PolarDB：Purchase a pay-as-you-go cluster

Prerequisites

An Alibaba Cloud account is registered and is used to log on to the PolarDB console. For more information, see Register and log on to an Alibaba Cloud account.

Background information

A cluster consists of one primary node and a maximum of 15 read-only nodes. To ensure high availability, at least one read-only node is required to implement the active-active architecture. A node is a virtual database server. You can create and manage multiple databases on a node.

Step 1: Complete the basic settings

In this step, you can configure the basic parameters and resources that are required to purchase a cluster. The basic parameters include the billing method, region, and zone. The basic resources include the database engine, compute node specifications, PolarProxy, and storage.

1. Go to the PolarDB cluster buy page.

2. Set Billing Method to Pay-As-You-Go.

   When you create a pay-as-you-go cluster, you do not need to make a payment first. You are charged for the computing, storage and proxies that you use.

3. Configure the following parameters.

   Parameter	Description
   Region	The region of the cluster. After a cluster is created, the region of the cluster cannot be changed. Note Make sure that the PolarDB cluster and the Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance to which it will be connected are deployed in the same region. Otherwise, the PolarDB cluster and the ECS instance can communicate only over the Internet, which degrades performance. You can deploy your PolarDB cluster in the same zone as your ECS instance to reduce network latency and increase access speed. They can also be deployed in different zones. If you create a PolarDB cluster in the same zone as the ECS instance, the network latency is reduced and the access speed is increased.
   Creation Method	The method that is used to create a PolarDB cluster. Create Primary Cluster: Create a PolarDB cluster. Restore from Recycle: creates a cluster by restoring a backup of a deleted cluster from the recycle bin. Source Version: the version of the cluster that is deleted. Deleted Clusters: the name of the cluster that is deleted. Backup History: the backup file that you want to restore. Migrate from RDS: Migrates an ApsaraDB RDS instance to a PolarDB cluster by replicating all the data from the source instance and synchronizing incremental data. Before migration is complete, the PolarDB cluster remains in the read-only mode, with binary logging enabled by default. For more information, see Overview of upgrading an ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance to a PolarDB for PostgreSQL cluster. Source RDS Version: the version of the source ApsaraDB RDS instance. You can select PostgreSQL 9, PostgreSQL 10, PostgreSQL 11, PostgreSQL 12, PostgreSQL 13, PostgreSQL 14, PostgreSQL 15, or PostgreSQL 16. Source RDS Instance: the source ApsaraDB RDS instance. Read-only instances are excluded. Note You can select other options to create databases of other engines.
   Database Engine	Configure the Database Engine parameter. PolarDB for PostgreSQL supports PostgreSQL 11, PostgreSQL 14 and PostgreSQL 15.
   Database Edition	Set Database Edition to Enterprise Edition.
   Edition	Cluster Edition (Recommended) is selected by default.
   Specification	The specification type of compute nodes. The default value is Dedicated. Note For more information about the specifications of compute nodes, see Compute node specifications of PolarDB for PostgreSQL Enterprise Edition.
   CPU Architecture	X86 is selected by default.
   Primary Zone	The primary zone where the cluster resides. A zone is a geographically isolated location within a region. All zones in a region provide the same level of service performance. You can deploy your PolarDB cluster and ECS instance in the same zone or in different zones. You need to specify only the primary zone. The system automatically selects a secondary zone.
   Network Type	Configure the VPC and vSwitch. The network type must be VPC. Make sure that the PolarDB cluster is created in the same VPC as the ECS instance to which you want to connect. Otherwise, the cluster and the ECS instance cannot communicate over an internal network to achieve optimal performance. Use an existing VPC that meets your network requirements. For example, if your ECS instances belong to an existing VPC which aligns with your network plan, you can use the VPC. Otherwise, use the default VPC and the vSwitch. Default VPC: There is only one default VPC per region. The CIDR block of the default VPC uses a 16-bit subnet mask, such as 192.168.0.0/16, and provides up to 65,536 private IP addresses. The default VPC does not count towards the quota of VPCs that you can create. Default vSwitch: There is only one default vSwitch per zone. The CIDR block of the default vSwitch uses a 20-bit subnet mask, such as 192.168.0.0/20, and provides up to 4,096 private IP addresses. The default vSwitch does not count towards the quota of vSwitches that you can create in a VPC. If the default VPC and vSwitch cannot meet your requirements, you can create your custom VPC and vSwitch. For more information, see Create and manage a VPC.
   Enable Hot Standby Cluster	Specifies whether to Enable Hot Standby Storage Cluster. If the hot standby storage cluster feature is enabled, both the primary PolarDB cluster and the hot standby storage cluster are deployed in the same region. The two clusters each have three replicas, which adds up to six replicas. This delivers higher SLA than when this feature is disabled. When this feature is disabled, only the primary cluster is deployed. The cluster has three replicas, and the storage unit price is half of that when this feature is enabled. This delivers lower SLA than when this feature is enabled.
   Nodes	If the cluster edition is Cluster Edition (Recommended), the system creates a primary node and a read-only node that have the same specifications by default. You do not need to configure this parameter.
   Filter	Select the specifications for compute nodes. For more information about node specifications, see Compute node specifications of PolarDB for PostgreSQL Enterprise Edition.
   PolarProxy Type	Dedicated Enterprise is selected by default.
   Storage Type	The storage type of the new cluster. PolarDB provides two storage types: PSL5 and PSL4. PSL5: the storage type supported in the historical versions of PolarDB. It delivers higher performance, reliability and availability. PSL4: a new storage type for PolarDB. PSL4 uses the Smart-SSD technology developed by Alibaba Cloud to compress and decompress data at the physical SSD disk level. This can minimize the storage price of data while keep a high disk performance. Note The storage type of existing clusters cannot be changed. To use PSL4, we recommend that you purchase a new cluster, set the storage type to PSL4, and then migrate data to the new cluster. For more information about the two storage types, see Comparison between PSL4 and PSL5.
   Storage Cost	The storage cost. You do not need to change this parameter value. You are charged for the amount of storage capacity that is consumed by data on an hourly basis. For more information, see Specifications and pricing. Note You do not need to specify the storage capacity when you create a cluster. The system scales the storage capacity when the amount of data is increased or decreased.

Step 2: Configure advanced options

In the Advanced Options (Optional) section, you can configure parameters such as Cluster Name and Resource Group.

Configure the following parameters.

Step 3: Configure the number of clusters to purchase and confirm the order

Before the cluster is created, make sure that the selected configurations such as the quantity meet your requirements.

1. Check the selected configuration on the right side of the page.

2. Specify Quantity.

   Note

   • You can create a maximum of 50 clusters at a time. This allows you to create multiple clusters in specific scenarios such as deploying multiple game servers at a time.

   • You can purchase a maximum of 50 clusters with your Alibaba Cloud account.

3. Read and select the terms of service.

4. View the fee and details in the lower part of the page. If they are correct, click Buy Now.

5. On the Purchase page, confirm the order and the payment method, and then click Subscribe.

   After you complete the payment, wait 10 to 15 minutes. Then, you can view the new cluster on the Clusters page.

   Note

   • If the cluster is in the Creating state, it is unavailable. The cluster is available only if the cluster is in the Running state.

   • Make sure that you select the region where the cluster is deployed. Otherwise, you cannot view the cluster.

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