Apsara File Storage NAS:Mount a file system across accounts and regions

Step 1: Create a CEN instance

In this example, VPC2 within Account B is connected to the CEN instance within Account A to enable network communication among VPC1, VPC2, and VPC3. You must first use Account A to create a CEN instance.

1. Log on to the CEN console with Account A.
2. On the Instances page, click Create CEN Instance.
3. In the Create CEN Instance panel, set the following parameters and click OK.
   • Name: Enter a name for the CEN instance.

     The name must be 2 to 128 characters in length and can contain digits, hyphens (-), and underscores (_). It must start with a letter.

   • Description: Enter a description for the CEN instance.

     The description must be 2 to 256 characters in length, and cannot start with http:// or https://. You can leave this parameter empty.

Step 2: Grant permissions to the accounts

Before you can connect VPC2 that belongs to Account B to the transit router that belongs to Account A, you must grant the required permissions to Account A. Otherwise, the transit router that belongs to Account A cannot connect to VPC2.

1. Log on to the VPC console with Account B.
2. In the top navigation bar, select the region where VPC2 is deployed. In this example, China (Guangzhou) is selected.
3. On the VPCs page, find and click the ID of VPC2.
4. Click the Authorize Cross Account Attach CEN tab. On the tab, click Authorize Cross Account Attach CEN.
5. In the Attach to CEN dialog box, set the following parameters and click OK.

   Parameter	Description
   Peer Account UID	Enter the ID of the Alibaba Cloud account that owns the transit router. In this example, the ID of Account A is used.
   Peer Account CEN ID	Enter the ID of the CEN instance to which the transit router belongs. In this example, the ID of the CEN instance created in Step 1 is used.
   Payer	Select the account that pays the fees. CEN Instance Owner: The owner of the transit router pays the connection fee and data transfer fee. This is the default value. VPC Owner: The owner of the VPC pays the connection fee and data transfer fee. In this example, the default value is used. Note If you use Basic Edition transit routers to connect VPCs, connections and data transfer are free of charge.

Step 3: Connect the VPCs to the transit router

After Account A is granted the required permissions, you must connect VPC1, VPC2, and VPC3 to the transit router that belongs to Account A. This enables network communication between the VPCs.

1. Log on to the CEN console with Account A.
2. On the Instances page, click the ID of the CEN instance created in Step 1.
3. On the Basic Settings tab, click in the VPC section.
   
4. On the Connection with Peer Network Instance page, set the following parameters and click OK.
   • Network Type: Select the type of network instance that you want to attach.
   • Region: Select the region where the network instance is deployed.
   • Transit Router: The system automatically creates a transit router in the selected region.
   • Resource Owner ID: Select the Alibaba Cloud account to which the network instance belongs.
   • Networks: Select the ID of the network instance.

   The system connects VPC1, VPC2, and VPC3 to the transit router that belongs to Account A based on the preceding settings. The following table shows the settings of each VPC.

   Parameter	VPC1	VPC2	VPC3
   Instance Type	VPC	VPC	VPC
   Region	China (Guangzhou)	China (Guangzhou)	China (Ulanqab)
   Resource Owner ID	Your Account	Different Account If you select Different Account, you must enter the UID of Account B.	Your Account
   Networks	VPC1	VPC2	VPC3

   After the preceding steps are completed, VPC1, VPC2, and VPC3 automatically learn routes from each other. VPC1 and VPC2 can communicate with each other. Inter-region connections are established between VPC1 and VPC3, and between VPC2 and VPC3. By default, CEN provides 1 Kbit/s bandwidth for testing (IPv4 addresses). The bandwidth is used only for testing. It does not support inter-region connections.

Step 4: Purchase a bandwidth plan

To establish connections between VPC1 and VPC3, and between VPC2 and VPC3, you must purchase a bandwidth plan that supports inter-region connections.

1. Log on to the CEN console with Account A.
2. On the Instances page, click the ID of the CEN instance created in Step 1.
3. On the details page of the CEN instance, choose Basic Settings > Bandwidth Plans, and click Purchase Bandwidth Plan(Subscription).
4. Set the following parameters, click Buy Now, and then complete the payment.

