This topic describes the network solutions provided by Alibaba Cloud for connecting your VPC to the Internet, other VPCs, and on-premises data centers.
Connect a VPC to the public network
Product | Function | Benefits |
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ECS public IP address | A public IPv4 address that can be automatically assigned upon request when you create
an ECS instance in a VPC network. An ECS public IP address enables the ECS instance
access to or from the public network.
An ECS public IP address cannot be dynamically detached from the corresponding ECS instance in VPC network, but it can be converted to an EIP. For more information, see Convert an automatically assigned public IP address to an EIP for a VPC network-connected ECS instance. |
After purchasing a Data Transfer Plan, the traffic generated by an ECS instance is automatically deducted from the Data Transfer Plan. You can add an ECS instance to Internet Shared Bandwidth after converting its public IP address to an EIP. |
Elastic public IP address (EIP) | Enables access to or from the public network for the associated ECS instances. |
EIPs can be associated to or disassociated from ECS instances. You can purchase Internet Shared Bandwidth and Data Transfer Plan and associate them with EIPs to reduce Internet costs. |
NAT Gateway | Allows multiple ECS instances to access the Internet (SNAT) and be accessed from the
Internet (DNAT).
Note NAT gateways do not support traffic balancing, which is a supported feature of Server
Load Balancer (SLB).
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A NAT Gateway can be used for multiple ECS instances to access the Internet, while an EIP can be used for only one ECS instance of the VPC network type to access the Internet. |
Server Load Balancer (SLB) |
Provides layer-4 and layer-7 server load balancing, which makes ECS instances accessible
from the public network.
Note ECS instances of the VPC network type cannot access the public network through SLB
(SNAT not supported).
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The DNAT function of SLBs allows them to forward an Internet request to multiple ECS
instances.
SLB expands the external service capabilities by distributing traffic to multiple ECSs, and improves the availability of application systems by eliminating single points of failure. After you associate an EIP with an SLB instance, you can use Internet Shared Bandwidth and Data Transfer Plan to reduce Internet costs. |
Connect two VPCs
Product | Function | Benefits |
---|---|---|
Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) |
Allows you to connect VPCs in different regions under different accounts to build an interconnected network. For more information, see Tutorial overview. |
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VPN gateway | Allows you to create an IPsec-VPN connection to build an encrypted channel between
two VPCs.
For more information, see Establish a connection between two VPCs. |
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Connect a VPC to an on-premises data center
Product | Function | Benefits |
---|---|---|
Express Connect | Connects a VPC to an on-premises data center through a physical connection.
For more information, see What is physical connection. |
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VPN gateway |
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CEN |
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Smart Access Gateway |
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