CDN:Five core advantages of Alibaba Cloud CDN

Extensive POPs and certifications

Extensive POP coverage

Alibaba Cloud has over 3,200 Points of Presence (POPs) worldwide. This includes over 2,300 POPs in the Chinese mainland covering 31 provincial-level regions, and over 900 POPs across more than 70 countries and regions, including China (Hong Kong) and China (Macao). The total network bandwidth capacity is 180 Tbps. With its extensive geographic coverage and deep bandwidth reserves, Alibaba Cloud CDN provides secure, stable, and reliable content delivery services globally.

Industry-leading certifications

• Certified by China's Ministry of Public Security for Level 3 of the Multi-Level Protection Scheme (MLPS).

• PCI DSS certified.

• Recognized as a global CDN service provider by Gartner.

• Certified with the global IPv6 Enabled CDN Logo.

Rich features

Alibaba Cloud CDN provides a console and open APIs to configure and manage your content acceleration. The main product capabilities are:

Flexible and programmable CDN

Alibaba Cloud CDN is a programmable CDN that supports both simple, one-stop configurations and custom configurations through EdgeScript (ES). You can also use ES to write simple scripts to quickly implement custom business logic. This approach addresses challenges such as long release cycles for custom requirements and a lack of business agility.

Rich and open APIs

All functions available in the CDN console are also supported through APIs. For detailed operations, see API reference.

Advanced CDN architecture

Precise CDN mapping

• Continuously updated and accurate IP database: When a user's DNS resolution request is forwarded to the CDN mapping system, the system uses an IP database to determine the user's region and ISP and assigns the nearest CDN POP from the same ISP. The database is continuously updated for accuracy.

• HTTPDNS service: This technology allows clients to bypass the carrier's Local DNS and directly access the CDN mapping system using the HTTP protocol to request the optimal access POP for the desired domain name. This approach helps prevent DNS hijacking. This requires client-side integration.

• POP status analysis: The CDN mapping system uses a link status system to analyze the health of all POPs and links in the cache system in real time. It selects the optimal access POP for users, preventing a poor access experience due to low-quality POPs.

• Content-based routing: For use cases like large file downloads and video on demand, Alibaba Cloud CDN uses 302 redirect scheduling. User requests first access a central scheduling system, which analyzes the request content and then uses an HTTP 302 redirect to assign the user to the best access POP, thereby improving the Cache Hit Rate.

Intelligent caching

• Hierarchical caching: An intelligent object POPularity algorithm caches POPular resources across levels and layers to achieve precise resource acceleration.

• High-performance caching: The high-performance cache system is designed to balance the processing power of multi-core CPUs, efficiently manage memory, and maximize Solid-State Drive (SSD) IOPS and throughput.

• High-speed read/write storage: Each POP is equipped with high-speed read/write SSD storage. Combined with SSD acceleration capabilities, this significantly reduces user wait times and improves availability.

• Efficient origin pull: Provides a failover and retry mechanism to ensure efficient origin requests and information synchronization.

Efficient transport protocols

• QUIC protocol support: QUIC is a next-generation transport layer protocol based on UDP. It integrates features of TCP, TLS, and HTTP/2 to effectively meet the demands of modern transport and application layers by reducing latency and increasing concurrent connection handling capacity.

• In-house TCP stack algorithms: By tuning congestion control and packet loss detection algorithms, we have significantly improved the performance of the TCP protocol.

Reliable security

Alibaba Cloud CDN mitigates security risks with the following reliable protection features:

• Hotlink Protection: To prevent unauthorized use of your origin resources, choose common authentication methods based on Referer, UA, URL, and IP, or use EdgeScript to customize authentication logic. Remote authentication for secondary validation is also supported.

• DNS hijacking protection: Supports HTTPDNS to directly obtain domain name resolution results via the HTTP protocol, bypassing the carrier's Local DNS to prevent domain hijacking.

• HTTPS transport encryption: Supports using the TLS protocol to encrypt HTTP content, preventing plaintext data from being exposed on the internet. You can also configure advanced features like TLS 1.3 and HSTS.

• Origin Protection: Alibaba Cloud CDN has built-in security capabilities. You can also configure Secure CDN (SCDN) to provide even stronger security protection.

