Autonomous AI Database Elastic Pool Billing
The billing for an elastic pool consists of only compute resources, that is ECPU usage, and all compute usage is charged to the Autonomous AI Database instance that is the pool leader. Any storage usage is billed separately to individual Autonomous AI Database instances, independent of whether the instance is in an elastic pool.
Dedicated elastic pools are billed hourly for both allocated storage (TB) and compute (ECPUs). While compute usage (ECPUs) is exactly billed as described on this page, its storage consumption is subject to different billing guidelines. See About Autonomous AI Database Dedicated Elastic Pool Billing for details and examples.
Elastic pool usage can exceed the pool size (pool capacity can be up to four times greater than the pool size). Using an elastic pool, you can provision up to four times the number of ECPUs, over your selected pool size, and you can provision database instances that are in the elastic pool with as little as 1 ECPU per database instance. Outside an elastic pool, the minimum number of ECPUs per database instance is 2. For example, with a pool size of 128, you can provision 512 Autonomous AI Database instances (when each instance has 1 ECPU). In this example you are billed for the pool size compute resources, based on the pool size of 128 ECPUs, while you have access to 512 Autonomous AI Database instances. In contrast, when you individually provision 512 Autonomous AI Database instances without using an elastic pool, you are required to allocate a minimum of 2 ECPUs for each Autonomous AI Database instance. In this example, you would pay for 1024 ECPUs without an elastic pool.
After you create an elastic pool, the total ECPU usage for a given hour is charged to the Autonomous AI Database instance that is the pool leader. Except the pool leader, individual Autonomous AI Database instances that are pool members are not charged for ECPU usage while they are members of an elastic pool.
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If the total aggregated peak ECPU utilization is equal to or below the pool size for a given hour, you are charged for the pool size number of ECPUs (one times the pool size).
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After creating an elastic pool, ECPU billing continues at a minimum of one times the pool size rate, even when databases that are part of the pool are stopped. This applies to pool member databases and to the pool leader.
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In other words, if the aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool is less than or equal to the pool size for a given hour, you are charged for the pool size number of ECPUs (one times the pool size). This represents up to 87% in compute cost savings compared to the case where these databases are billed separately without using elastic pools. See Monitor Elastic Pool Usage and Cost Savings to view the elastic pool cost savings on the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) console.
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If the aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool leader and the members exceeds the pool size at any point in time in a given billing hour:
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Aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool is equal to or less than two times of the pool size number of ECPUs:
For usage greater than one times the pool size (number of ECPUs) and up to and including two times the pool size (number of ECPUs) in a given billing hour, hourly billing is twice the pool size of ECPUs.
In other words, if the aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool exceeds the pool size, but is less than or equal to two times the pool size for a given hour, you are charged for twice the pool size number of ECPUs (two times the pool size). This represents up to 75% in compute cost savings compared to the case where these databases are billed separately without using elastic pools.
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Aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool is equal to or less than four times the pool size number of ECPUs:
For usage that is greater than two times the pool size number of ECPUs and up and including to four times the pool size number of ECPUs in a given billing hour, hourly billing is four times the pool size number of ECPUs.
In other words, if the aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool exceeds twice the pool size for a given hour, you are charged for four times the pool size number of ECPUs (four times the pool size). This represents up to 50% in compute cost savings compared to the case where these databases are billed separately without using elastic pools.
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Elastic Pool Billing Examples
Consider an elastic pool with a pool size of 128 ECPUs and a pool capacity of 512 ECPUs:
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Case-1: The aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool leader and the members is 40 ECPUs between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm, and 128 ECPUs between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm.
The elastic pool is billed 128 ECPUs, one times the pool size, for this billing hour (2 to 3 pm). This case applies when the peak aggregated ECPU usage of the elastic pool for the billing hour is 128 ECPUs or less.
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Case-2: The aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool leader and the members is 40 ECPUs between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm, and 250 ECPUs between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm.
The elastic pool is billed 256 ECPUs, two times the pool size, for this billing hour (2 to 3 pm). This case applies when the peak aggregated ECPU usage of the elastic pool for the billing hour is less than or equal to 256 ECPUs and greater than 128 ECPUs.
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Case-3: The aggregated peak ECPU utilization of the pool leader and the members is 80 ECPUs between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm, and 509 ECPUs between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm.
The elastic pool is billed 512 ECPUs, four times the pool size, for this billing hour (2 to 3 pm). This case applies when the peak aggregated ECPU usage of the elastic pool for the billing hour is less than or equal to 512 ECPUs and greater than 256 ECPUs.
Elastic Pool Billing Scenarios
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Example 1: Elastic pool billing when a pool is created
Suppose an Autonomous AI Database instance with 4 ECPUs that is not in an elastic pool. At 2:15 pm, you create an elastic pool with this instance as the leader and set the pool size of 128 ECPUs. If the database is idle between 2 and 3 pm and there are no other instances in the pool, billing for the hour will be as follows:
The bill for the period 2 to 3 pm is: (4 * 0.25) + 128 = 129 ECPUs
Where the (4 * 0.25) is the billing for compute for the fifteen minutes before the Autonomous AI Database instance created the elastic pool, and 128 ECPUs is the billing for the elastic pool for the hour when the elastic pool is created.
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Example 2: Elastic pool billing when a pool is terminated
Suppose you have an Autonomous AI Database instance with 4 ECPUs as the leader of a 128 ECPU elastic pool. If you terminate the elastic pool at 4:30 pm, the database becomes a standalone instance. If the database is idle between 4 and 5 pm, and there are no other databases in the pool, billing for that hour will be as follows:
The bill for 4-5pm is: (4 * 0.5) + 128 = 130 ECPUs
Where the (4 * 0.5) is the billing for compute for the thirty minutes after the Autonomous AI Database instance terminates the elastic pool, and 128 ECPUs is the billing for the elastic pool for the hour when the elastic pool was terminated.
When a pool leader and/or pool members use built-in tools like OML, Graph, or Data Transforms, compute resources used by built-in tools are counted separately from the elastic pool's total ECPU allocation. The pool leader is billed for any built-in tool ECPU usage by the leader or pool members, in addition to the elastic pool size.
For example, if an elastic pool has a size of 128 ECPUs, and during one hour the pool leader and members use a peak of 80 ECPUs, plus 30 ECPUs are used for built-in tools, the leader is billed for 128 ECPUs (pool size) plus 30 ECPUs (built-in tools), totaling 158 ECPUs for that hour.