Cast AI's Discount Engine allows you to apply custom pricing to your cloud resources, helping align cost reporting and optimization decisions with your actual cloud costs. This guide walks you through setting up your first discount in the Cast AI console.

Prerequisites

• Cast AI account with the necessary permissions within your organization
• At least one connected cluster
• Access to pricing for your cloud resources (e.g., enterprise discount program details)

Create your first discount

1. Navigate to Optimization > Discount engine in the Cast AI console sidebar
2. Click the Add discount entry button in the top right corner

Basic discount configuration

In the drawer that opens, configure the options for the creation of your discount entry.

Enter a descriptive name for your discount entry

This name will help you identify the discount in reports and the node list.

Configure resource filters

1. Select your cloud provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure)

   

2. Define instance constraints

   • Filter by instance families (e.g., m5) or specify individual instance types (optional)
   • Choose resource offering:
     • Any
     • On-demand
     • Spot

Define discount parameters

1. Specify discount details

   • Choose what to discount:
     • CPU
     • Memory
     • Instance (applies to the whole instance)
   • Select discount type:
     • Fixed cost: Set a specific price ($/hour)
     • Percentage: Apply a percentage discount
   • Enter the discount value

2. Set active period

   • Define when the discount starts
   • Set an end date

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Note

Discounts are not retroactive and only apply to future costs.

Apply cluster constraints

1. Set geographical scope

   • Select specific regions, choose availability zones, or leave as "All" to apply the discount globally.

     

2. Choose target clusters

   • Select specific clusters to apply the discount
   • Check "Select to include specific clusters" to limit scope or leave unchecked to apply to all current and future clusters.

3. Click Save and apply to activate your discount.

Verify discount application

After creating a discount, you can verify if it's applied and active:

1. Navigate to Node list in your cluster view

2. Look for the discount indicator in the new Discounts column within Pricing

   

3. Hover over the discount icon to see additional information at a glance, such as the number of active discounts and discount details. Moreover, hovering over the hourly resource rates reveals the base price.

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Note

Allow 5-10 minutes for new discounts to propagate through the system. Cost reporting data may take up to an hour to reflect new discount configurations due to caching.

For additional help or to request access to the Discount Engine feature, contact Cast AI support.