a maximum bandwidth value for the CLB instance. This parameter is displayed only if you set Internet Billing Method to By bandwidth.
   Configure Listener	The information about listener configurations is displayed. You must specify a maximum bandwidth value for each listener. The maximum bandwidth value that you specify for each listener must be an integer greater than 0. In addition, the sum of the maximum bandwidth of all listeners added to the CLB instance cannot exceed the maximum bandwidth of the CLB instance. This parameter is displayed only if you set Internet Billing Method to By bandwidth.

5. Select the Terms of Service, click Buy Now, and then complete the payment.

Upgrade or downgrade a pay-by-specification CLB instance

1. Log on to the CLB console.

2. In the top navigation bar, select the region where the CLB instance is deployed.

3. On the Instances page, find the CLB instance that you want to manage and choose > Change Specification > Change Specifications in the Actions column.

4. On the Upgrade/Downgrade page, configure the following parameters.

   Parameter	Description
   Instance Billing Method	Select an instance metering method. Valid values: Pay-By-CLCU and Pay-By-Specification. Set the parameter to Pay-By-Specification.
   Specification	Select a specification. You can upgrade or downgrade the specification. The performance of a CLB instance varies based on the specification. For more information, see CLB instance overview.
   SLB instance	The instance type is displayed. You cannot change the instance type.
   Internet Data Transfer Fee	Select a metering method for Internet data transfer. This method is used to calculate the resource usage over the Internet. By traffic: If you use an Internet-facing CLB instance, you are charged based on the data transfer. By bandwidth: If you use an Internet-facing CLB instance, you are charged based on the maximum bandwidth. Note For an internal-facing CLB instance, only By traffic is displayed. However, you are not charged for Internet data transfer.
   SLB bandwidth max	Specify a maximum bandwidth value for the CLB instance. This parameter is displayed only if you set Internet Billing Method to By bandwidth.
   Configure Listener	The information about listener configurations is displayed. You must specify a maximum bandwidth value for each listener. The maximum bandwidth value that you specify for each listener must be an integer greater than 0. In addition, the sum of the maximum bandwidth of all listeners added to the CLB instance cannot exceed the maximum bandwidth of the CLB instance. This parameter is displayed only if you set Internet Billing Method to By bandwidth.

5. Select the Terms of Service, click Buy Now, and then complete the payment.

   You can view the new specification, metering method for Internet data transfer, or maximum bandwidth of the CLB instance on the Instance Details tab.

FAQ

What are the items that I must take note of if I want to change a shared-resource CLB instance to a high-performance CLB instance?

• CLB provides high-performance instances and shared-resource instances. Shared-resource instances are no longer available for purchase.

• You can change only shared-resource CLB instances to high-performance CLB instances. You cannot change high-performance CLB instances to shared-resource CLB instances.

• When you change a shared-resource CLB instance to a high-performance CLB instance, your workloads are not affected and the IP address of the CLB instance remains unchanged. We recommend that you change a shared-resource CLB instance to a high-performance CLB instance during off-peak hours or use Alibaba Cloud DNS (DNS) to switch the user traffic to another CLB instance first.

References