This topic describes how to build websites on Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances.
Procedure
- Select an ECS instance.
Different types of websites have different requirements on instance configurations. Select an appropriate instance based on the website size and the number of potential visitors. In most cases, you can select instances that have basic configurations for small websites. We recommend that you select an instance in the same way as you purchase an instance. For more information, see Create an instance by using the wizard.
The following table describes recommended instance types and disks.
Configuration Recommendation Instance type - Instance types in the s6 shared standard and t6 burstable instance families. These instance types are cost-effective and meet basic requirements on website building.
- Instance types in the c6 compute-optimized and g6 general-purpose instance families. These instance types deliver high performance and are suitable for website building scenarios that require reliable instance performance.
For more information about how to select instance families and instance types, see Instance family and Best practices for instance type selection.
You can upgrade or downgrade an instance based on your needs. For more information, see Instance families that support instance type changes.
Disk - Performance level 0 (PL0) enhanced SSDs (ESSDs): use the next-generation distributed Elastic Block Storage (EBS) architecture to deliver ultra-high performance. For more information, see ESSDs.
- Ultra disks: provide cost-effectiveness, medium random IOPS, and high reliability.
For more information about the performance metrics and specifications of disks, see EBS performance.
- Configure rules for the security group.
By default, ports 22 and 3389 that are required to connect to an instance are enabled when you create a security group. For this step, make sure that these ports are enabled to allow inbound traffic. If these ports are not enabled, manually configure security group rules to allow inbound traffic on these ports. For more information, see Add a security group rule.
- Deploy a website.
Select a method to deploy your website. For more information, see Summary of website building methods.
- Purchase a domain name.
Enter a domain name that you want to purchase. If the domain name is not in use, you can purchase it. For more information, see Register a generic domain name.
For information about the differences between the .com and .net suffixes, see Domain name differences.
- Apply for an Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing for the domain name.
Note If the instance that hosts your website is located in a region within the Chinese mainland, you must apply for an ICP filing for your domain name. Otherwise, you can skip this step.
- Prepare for the ICP filing.
For more information about ICP filing regulations, see ICP filing regulations of the MIIT for different regions. For more information about preparations for ICP filings, see Overview.
- Apply for the ICP filing.
- Prepare for the ICP filing.
- Resolve the domain name.
You can resolve your domain name in Alibaba Cloud DNS. For more information, see Configure domain name resolution. After you configure the domain name resolution, users can visit your website by using the configured domain name.
To map the domain name to an IP address, add an A record. For more information, see Record types.
- (Optional) Enable secure HTTPS access.
SSL Certificates Service allows you to redirect traffic to your websites or mobile applications from HTTP to HTTPS at minimal costs. You can use SSL certificates to authenticate users and encrypt data. For more information, see What is Certificate Management Service? If you purchase and download an SSL certificate, the methods of installing the certificate on severs in different environments vary. For more information, see Installation overview.
After you perform the preceding steps, a website is built on your own. You can use the domain name to visit the website and check whether the service is normal.
Billing
An ECS instance includes computing resources (vCPUs and memory), an image, EBS devices, public bandwidth, and snapshots. You are charged for these resources.
- Subscription: You pay for resources upfront and use them over a specified period of time.
- Pay-as-you-go: You pay for resources after you use them. Resources can be purchased and released as needed.
- Preemptible instance: You can bid for available computing resources to create preemptible instances. Preemptible instances offer discounts compared with pay-as-you-go instances. However, preemptible instances can be reclaimed.
- Reserved instance: Reserved instances are discount coupons that are used together with pay-as-you-go instances. When you purchase a reserved instance, you make a commitment to use instances that have specified configurations such as instance type, region, and zone to receive discounted billing. Reserved instances are applied to offset the bills of computing resources.
- Savings plan: Savings plans are discount plans that are used together with pay-as-you-go instances. When you purchase a savings plan, you make a commitment to use a consistent amount (measured in USD/hour) of resources to receive discounted billing. Saving plans are applied to offset the bills of computing resources and system disks.
- Storage capacity unit (SCU): SCUs are storage resource plans provided for use with pay-as-you-go storage resources. When you purchase an SCU, you make a commitment to use storage resources of specific capacity to receive discounted billing. SCUs are applied to offset the bills of various storage resources such as EBS devices, Apsara File Storage NAS file systems, and Object Storage Service (OSS) buckets.
For more information about the billing methods of ECS instances, see Overview and the Pricing tab of the Elastic Compute Service product page.
FAQ
The following section provides answers to frequently asked questions about using ECS instances or building websites:
References
- For information about how to select Alibaba Cloud services and configurations based on your business needs, see Architecture Consulting Service.
- If you want to migrate your business from your data center or a hosted data center to Alibaba Cloud, you can request technical support from Alibaba Cloud for cloud migration. For more information, see Cloud Migration Service.