Traffic and 95th percentile billing: invoices that follow real usage.
Create a traffic pool for server ports and meter outbound, inbound, total traffic or the 95th percentile per cycle. Customers are warned before they hit the quota, ports are throttled or shut down when they exceed it, and traffic packs raise the limit.
Illustrative interface
Key capabilities
- 01
Several billing bases
Outbound, inbound, total or peak traffic, plus 95th percentile bandwidth statistics.
- 02
Flexible cycles
Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly, starting from a date you choose.
- 03
Usage alerts
A notice goes out when usage reaches a set percentage, 80% by default.
- 04
Over-quota actions
When the quota is used up, do nothing, shut the port or throttle it, and add traffic packs as needed.
Traffic pools and traffic packs
DCIM meters servers through traffic pools. A pool records how much traffic has been used this cycle, how large the quota is and what happens when it is exceeded. A pool can cover a single server or aggregate the ports of several servers, metered and billed as one.
A traffic pack adds quota to a pool, for example 1,024 GB at a time, and several packs can be stacked.
Billing rules
| Setting | Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Billing cycle | Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly | Starts from the chosen date, today by default |
| Billing basis | Outbound, inbound, total, peak traffic | Which direction and measure is metered |
| Total traffic | In GB | Quota for the cycle; reaching it counts as over quota |
| Usage alert | 0–100% | When to send a warning, 80% by default |
| Threshold action | None, shut port, throttle (in/out) | What DCIM does automatically at the quota |
| Ports | The server’s public ports | Only ports on public switches are metered |
95th percentile billing
Bandwidth products are commonly billed at the 95th percentile: port bandwidth is sampled at a fixed interval, the top 5% of samples are discarded at the end of the cycle, and the highest remaining value is billed. It tolerates occasional spikes while tracking real usage more closely than a fixed commit. DCIM’s 95th percentile statistics summarize the value for every port, ready for billing and capacity planning.
To learn more about sampling, the formula and how it compares with other billing models, read “What is 95th percentile billing? Rules, formula and examples”.
When the quota runs out
When usage reaches the quota, DCIM follows the threshold action:
- None: record it without affecting the customer;
- Shut port: cut the connection, suited to strict pay-per-use products;
- Throttle (in/out): drop the port to a low speed so the customer can still log in and deal with it.
To handle sudden bursts based on minute-level average bandwidth, enable automatic bandwidth limiting on the same traffic pool.
Traffic and 95th percentile billing
How is 95th percentile billing calculated?
Bandwidth is usually sampled every 5 minutes. At the end of the cycle the samples are sorted from high to low, the top 5% are discarded, and the highest remaining value is the billable bandwidth. See our knowledge base article on 95th percentile billing for the full method and an example.
Can several servers share one quota?
Yes. A traffic pool can cover the ports of one or more servers, metered and billed together.
Is private network traffic billed?
No. Only server ports on public-facing switches are metered; internal ports are not counted.
See how it works in your data center.
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Hotline 400-112-2951