Help Center/ Cloud Search Service/ User Guide/ Elasticsearch/ Managing Clusters/ Deleting a Cluster
Updated on 2026-08-05 GMT+08:00
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Deleting a Cluster

When an Elasticsearch cluster is no longer required (for example, after a project is decommissioned or a temporary environment is retired), you can delete the cluster to release compute and storage resources and stop billing. Cluster deletion is an irreversible high-risk operation that permanently removes all data in the cluster. Before deleting a cluster, ensure that all the required data has been backed up. The deletion procedure varies depending on the billing mode: Pay-per-use clusters can be deleted directly, while yearly/monthly clusters must be deleted through an unsubscription process, which also triggers a refund for unused resources.

Before You Start

Cluster deletion is an irreversible high-risk operation. Before proceeding, confirm the following:

  • Data has been backed up: Ensure that cluster data has been backed up to an OBS bucket using snapshots. Without backups, the data will be permanently lost once deleted.
  • There are no ongoing tasks: Check cluster monitoring metrics and ensure that both the average indexing rate and average query rate are 0, indicating that the cluster has no ongoing tasks.
  • Snapshot availability has been confirmed: If snapshots have been enabled for the cluster and snapshots are still retained in the OBS bucket, you can use these snapshots to restore data later if necessary. For details, see Can a Deleted CSS Cluster Be Restored?
  • VPC Endpoint permissions have been confirmed: If the cluster has enabled the VPC Endpoint service, the account that you use must have permission to delete VPC endpoints. Otherwise, VPC endpoint resources cannot be released after cluster deletion, and you will continue to be charged for them. For details about how to configure this permission, see Permissions.
  • Dedicated load balancer configuration has been confirmed: If the cluster is connected through a dedicated load balancer (ELB), deleting the cluster releases the load balancer's listener resources. However, you must manually delete the ELB to prevent further charges.
  • Billing mode has been confirmed: Pay-per-use clusters can be deleted directly. Yearly/Monthly clusters must be deleted through the unsubscription process, which also triggers a refund for unused resources.

Comparison of Cluster Deletion Methods

The cluster deletion procedure varies depending on the cluster billing mode.

Table 1 Comparison of cluster deletion methods

Dimension

Pay-per-Use Cluster (Direct Deletion)

Yearly/Monthly Cluster (Deletion by Unsubscription)

Billing

Billed based on actual usage duration. Billing stops upon deletion.

Unused fees for the remaining subscription period are refunded. The refund amount is displayed on the unsubscribe page.

Data processing

All cluster data is deleted immediately.

All cluster data is deleted when the unsubscription process is completed.

Important notes

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  • If the cluster status is Available, Unavailable, or Creation failed, the unsubscription process is triggered and a refund order is generated.
  • If the cluster status is Frozen, the release process is triggered. The cluster is directly deleted without a refund.

Deleting a Pay-per-Use Cluster

The cluster is deleted immediately, resources are released, and pay-per-use billing stops.

  1. Log in to the CSS management console.
  2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Clusters > Elasticsearch.
  3. In the cluster list, find the target cluster, and choose More > Delete in the Operation column.
  4. In the displayed dialog box, read the risk warning carefully and enter DELETE in the text box.
  5. Click OK.

    After the cluster is deleted, it is removed from the cluster list.

Deleting a Yearly/Monthly Cluster

The cluster is deleted through the unsubscription process, and unused fees for the remaining subscription period are refunded.

  1. Log in to the CSS management console.
  2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Clusters > Elasticsearch.
  3. In the cluster list, find the target cluster, and choose More > Unsubscribe/Release in the Operation column.

    Difference between unsubscribe and release:

    • Unsubscribe: Triggered when the cluster status is Available, Unavailable, or Creation failed. The system generates a refund order, refunds the amount to your account through the original payment method, and then deletes the cluster.
    • Release: Triggered when the cluster status is Frozen. The cluster is directly deleted without generating a refund.

    For detailed refund rules, see Billing Center.

  4. In the displayed dialog box, read the risk warning carefully, enter YES in the text box, and click OK. The unsubscription page is displayed.
  5. Check the resource information and refund amount, select a reason for unsubscription, and click Unsubscribe to confirm.
  6. In the displayed dialog box, read the risk warning carefully, enter YES in the text box, and click OK.

    After the cluster is deleted, it is removed from the cluster list.

FAQ

  • Q1: Will snapshots stored in an OBS bucket be deleted together with the cluster?

    No. Deleting a cluster only releases its compute and storage resources. Snapshots stored in OBS will be retained. You can use these snapshots to restore data to a new cluster. However, note that you will continue to be charged for OBS storage. If you do not need these snapshots, manually delete them.

  • Q2: Can data be recovered if a cluster is accidentally deleted?

    If the cluster has snapshots stored in an OBS bucket, you can restore its data from one of these snapshots. If snapshots were never enabled or no snapshots were ever created for the cluster, then there is no way to restore cluster data. For production clusters, enable an automatic snapshot policy to create snapshots periodically and reduce the risk of data loss.

Parent topic: Managing Clusters