1. Managing and Monitoring Oracle Cloud
  2. Monitor Account Usage in Nonmetered and Prepaid Metered Accounts
  3. Monitor Your Usage and Costs in a Prepaid Metered Account
  4. Set an Alert for Your Prepaid Metered Account Balance

Set an Alert for Your Prepaid Metered Account Balance

You can monitor your account balance by generating alerts in Infrastructure Classic Console or Applications Console. This helps you determine whether to increase your account balance or continue with your purchased amount. The account balance is monitored vis-a-vis a defined usage limit (amount value).

You can configure rules to generate alerts when the account balance of metered services category reaches or exceeds the specified usage limit. If a soft limit is set, users are allowed to exceed the amount up to a system-defined value. If a hard limit is set, then a quota breach occurs when the specified limit is reached. When a quota breach occurs, you must increase your account balance to continue to use the services.
To create alert rules, do the following:
  1. Sign in to Applications Console or Infrastructure Classic Console.
    Sign in to the Applications Console if you want to work with Oracle Cloud Applications. Sign in to Infrastructure Classic Console if you want to access Oracle Cloud infrastructure and platform services. If you see Infrastructure Classic at the top of the page when you sign in to Oracle Cloud, then you are using Infrastructure Classic Console and your subscription does not support access to the Oracle Cloud Console.
  2. Navigate to the appropriate service listing.
  3. Click the service name to open the details page for the service.
    The Overview page is in focus.
  4. Click the Billing Alerts tab. Alert rules, if any, are listed in the Alert Rules section.
  5. In the Alert Rules section, click Create.
  6. In the Create Alert Rule dialog box, specify the following:
    1. Channel: Email. This is selected by default and is read-only. You’ll receive alert notifications via email.
    2. Service Category Name: Displays the selected metered services category that this service belongs to and is read-only.
    3. Limit Type: Specify one of the following:

      • Soft Limit: You’ll get an alert when the usage limit is reached, but you can still continue to use the resources.

      • Hard Limit: You’ll get an alert when the usage limit is reached and a quota breach occurs. You can’t create new instances as the service becomes suspended, however, you can still continue to use existing services or instances. You can specify only one hard limit alert rule for the purchased amount. If there’s an existing system-created hard limit alert rule for the purchased amount, then you can’t create another hard limit rule for the same amount. Also, you can’t delete system-created hard limits.

    4. Value Type: Select either Absolute or Percentage. You can’t specify Percentage for pay-as-you-go subscriptions.
    5. Usage Limit: Specify the usage limit. Limit value can’t be more than what is allowed by the system depending on whether it’s an absolute value or a percentage. You’ll get an alert when the resource usage reaches this value. The limit must be greater than or equal to 1.
    6. Click Done.

Example A-1 Configuring an Alert Rule to Monitor Account Balance

If you specify the following criteria to monitor the account balance:

  • Your purchased amount =100 USD

  • Limit Type = Soft Limit

  • Usage Limit = 50 USD , limit value can’t exceed more than 2 times the purchased amount per system configuration

Then, an alert is generated when you have used 50 USD, but you are still allowed to create instances up to 200 USD (2 times the purchased amount), because you specified a soft limit. If you specify a hard limit of 200 USD, then a quota breach occurs and you aren’t allowed to create any more instances until you increase your account balance.