Alibaba Cloud provides classic network and Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) network types.

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

VPCs are logically isolated networks established in Alibaba Cloud. You can customize the topology and IP addresses in a VPC. We recommend that the VPC network type is used if have high network security requirements.

For more information about VPC, see Virtual Private Cloud documentation.

Classic network

A classic network is deployed in the public infrastructure of Alibaba Cloud, which is responsible for its planning and management. We recommend that the classic network type is used if your business requirements are high in terms of network usability.

Note If you purchased an ECS instance after 17:00 (UTC+8) on June 14, 2017, you cannot choose the classic network type.

VPC vs. Classic networks

The following table describes key network functions and indicates whether they are supported within VPCs and classic networks.

Items VPC Classic network
Two-layer logic isolation Supported Not supported
Custom private network blocks Supported Not supported
Private IP addresses Unique within one VPC. Replicable between VPCs. Unique in the global Classic network
Communicate within or between private networks Able to communicate within a VPC, but isolated between VPCs Able to communicate in one region and under one account
Tunneling Supported Not supported
Custom router Supported Not supported
Routing table Supported Not supported
Switches Supported Not supported
SDN Supported Not supported
Self-built NAT gateway Supported Not supported
Self-built VPN Supported Not supported