This topic describes the terms that are used in Alibaba Cloud Edge Node Service (ENS).
ENS
ENS provides elastic infrastructure capabilities such as computing, network, storage, and security based on edge locations (regions and Internet service providers). ENS helps build a two-layer architecture of center and edge. ENS brings network forwarding, storage, and computing at the edge to reduce the loads in the cloud. Compared with central-based cloud services, ENS has the characteristics of lower network latency and a smaller amount of data transmitted. ENS has advantages in performance, costs, and features.
instance
An ENS instance is a virtual machine that contains the basic components of a server, such as CPU, memory, operating system, network configurations, and disks. After you log on to the Alibaba Cloud ENS console, you can manage and configure your ENS instances.
image
An image is a template of ENS instances. An image includes an operating system and pre-installed software. You can use an image to create an ENS instance or replace the system disk of an ENS instance.