• Origin reliability: You can configure primary and secondary origin servers. Alibaba Cloud CDN continuously monitors the status of both and can promptly switch to the secondary origin if the primary one fails.

Competitive pricing

While delivering powerful performance and technology, Alibaba Cloud CDN offers highly competitive pricing:

• Flexible and diverse billing methods are available. For details, see Billing overview.

• Pre-paid plans offer year-round discounts. For details, see CDN plans.

Alibaba Cloud CDN offers various billing methods and resource plans.

For all billing methods of Alibaba Cloud CDN, see CDN Pricing.

Powerful ecosystem

Alibaba Cloud provides a powerful product ecosystem:

• If you use other Alibaba Cloud products, leveraging the ecosystem to access CDN services can streamline your business operations and improve efficiency.

  If you use...	CDN enables you...
  ECS	Using ECS as a CDN origin server improves your website's access speed.
  OSS	Using OSS as a CDN origin server improves your website's access speed and reduces OSS outbound traffic costs.
  Function Compute	Using Function Compute as a CDN origin server improves your website's access speed.

• CDN excels at accelerating static content. For scenarios with a mix of dynamic and static content, or those that require stronger security, we offer corresponding products.

  If your business or requirement is...	We recommend you use...	Description
  A greater focus on security, balancing both security and acceleration for both static and dynamic content	Edge Security Acceleration (ESA)	ESA caches static content, routes and optimizes dynamic requests at the edge. ESA also provides integrated security services such as DDoS and WAF, filtering and blocking malicious traffic closer to the source of the request.

• If you have already activated Alibaba Cloud CDN, you can also explore other related products to meet your business needs.

  If your case or requirement is...	We recommend you use...	Description
  Accelerating on-demand audio and video content	ApsaraVideo VOD	ApsaraVideo VOD is an end-to-end service for on-demand audio and video, integrating audio and video uploading, automated transcoding, media resource management, and delivery acceleration.
  Accelerating live streaming media	ApsaraVideo Live	ApsaraVideo Live is an audio and video live streaming platform built on content ingestion and distribution networks and large-scale, distributed real-time transcoding technology. It provides high-definition, smooth, low-latency, and high-concurrency live audio and video services.
  You do not have a domain name before using CDN services	Domain Names	Alibaba Cloud Domain Name Service is a comprehensive domain management platform that integrates domain registration, transaction, monitoring, and protection. It works with Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing and Alibaba Cloud DNS to provide you with end-to-end domain services.
  A website providing services in Chinese mainland	ICP filing	According to the "Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services" and the "Measures for the Administration of Non-commercial Internet Information Service Filing" in China, a filing system is implemented for non-commercial internet information services and a licensing system for commercial ones. No one may engage in internet information services without obtaining a license or completing the filing procedures. This means all websites that provide services to Chinese mainland must first complete an ICP filing before they can be activated. The Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system provides services for applying for, modifying, and canceling filing information, and claiming existing filings.
  Implementing sitewide HTTPS and configuring HTTPS certificates	Certificate Management Service	The SSL Certificates Service provides server digital certificates directly on the Alibaba Cloud platform, in cooperation with digital certificate authorities. Purchase or obtain free digital certificates directly on the Alibaba Cloud platform and deploy them in Alibaba Cloud products with one click. This provides a convenient way to convert your services from HTTP to HTTPS, enabling website authentication and encrypted data transmission.
  Improving O&M and operational efficiency, and building large-scale log processing capabilities	Simple Log Service	Log Service (SLS) is a one-stop service for log-type data. Without writing code, you can quickly complete log data collection, consumption, delivery, query, and analysis. This improves O&M and operational efficiency and enables you to process massive amounts of log data.
  Monitoring Alibaba Cloud resources and internet applications	Cloud Monitor	CloudMonitor is a service for monitoring Alibaba Cloud resources and internet applications. It collects monitoring metrics for Alibaba Cloud resources, detects service availability, and allows you to set alerts based on these metrics.

Comprehensive service

Alibaba Cloud CDN provides several services, including:

• Global service: 24/7 network monitoring and support.

• Documentation: To learn about the product, see CDN documentations.

• Support: Submit feedback, ask questions, or consult with our pre-sales and after-sales teams.