This topic provides answers to some frequently asked questions about the renewal, upgrade, and downgrade of Security Center, and also the billing of vulnerability fixing.
How do I renew Security Center if Security Center prompts that the subscription is due to expire?
Your subscription to Security Center is valid within a specific period of time. You must renew the subscription within the validity period to protect your business. For more information about how to renew the subscription, see Renew the subscription to Security Center.
How far in advance can I renew my Security Center before it expires?
Security Center has no time limit on renewal. You can renew your subscription any time after you purchase Security Center.
Can I downgrade the Advanced edition of Security Center to the Anti-virus edition when I renew Security Center by changing existing specifications?
Yes,
you can upgrade or downgrade the edition of Security Center when you renew Security Center by changing existing specifications. For example, if you use the Advanced edition of Security Center, you can downgrade the edition to Anti-virus or Value-added Plan, or upgrade the edition to Enterprise or Ultimate. For more information, see Renew the subscription to Security Center.
What do I do if I want to modify the auto-renewal cycle or disable auto-renewal?
If you do not select Auto-renewal when you purchase Security Center, you can enable auto-renewal for your Security Center subscription. If you select Auto-renewal when you purchase Security Center, you can disable auto-renewal for your Security Center subscription. To enable or disable auto-renewal, perform the following operations:
Log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management Console with your Alibaba Cloud account and go to the Renewal page.
On the Renewal page, click Other cloud products on the far right of the Product section, and select Security Center for Instances from the drop-down list.
You can take the following steps based on your business requirements.
Enable Auto Renewal: On the Manual tab, click Enable Auto Renewal in the Actions column. In the dialog box that appears, select the Unified Auto Renewal Cycle. In the instance list, confirm the instance ID and name for which you want to enable auto-renewal, then click Auto Renew. The Auto tab appears and you can find the updated instance in the instance list.
Edit Auto Renewal: On the Auto tab, click Edit Auto Renewal in the Actions column. In the dialog box that appears, modify the Renewal Cycle and click OK.
Enable Manual Renewal: On the Auto tab, click Enable Manual Renewal in the Actions column. In the dialog box that appears, confirm the instance ID and name for which you want to enable manual renewal and click OK.
I want to renew Security Center, but the Renewal button is dimmed, and the "Your current number of licenses is insufficient. Please expand your licenses and try again." message appears. What do I do?
Problem description
When I renew Security Center, the Renewal button is dimmed, and the "Your current number of licenses is insufficient. Please expand your licenses and try again." message appears.
Cause
The number of servers within your Alibaba Cloud account exceeds the value specified by the Protected Servers parameter, or the number of your server cores exceeds the value specified by the Cores parameter. This issue occurs only when you purchase Security Center in full protection mode.
Solution 1
Before you renew Security Center, upgrade Security Center. Set the Protected Servers parameter to a value that is equal to the number of servers within your Alibaba Cloud account, and set the Cores parameter to a value that is equal to the number of your server cores. For more information about how to upgrade Security Center, see Upgrade.
Solution 2
Change the protection mode from full protection to partial protection, and then renew Security Center. For more information, see Change full protection to partial protection.
When I renew Security Center as a RAM user, the system prompts that I do not have the required permissions. What do I do?
By default, a newly created Resource Access Management (RAM) user does not have permissions. You must use your Alibaba Cloud account to attach the system policies that are provided for Billing Management to the RAM user. Then, the RAM user has the permissions to renew Security Center. For more information, see Attach system policies to the RAM user.
What do I do if the number of my servers exceeds the limit specified by the Protected Servers parameter?
After you purchase Security Center in full protection mode, if the number of your servers exceeds the value specified by the Protected Servers parameter and you do not purchase additional quotas, the following impacts occur:
You cannot use the features of Security Center.
You cannot renew Security Center after expiration.
If Security Center is about to expire and the number of your servers exceeds the limit specified by the Protected Servers parameter, you must upgrade Security Center and increase the value of the Protected Servers parameter before you can renew Security Center.
You can perform the following operations to increase the value of the Protected Servers parameter:
Log on to the Security Center console. In the top navigation bar, select the region of the asset that you want to manage. You can select China or Outside China.
On the Overview page, click Upgrade Now.
On the Upgrade/Downgrade page, reconfigure the Protected Servers parameter, read and select I have read and agree to Security Center Terms of Service, and then click Order Now.
If you do not want to increase the value of the Protected Servers parameter, you can change the protection mode from full protection to partial protection. In partial protection mode, no limit is imposed on the quotas that you must purchase. In this mode, you can purchase quotas only for servers that you want to protect and then bind the purchased quotas to the servers. For more information, see Change full protection to partial protection.
Can I change the duration when I increase the value of the Protected Servers parameter or the quota for a value-added feature on the Upgrade/Downgrade page?
