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VM packages & storage

Override root disk, free OS disk, scheduled stop, and related packaging choices. CloudStack offering mapping: Virtual Machine packages.

If users run VMs on a schedule, how are usage hours calculated?​

When stoppable service billing is enabled (enable_stoppable_service_billing = true) and a VM is stopped:

  • CPU and memory charges pause
  • Volume (disk) and IP address (if any) charges continue

If the flag is off, compute and storage both keep charging while stopped.

Scheduled start/stop does not invent a different meter — it follows stoppable-service rules.

Can we provide a free 50 GB OS disk to all users at instance create?​

No dedicated “OS disk only free” feature. Alternatives:

  • Coupons / free credits
  • Set storage pricing to 0 on rate cards — note that users can then create multiple zero-cost volumes; there is no OS-disk-only restriction

If we do not select override root disk during setup, will it cause issues?​

No functional break by itself. It is a one-time commercial/setup decision (hard to reverse later because of billing).

ApproachBehaviour
Override disk enabled (recommended)Compute and storage priced separately; customer picks OS disk size
Override disk disabledStorage bundled inside compute offering; create ACS offerings with disk included, map them in CMP packages

If storage is bundled in compute, pausing CPU/RAM billing on stop does not cleanly separate storage — stoppable billing for compute alone works best with override disk enabled.

Can we include disk size in the compute offering so users only pick the offering?​

Yes — disable override root disk and map offerings that already include disk. See above.

Keep override root disk but separate packages for root disk vs data disk — possible?​

Yes. That is the standard scalable-storage model: override disk separates compute from storage packages (root vs additional volumes).