This topic provides answers to some frequently asked questions about registered clusters.

Are registered clusters free of charge?

Registered clusters are free of charge. However, other relevant cloud resources are billed. For more information, see Resources that are involved when you register clusters.

Can I use cloud computing resources to scale out an external cluster that is deployed in a data center?

Yes. For more information, see Create a hybrid cluster.

What are the requirements for connecting an external cluster to the cluster registration proxy?

The cluster registration proxy provides a public endpoint and an internal endpoint. For more information about how to enable Internet access for the cluster API server by using an elastic IP address (EIP), see Control public access to the API server of a cluster.

You must register external clusters in the ACK console by using the internal endpoint in the following scenarios:
  • Use the node pool feature to add Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances or ECS bare metal instances to the registered external cluster. For more information, see Create a hybrid cluster.
  • Use the ack-virtual-node component to deploy elastic container instances in the registered external cluster. For more information, see Scale out elastic container instances.

Make sure that the external cluster can access the endpoint of the cluster registration proxy through port 5533. For more information about how to connect external clusters to Alibaba Cloud by using Express Connect circuits, see Physical connection solutions.

Other features, such as cluster management, security management, logs, and monitoring and alerting, do not have requirements on internal network connectivity. However, you must make sure that the external cluster can access the Internet.