CDN:Core advantages of Alibaba Cloud CDN

Global POP coverage

Alibaba Cloud CDN operates 3,200+ Points of Presence (POPs) worldwide: 2,300+ POPs across all 31 provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland, and 900+ POPs spanning 70+ countries and regions — including China (Hong Kong) and China (Macao). Total network bandwidth capacity reaches 180 Tbps.

This scale means end users are served from a nearby POP regardless of location, reducing latency and improving reliability.

Industry certifications

Alibaba Cloud CDN holds the following certifications and recognitions:

• Level 3 of the Multi-Level Protection Scheme (MLPS), certified by China's Ministry of Public Security

• PCI DSS certified

• Recognized as a global CDN service provider by Gartner

• IPv6 Enabled CDN Logo

Console and API capabilities

The CDN console and open APIs cover the full range of configuration and management tasks:

Programmable CDN with EdgeScript

Alibaba Cloud CDN supports both simple console-based configuration and custom logic through EdgeScript (ES). Write lightweight ES scripts to implement custom business logic without waiting for release cycles — giving you the agility to respond to changing requirements quickly.

All console functions are also available through APIs. See the API reference for details.

Precise traffic routing

Alibaba Cloud CDN routes each user request to the optimal POP through multiple complementary mechanisms:

• Continuously updated IP database: The mapping system identifies each user's region and ISP, assigning the nearest POP from the same ISP. The database is continuously updated for accuracy.

• HTTPDNS: Clients bypass the carrier's Local DNS and query the CDN mapping system directly over HTTP, getting the optimal POP for a given domain name and preventing DNS hijacking. This requires client-side integration.

• POP health analysis: The mapping system monitors all POPs and links in real time, routing users away from low-quality POPs before they affect the user experience.

• Content-based routing: For large file downloads and video on demand, a 302 redirect scheduling mechanism directs user requests through a central scheduler that picks the best POP based on request content, improving the cache hit ratio.

Intelligent caching

• Hierarchical caching: A popularity algorithm caches frequently accessed resources at the appropriate cache tier, maximizing cache hit ratio across the network.

• High-performance cache: The cache system balances multi-core CPU processing, memory management, and SSD (Solid-State Drive) IOPS and throughput for maximum efficiency.

• High-speed SSD storage: Every POP uses high-speed SSD storage, reducing wait times and improving availability.

• Efficient origin fetch: A failover and retry mechanism keeps origin requests reliable and ensures content stays synchronized.

Transport protocol optimization

• QUIC support: QUIC is a UDP-based transport protocol that combines capabilities of TCP, TLS, and HTTP/2. It reduces latency and increases concurrent connection capacity for modern application workloads.

• Custom TCP stack: Tuned congestion control and packet loss detection algorithms improve TCP throughput under real-world network conditions.

Built-in security

Alibaba Cloud CDN protects your content and infrastructure with the following capabilities:

• Hotlink Protection: Prevent unauthorized use of your origin resources using Referer-, UA-, URL-, and IP-based authentication, custom EdgeScript authentication logic, or remote authentication for secondary validation.

• DNS hijacking protection: HTTPDNS retrieves domain resolution results directly over HTTP, bypassing carrier Local DNS to prevent domain hijacking.

• HTTPS transport encryption: Encrypt HTTP traffic with TLS, including advanced options such as TLS 1.3 and HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security).

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

• Origin reliability: Configure primary and secondary origin servers. Alibaba Cloud CDN monitors both continuously and switches to the secondary origin automatically if the primary fails.

Choose the right billing method

For all billing options, see CDN Pricing.

Use Alibaba Cloud products as CDN origins

Combining Alibaba Cloud products with CDN streamlines delivery and reduces costs:

Extend CDN with related products

CDN accelerates static content efficiently. For mixed dynamic-static workloads, stronger security requirements, or specialized media delivery, use the following products: