| copyright | lastupdated | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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2019-02-04 |
{:shortdesc: .shortdesc} {:codeblock: .codeblock} {:screen: .screen} {:new_window: target="_blank"} {:pre: .pre} {:tip: .tip} {:note: .note} {:important: .important} {:table: .aria-labeledby="caption"}
{: #requirements}
When you power off a virtual server that supports the suspend billing feature, you don't accrue costs for certain compute resources. Billing stops automatically when the server is powered off. The suspend billing feature helps you reduce cost and prevents you from having to reprovision a virtual server when you need its resources again. {:shortdesc}
Most virtual server instances created before November 1st, 2018 don't support the suspend billing feature. To find out if your virtual server instance supports the suspend billing feature, see Viewing suspend billing feature.
This feature is available in data centers across the globe. To provision a virtual server instance that supports the suspend billing feature, the virtual server instance must be configured with the following settings:
- Hourly SAN
- Public profiles of one of the following families:
- Balanced
- Compute
- Memory
You can use the suspend billing feature as a faster alternative to provisioning and reclaiming a virtual server instance. {:tip}
Billing is suspended only when you power off your virtual server instance through the {{site.data.keyword.slportal_full}}, CLI, or {{site.data.keyword.slapi_short}}. If you power off your virtual server instance directly through the OS, billing isn't suspended for that instance. {:note}
You can provision a virtual server instance that supports the suspend billing feature through the {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} catalog, CLI, or the {{site.data.keyword.slapi_short}}. For more information on provisioning public virtual server instances, see Provisioning public instances.
For the {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} catalog, you must have an upgraded account to order virtual servers. For more information about upgrading your account, see Switching to IBMid. {:note}
You can provision a virtual server instance that supports the suspend billing feature through the {{site.data.keyword.slapi_short}}. For API examples, see Provisioning a public instance using Place Order Object.
You must specify the specific suspend billing package ID during the provisioning process. You can query in the {{site.data.keyword.slapi_short}} for the suspend billing package ID by using the keyName SUSPEND_CLOUD_SERVER. For an example on searching for server packages, see Understanding and building an order using the {{site.data.keyword.slapi_short}} order CLI 
{: new_window}.
It's important to understand what costs stop accruing and what costs persist when your virtual server instance is powered off.
| Resource | Billing stopped | Billing persists |
|---|---|---|
| vCPU | X | |
| RAM | X | |
| Port speed | X | |
| Operating system licenses | X | |
| Monitoring add-ons | X | |
| Secondary public IP addresses | X | |
| Storage | X | |
| {: caption="Table 1. Resource billing details" caption-side="top"} |
When you provision a virtual server instance that supports the suspend billing feature, the usage times are calculated per minute, for both the in use time and suspended time of your virtual server instance. Even if you never initiate the suspend billing feature by powering off your instance, the billing is calculated per minute of the instance's lifecycle. {:note}
Virtual server instances that support the suspend billing feature can have a minimum usage charge that is applied in some cases. If usage is greater than 25%, you are billed for that usage. If usage is less than 25%, you are charged for 25% of the hours that the instance existed within the current billing cycle.
When you suspend billing on a virtual server, you will see a few changes in your billing invoice. The relevant charges now appear as usage-based details. For example, you might see the following additions that reflect hours available, hours used, and total number of hours charged:
Computing instance usage...
RAM usage...
Operating system usage...
{:screen}
When you suspend billing on a virtual server instance, the billing for the associated storage persists, but you cannot access the stored data while the virtual server instance is powered off. When you resume billing on the instance, you can access your data again.
All public IP addresses are retained for you when billing is suspended for your virtual server instance.
Virtual server instances that are suspended continue to count toward your account-wide device quota. For more information about instance limits, see FAQ: Virtual servers.
After you provision a virtual server that supports suspend billing, you can begin to suspend and resume billing on the device.
When billing is suspended on a virtual server instance, you can't complete all of the same actions on the instance until you resume billing for the device. You can view whether your device is stopped, as well as the relevant date when the status changed, through the {{site.data.keyword.slapi_short}} or by accessing the Device details page in the {{site.data.keyword.slportal}}.
To suspend billing on a virtual server instance, power off the virtual server. For more information, see Managing virtual servers.