To use a physical connection to access Alibaba Cloud, you can use an exclusive physical connection, a shared physical connection, or Cloud Hosting.

Overview

Alibaba Cloud supports the following physical connection solutions:

  • Exclusive physical connections

    The following figure shows a physical connection solution. The solution uses an Alibaba Cloud physical port and a leased line provided by a third-party service provider to connect an on-premises data center to an Alibaba Cloud access point. You can apply for a physical connection interface by using the Express Connect console. For more information, see Create a dedicated physical connection.

  • Shared physical connections

    The following figure shows a physical connection solution. The solution uses a leased line and the network provided by a third-party service provider to connect an on-premises data center to Alibaba Cloud. In this solution, the third-party service provider establishes the link between their access point and an Alibaba Cloud access point that can be shared by multiple tenants. For more information, see Establish a shared physical connection.

  • Cloud Hosting

    Cloud Hosting is an end-to-end hybrid cloud service provided by Alibaba Cloud. You can use one or two multimode LC to LC OM3 fiber patch cables to connect to the aggregation switch in the Alibaba Cloud data center. This way, you can access VPCs in the cloud.

Comparison of the physical connection solutions

Item Exclusive physical connection Shared physical connection Cloud Hosting
Recommended bandwidth 1 GE to 100 GE <1 GE 50 Mbit/s to10 GE
Overall construction period Two to three months One month Two months
User experience Multiple parties and complex operations are involved.
  • You must purchase a physical connection interface in the Alibaba Cloud console.
  • You must contact the service provider and require the service provider to connect the on-premises data center to the Alibaba Cloud data center by using a leased line.
  • You must debug the connection devices.
  • You must configure the connection in the cloud.
 Two parties and simple operations are involved.
  • You must contact the service provider and require the service provider to connect the on-premises data center to its network by using a leased line.
  • You must debug the connection devices.
  • You must configure the connection to the cloud.
 An end-to-end solution is implemented to connect the on-premises data center to the cloud.
Port type Exclusive Shared Shared
Billing An initial installation fee (one-time charge) and a resource occupation fee (on a monthly basis) are charged by Alibaba Cloud.

The Alibaba Cloud data center provider charges fees generated for indoor cable installation in the Alibaba Cloud data center.

The on-premises data center provider charges fees generated for indoor cable installation in the on-premises data center.

The service provider charges other cable installation fees and bandwidth rental fees. For more information, see Billing of physical connections.

You do not need to pay a one-time initial installation fee and a resource occupation fee for the port that you use.

The on-premises data center provider charges fees generated for indoor cable installation in the on-premises data center.

The service provider charges other cable installation fees and bandwidth rental fees.

 Contact your Alibaba Cloud account manager.
Cable installation limits at the Alibaba Cloud side
  • If you need optical modules with 40 GE or 100 GE ports, you must provide the optical modules yourself.
  • If you need optical modules with 1 GE or 10 GE ports, and a transmission distance within 10 km, Alibaba Cloud provides the optical modules free of charge. If you need optical modules with a transmission distance longer than 10 km, you must purchase the optical modules yourself.
  • If you purchase optical ports, ensure that the service provider uses optical fibers to access Alibaba Cloud ports. Otherwise, the cables cannot be connected to the ports.
  • If you purchase copper ports, ensure that the service provider uses copper cables to access Alibaba Cloud ports. Otherwise, the cables cannot be connected to the ports.
  • Alibaba Cloud data centers do not host any fiber optical transceivers.
  • During lockdown periods of Alibaba Cloud data centers (such as Double 11, Double 12, and the Chinese New Year), you must apply for approval before your cable installation company can go to Alibaba Cloud data centers for cable installation.
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Cable installation limits at the service provider side Only the Hangzhou-Yuhang-A access point and the access points in the China (Zhangjiakou) region are operated by Alibaba Cloud. Access points that are located in other data centers are operated by service providers or third-party data center providers. Some China Telecom branches may require a permit before your cable installation company can go to data centers for cable installation. To obtain such permits, you must contact the data center providers yourself.

Some China Telecom branches may require you to have an authorization letter that is acknowledged and stamped by your company and by Alibaba Cloud. To have the letter stamped by Alibaba Cloud, submit a ticket.

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Site survey After your application is approved, Alibaba Cloud will help the engineers perform the site survey within two workdays. N/A N/A
Service Level Agreement (SLA) provided by Alibaba Cloud for fiber pigtail installation
  • Data centers within mainland China: two workdays.
  • Data centers outside mainland China: two workdays to four workdays.
  • During lockdown periods of Alibaba Cloud data centers: eight workdays.
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