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Bandwidth

CMP bills outgoing network bandwidth as a usage-based service. On CloudStack, usage is collected at the network level (Isolated networks and, optionally, VPC) — not per VM.

Orchestrator support

Bandwidth billing only works for CloudStack and OpenStack. Other orchestrators are not supported for bandwidth billing.

Only outgoing traffic is billed

CMP bills outgoing traffic only (bytes sent / egress). Inbound traffic is always free.

CloudStack limitations (read first)​

Highlight these CloudStack constraints before enabling bandwidth:

LimitationDetail
Network-level onlyCloudStack reports bandwidth for Isolated networks and (when available) VPC — not per VM
No VM-level usageCloudStack Usage returns 0 for VM bandwidth; keep enable_vm_bandwidth = false
No per-instance trackingApache CloudStack tracks bytes sent/received for the account/network, not per instance
Outgoing only billedUsage type 4 (NETWORK_BYTES_SENT) is billed; type 5 (NETWORK_BYTES_RECEIVED) is not charged
VPC depends on Usage ServerSet enable_vpc_bandwidth = true only if CloudStack returns usage records with vpcid
API only — not the usage DBCMP calls listUsageRecords; it does not read cloudstack-usage DB or cloud.usage_event directly
Always hourly billingBandwidth billing cycle is always HOURLY; charges aggregate on the monthly invoice
Do not enable VM-level bandwidth on CloudStack

Leave enable_vm_bandwidth = false. Enabling it creates bandwidth records and invoices with zero usage because CloudStack does not report VM bandwidth.

Enabling bandwidth for CloudStack​

1. Cloud Provider Setup​

  1. Enable the Bandwidth service in Cloud Provider Setup (Wizard Step 1)
  2. Set Free Bandwidth Threshold (GB) in Provider Config — monthly free allowance before billing starts (0 = charge from the first GB). The counter resets each month.

2. CMP global settings​

Global settingCloudStack valuePurpose
enable_bandwidthtrueRequired for any bandwidth records or billing
enable_network_bandwidthtrueIsolated networks (recommended) — usage matched by networkid
enable_vpc_bandwidthtrue or falseEnable only if CloudStack returns VPC usage with vpcid
enable_vm_bandwidthfalseKeep off — no VM usage on CloudStack

Enable the global master switch

Set enable_bandwidth = true. Without this, no bandwidth records or billing are created for any service type.

Enable network-level bandwidth (Isolated networks)

Set enable_network_bandwidth = true. This creates bandwidth records and usage-based billing when users create Isolated networks (non-VPC). Usage is pulled from CloudStack listUsageRecords by networkid. Recommended for all CloudStack regions where you want network bandwidth billing.

Enable VPC-level bandwidth

Set enable_vpc_bandwidth = true only if your CloudStack Usage Server returns usage records with vpcid. This creates bandwidth for VPCs and matches usage by vpcid. If your CloudStack only exposes network-level usage, leave this false to avoid creating VPC bandwidth records that never get real usage.

Do not enable VM-level bandwidth

Leave enable_vm_bandwidth = false for CloudStack.

3. Unit pricing​

Set 1 GB Bandwidth per Month on Unit Pricing for each zone / storage category (column appears when bandwidth billing is enabled). CMP uses per_gb_bandwidth_price from the account’s rate card unit pricing for the region and currency.

How CMP fetches CloudStack bandwidth​

CMP does not read the cloudstack-usage database or cloud.usage_event directly. It calls the CloudStack management API:

API: listUsageRecords

CloudStack usage types​

From Apache CloudStack network billing types (UsageTypes):

Type IDConstantMeaningBilled in CMP?
4NETWORK_BYTES_SENTBytes sent (egress / outgoing)Yes — billed only
5NETWORK_BYTES_RECEIVEDBytes received (ingress / incoming)No — inbound is free

CloudStack tracks total bytes sent/received for the account’s network context. It does not currently track network traffic per instance.

Parent service for the Bandwidth entity on CloudStack: Isolated Network or VPC (matched by networkid / vpcid).

How bandwidth billing works​

Every service comes with a free bandwidth threshold — a monthly data allowance. Usage within the allowance is not charged; only the overage is billed.

Admins set the free limit at Cloud Provider Setup → Provider Config → Free Bandwidth Threshold (GB).

Example:

  • Plan includes 5 GB free bandwidth per month
  • Customer uses 3 GB → no extra charge
  • Customer uses 8 GB → pay for 3 GB overage only

What gets billed?​

Outgoing traffic — data sent from your services (for example, downloads from customer VMs, API responses to the internet).

How are charges calculated?​

Bandwidth charges are calculated hourly and added to the monthly invoice:

  1. Hourly tracking — usage is tracked every hour
  2. Threshold check — only usage above the free threshold is charged
  3. Monthly summary — hourly charges combine on the monthly invoice
Chargeable Bandwidth = Total Usage − Free Threshold
Hourly Charge        = Chargeable Bandwidth × Price per GB per Hour
Monthly Charge       = Sum of all hourly charges

Unit price per GB comes from the rate card:

  1. Rate card lookup for the account
  2. Unit pricing for region and currency
  3. Extract per_gb_bandwidth_price (1 GB Bandwidth per Month on the Unit Pricing form)

Billing specifics​

RuleDetail
Billing cycleAlways HOURLY for bandwidth
ThresholdOnly usage exceeding the free threshold is billed
Inbound trafficAlways free
Invoice frequencyHourly usage invoices generated and aggregated monthly

End users can view network bandwidth details on the Isolated Network / VPC (or related bandwidth) views in the customer portal when bandwidth is enabled.

CloudStack workflow (summary)​

Enable Bandwidth service + global flags
        │
        ▼
Customer creates Isolated Network (and/or VPC if enabled)
        │
        ▼
CloudStack Usage Server records NETWORK_BYTES_SENT (type 4)
        │
        ▼
CMP calls listUsageRecords (match networkid / vpcid)
        │
        ▼
Apply free threshold → bill overage × unit price (hourly → monthly invoice)

Official reference: CloudStack Usage.