   Parameter	Description
   CEN ID	Select the CEN instance for which you want to purchase a bandwidth plan. After you complete the payment, the bandwidth plan is automatically associated with the CEN instance. In this example, the CEN instance created in Step 1 is used.
   Area A	Select one of the areas where you want to enable inter-region communication. In this example, Mainland China is selected. Note After you purchase a bandwidth plan, you cannot change the areas that you selected for the bandwidth plan. For more information about the regions and areas that support bandwidth plans, see Work with a bandwidth plan.
   Area B	Select the other area where you want to enable inter-region communication. In this example, Mainland China is selected.
   Billing Method	The billing method of the bandwidth plan. Default value: Pay by Bandwidth. For more information, see Billing rules.
   Bandwidth	Select a bandwidth value based on your business requirements. Unit: Mbit/s.
   Bandwidth_package_name	Enter a name for the bandwidth plan.
   Order time	Select a subscription duration for the bandwidth plan. You can select Auto-renewal to enable auto-renewal for the bandwidth plan.
   Resource Group	Select the resource group to which the bandwidth plan belongs.

Step 5: Create inter-region connections

1. Log on to the CEN console with Account A.
2. On the Instances page, click the ID of the CEN instance created in Step 1.
3. Navigate to the Basic Settings > Bandwidth Plans tab, and click Set Region Connection.
4. On the Connection with Peer Network Instance page, set the following parameters and click OK.

   Parameter	Description
   Instance Type	Select Inter-region Connection.
   Region	Select one of the regions to be connected. In this example, China (Guangzhou) is selected.
   Transit Router	The system automatically displays the ID of the transit router in the selected region.
   Peer Region	Select the other region to be connected. In this example, China (Ulanqab) is selected.
   Transit Router	The system automatically displays the ID of the transit router in the selected region.
   Bandwidth Plan	Select a bandwidth plan that is associated with the CEN instance.
   Bandwidth	Specify a bandwidth value for inter-region connections. Unit: Mbit/s.

Step 6: Test network connectivity

After you complete the preceding steps, VPC1, VPC2, ad VPC3 can communicate with each other. This section shows how to test the network connectivity between the VPCs.

1. Test the network connectivity between VPC1 and VPC2.
   1. Log on to the ECS instance that is deployed in VPC 1. For more information, see Connection methods.
   2. On the ECS instance, run the ping command to test whether you can access the ECS instance in VPC2.

      ping <The IP address of the ECS instance in VPC2>

      The following echo reply packet indicates that VPC1 and VPC2 are connected.

      
2. Test the network connectivity between VPC1 and VPC3.
   1. Log on to the ECS instance in VPC 3.
   2. On the ECS instance, run the ping command to test whether you can access the ECS instance in VPC1.

      #A ping packet can be 2,000 bytes in length. You can send ping packets to test the connectivity between VPC1 and VPC3. This ensures that inter-region connections can be created between VPC1 and VPC3. 
      ping <The IP address of the ECS instance in VPC1> -s 2000

      The following echo reply packet indicates that VPC1 and VPC3 are connected.
3. Test the network connectivity between VPC2 and VPC3.
   1. Log on to the ECS instance in VPC 3.
   2. On the ECS instance, run the ping command to test whether you can access the ECS instance in VPC2.

      #A ping packet can be 2,000 bytes in length. You can send ping packets to test the connectivity between VPC2 and VPC3. This ensures that inter-region connections can be created between VPC2 and VPC3. 
      ping <The IP address of the ECS instance in VPC2> -s 2000

      The following echo reply packet indicates that VPC2 and VPC3 are connected.

Step 7: Mount the file system

After you complete the preceding configurations, mount the file system on an ECS instance across accounts and regions.

• For more information about how to mount an NFS file system on a Linux ECS instance, see Mount an NFS file system on a Linux ECS instance.
• For more information about how to mount an SMB file system on a Windows ECS instance, see Mount an SMB file system on Windows.