This topic describes how to get started with Alibaba Cloud CDN.
Understand the basics of CDN
Purchase guide
You are billed for basic services (required) and value-added services (optional). Choose a metering method based on your business requirements. For more information, see Billing overview.
CDN provides cost-effective resource plans. For more information, see Guidelines for choosing resource plans.
Usage process
The following figure shows how to get started with CDN.
Complete ICP filing: According to the laws of China and the requirements of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), you must complete an ICP filing for domain names that are resolved to websites and apps whose servers are located in the Chinese mainland before the websites and apps can provide services. If you have completed an ICP filing for the domain name, you can proceed to the next step.
Activate CDN: Log on to the console and activate CDN.
Add a domain name: After you add a domain name in the CDN console, the system pushes the configuration of the domain name to all points of presence (POPs). The first time you add a domain name to CDN, you need to verify the ownership of a domain name by using a DNS record of the domain name. Once the domain passes the verification, its subdomains do not require separate ownership verification.
(Optional) Configure system-recommended features: After you add a domain name to CDN, we recommend that you configure features, such as cache expiration, bandwidth cap, and HTML optimization, for the domain name. This improves the cache hit ratio, security, and access performance of CDN.
Test domain name accessibility: After you add a domain name to CDN, we recommend that you perform a local test on the domain name to verify that the domain name is accessible and then map the DNS record of the domain name to the CNAME. This ensures that DNS updates do not affect the services.
Add a CNAME record for a domain name: After you add a domain name, CDN assigns a CNAME to the domain name. You need to add a CNAME record in the system of your DNS service provider to map the domain name to the CNAME before acceleration can take effect.
Determine the acceleration region
Visitor location | Acceleration performance | Acceleration region |
Chinese mainland | All requests are redirected to points of presence (POPs) that are deployed in the Chinese mainland. Requests from outside the Chinese mainland are redirected to POPs that are managed by China Telecom (East China Division). | Chinese Mainland Only |
Outside the Chinese mainland | All requests are redirected to POPs that are deployed outside the Chinese mainland. Requests from the Chinese mainland are redirected to POPs that are deployed in Japan, Singapore, or Hong Kong (China). | Global (Excluding the Chinese Mainland) |
Global | All requests are redirected to the nearest POPs. | Global |
Advanced features and best practices
For more information, see User Guide and Best Practices.
Feedback and suggestions
If you have questions or suggestions about CDN, you can report them through the following methods. Customer service will follow up on your feedback.
If you find errors in the documentation, including link errors, content errors, and API operation errors, you can click the Feedback icon on the right side of the page to report the errors.
If you have questions about CDN, submit a ticket.