Alibaba Cloud MaxCompute

What Alibaba Cloud MaxCompute is

Alibaba Cloud MaxCompute is a cloud data platform with separate storage and compute. It supports data lakes, streaming ingestion and in-database machine learning, and is available through the web. Its listed compute options include Standard computing resources at $22 a month on subscription, with a minimum purchase of 50 CUs, and Multi-zone HA computing resources at $28.60 a month on subscription. For elastic capacity, Elastically reserved CUs are listed at $0.05 a month, billed hourly, with scheduled scaling and pay-as-you-go billing. Auto-elastic CUs cost $0.06 a month, billed hourly; usage is monitored per second, with automatic scaling and charges for resources consumed. The pricing note lists a starting price of $0.05. Alibaba Cloud was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.

Who it suits

It may suit teams seeking cloud compute with separate storage, data lake support, streaming ingestion or in-database machine learning. The listed options include subscription and hourly-billed elastic resources.

Limits

Standard computing resources require a minimum purchase of 50 CUs. The listed elastic CU options are billed hourly; auto-elastic CU usage is monitored per second and charges apply for resources consumed.

Getting started

1. Visit the Alibaba Cloud MaxCompute website.
2. Access the service through the web.
3. Choose a listed compute option: standard subscription, multi-zone HA subscription, elastically reserved CUs or auto-elastic CUs.
4. Check the billing model and minimum purchase for the selected option.

Verdict

MaxCompute offers distinct subscription and hourly-billed compute choices alongside its listed data capabilities. Consider the 50 CU minimum on standard resources when assessing the subscription option.