No,
you cannot change the duration when you increase the value of the Protected Servers parameter or the quota for a value-added feature on the Upgrade/Downgrade page. The duration refers to the validity period of Security Center. The upgrade fees are calculated based on the following formula: Upgrade fees = (Fees of additional servers that can be protected + Fees of value-added features) × Remaining validity period of Security Center (Unit: seconds).
Can I downgrade the Enterprise edition of Security Center to the Basic edition?
No,
the Anti-virus, Advanced, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions are paid editions. You cannot manually downgrade a paid edition to the Basic edition. After a paid edition of Security Center expires, the paid edition is automatically downgraded to the Basic edition.
When I upgrade or downgrade Security Center, the system prompts that Security Center cannot be upgraded or downgraded because a pending order for renewal and specification changes exists. Why?
Problem description
When I upgrade or downgrade Security Center, the Upgrade Now or Buy Now button is dimmed, and the system returns a message indicating that Security Center cannot be upgraded or downgraded because a pending order for renewal and specification changes exists.
Cause
You placed an order for renewal and specification changes. If a pending order for renewal and specification changes exists within your account, you cannot upgrade or downgrade Security Center.
If you want to view the start time, end time, and configurations of the order, perform the following operations: In the top navigation bar of the Alibaba Cloud Management Console, choose . On the Orders page, click the Orders for Services tab. On the Orders for Services tab, select Security Center for Product and click Search. In the list of renewal orders that you recently placed, find the pending order and click View Details in the Actions column.
Solution
If the configurations of the pending order are the same as the configurations that you require, you do not need to upgrade or downgrade Security Center. Wait until the pending order takes effect.
If the configurations of the pending order are not the configurations that you require or you want to change the existing configurations, submit a ticket to cancel the pending order. Then, upgrade or downgrade Security Center.
Can I purchase vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method after I purchase a quota for vulnerability fixing based on the subscription billing method?
No, you cannot purchase vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method after you purchase a quota for vulnerability fixing based on the subscription billing method.
How do I change the billing method of vulnerability fixing from subscription to pay-as-you-go?
After you purchase a quota for vulnerability fixing based on the subscription billing method, you cannot change the billing method to pay-as-you-go. If you want to use vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method, you can downgrade Security Center or request a refund. Then, purchase vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.
Downgrade:
If the quota for vulnerability fixing is not consumed during the current billing cycle, you can directly downgrade Security Center. The billing cycle begins on the date when the order is placed and ends at 00:00 on the day after the same date in the next month. If the quota is consumed during the current billing cycle, you must wait until the start of the next billing cycle. Make sure that no quota is consumed before you downgrade Security Center.
For example, if you purchase a quota of 20 on November 2, 2023 and the subscription duration is 2 months, the current billing cycle starts from November 2, 2023 and ends on December 2, 2023. If the quota is not consumed until November 5, 2023, you can downgrade Security Center to disable the subscription billing method for vulnerability fixing. If the quota is consumed, you must wait until 00:00 on December 3, 2023 and try again.
Go to the Downgrade page and set the Vulnerability Fixing parameter to No. For more information, see Upgrade and downgrade Security Center.
On the Vulnerabilities page in the Security Center console, click Purchase to purchase vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.
Refund:
Submit a ticket to Alibaba Cloud to unsubscribe from Security Center.
On the Vulnerabilities page in the Security Center console, click Purchase to purchase vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method.
Optional. Purchase other features of Security Center. For more information, see Purchase Security Center.
If I purchase Security Center Advanced or higher after I purchase vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method, am I still charged for vulnerability fixing?
No, you are not charged. If you purchase Security Center Advanced or higher to protect a server, you can directly use Security Center to fix vulnerabilities with an unlimited quota. If you purchase Security Center Advanced or higher after you purchase vulnerability fixing based on the pay-as-you-go billing method, Security Center automatically disables the pay-as-you-go billing method for vulnerability fixing, and you are not charged for fixing vulnerabilities.
I purchased a quota for the vulnerability fixing feature by using the subscription billing method. Is the unused quota in the current month carried over to the next month?
No,
the unused quota in a month is not carried over to the next month. Resources purchased on a subscription basis are billed by month. The unused quota purchased for the current billing cycle is automatically cleared at the beginning of the next billing cycle. The quota for the next billing cycle is consumed in the next billing cycle. If you cannot estimate the number of vulnerabilities that need to be fixed, we recommend that you purchase the vulnerability fixing feature by using the pay-as-you-go billing method. For more information, see View and handle vulnerabilities.
If you no longer require the quota for the vulnerability fixing feature within the current billing cycle, you can downgrade Security Center to unsubscribe from the feature that uses the subscription billing method. After you unsubscribe from the feature, Security Center refunds the unused quota from the current billing cycle to the expiration date of Security Center. For more information, see Upgrade and downgrade Security Center.