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Edge Security Acceleration:HTTPS rules

Last Updated:Dec 23, 2025

By configuring rules, you can enforce HTTPS connections between clients and Edge Security Acceleration (ESA) points of presence (POPs). You can also enable opportunistic encryption and configure the HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) feature to ensure that the browser accesses HTTP links through an encrypted TLS connection, forcing the client to use HTTPS connections to enhance security.

Before you begin

Before you configure Always Use HTTPS, make sure that your website has configured and enabled the SSL/TLS certificate. For more information, see Configure an edge certificate.

Configure HTTPS rules

  1. In the ESA console, choose Websites. In the Website column, click the target website.

  2. In the left navigation pane, choose Rules > HTTPS Rules.

  3. Click Create Rule and enter a Rule Name.

  4. In the If requests match... section, set the request features to match. For more information about how to configure rules, see Rule expression components.

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  5. In the Then execute... section, enable Always Use HTTPS, Opportunistic Encryption, and HSTS based on your business requirements.

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    • Always Use HTTPS

      You can use the Always Use HTTPS feature to force redirect client requests to ESA POPs from HTTP to HTTPS.

      Note

      After you configure Always Use HTTPS, if your application references non-encrypted HTTP resources, a "Mixed Content" warning may be displayed on the visitor's browser.

    • Opportunistic Encryption

      Opportunistic encryption enables browsers to access HTTP links over an encrypted TLS connection. This enhances security for websites that have not fully migrated to HTTPS.

    • HSTS

      You can enable the HSTS feature to force clients such as browsers to use HTTPS to establish connections to ESA POPs. This helps improve connection security.

      • Status (Strict-Transport-Security)

        Indicates whether the response carries the Strict-Transport-Security header.

      • Validity Period (max-age)

        The time-to-live (TTL) of the HSTS header. Unit: seconds. Clients can initiate only HTTPS requests during this period.

      • Apply to Subdomains (includeSubDomains)

        Optional. If you turn on Apply to Subdomains, HSTS is enabled for the domain name and all subdomains of the domain name.

      • Preload (preload)

        Optional. This parameter allows you to add the domain name to the HSTS preloaded list of the browser.

References

Rule-related features vary in execution priorityrule behavior, and configuration scope. For more information, see How ESA rules take effect.