Standard Global Accelerator (GA) instances connect users in different acceleration regions to origin servers deployed in various regions and accelerate content delivery at Layer 4 (TCP and UDP) and Layer 7 (HTTP and HTTPS).
Overview of standard GA instances
Standard GA instances support multiple access modes and provide a Global Accelerator network to deliver end-to-end acceleration for backend services, improving the access experience for users worldwide.
Access modes
Standard GA instances support access via an accelerated IP address or a CNAME. When a client connects to an accelerated IP address or CNAME, traffic is routed to the nearest access point of the Alibaba Cloud global transmission network.
Accelerated IP address
Elastic IP Address (EIP): GA provides separate EIP based on acceleration regions. Users in each region can connect to GA through region-specific EIPs.
Anycast Elastic IP Address (Anycast EIP): GA provides two Anycast EIPs across multiple regions worldwide. Users in all regions can automatically connect to the nearest access point through Anycast EIPs.
CNAME
Map the domain name that you want to accelerate to the CNAME allocated by GA to accelerate access to the backend service.
Acceleration network
Standard GA instances connect users in different acceleration regions to backend servers deployed in different regions and accelerate content delivery at Layer 4 (TCP and UDP) and Layer 7 (HTTP and HTTPS). Additionally, standard GA instances support nearby termination of TCP connections and nearby SSL offloading based on optimizations of the TCP, HTTP, and HTTPS protocols. This further improves the acceleration performance of content delivery.
After GA receives client requests, it forwards them to endpoints based on the routing type of the listener to optimize data transmission quality and reduce latency and network jitter.
Backend service connection
The following network connections are supported when GA forwards client requests to backend services:
Private network connection: Used for endpoints deployed on Alibaba Cloud. Supported endpoint types include Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances in VPCs, Application Load Balancer (ALB) instances, Network Load Balancer (NLB) instances, Classic Load Balancer (CLB) instances in VPCs, Object Storage Service (OSS), Elastic Network Interface (ENI), custom private IP addresses, and vSwitches (vSwitch). This prevents backend services from being exposed to the Internet and ensures the security of network connections.
Internet connection: For endpoints deployed outside Alibaba Cloud, including Internet-facing CLB instances, Alibaba Cloud public IP addresses, custom public IP addresses, and custom domain names.
Billing method
GA instances support the subscription and pay-as-you-go billing methods. Different billing methods support different bandwidth billing options. You can choose a billing method suitable for your business scenario.
Instance billing method | Bandwidth billing method | Use cases |
pay-by-data-transfer (settled by CDT) | You do not need to estimate the required instance specifications. Billable items are charged based on their actual usage. This billing method is ideal for scenarios with fluctuating business usage. If you cannot predict resource and traffic usage, we recommend selecting a pay-as-you-go GA instance. | |
pay-by-bandwidth (settled by a bandwidth plan) | You must purchase an instance of the required specification in advance and associate a bandwidth plan with the instance before you can complete other configurations. This billing method is suitable for services with stable, long-term workloads. |
The first time you use a pay-as-you-go GA instance, you must Activate the Service.
You can purchase GA resource plans to offset the Capacity Unit (CU) fees and instance fees of pay-as-you-go GA instances. Resource plans are more cost-effective than the pay-as-you-go billing method. For more information, see GA resource plans.
You can select the billing method only when you purchase a GA instance. The billing method cannot be changed after a GA instance is created.
Acceleration configurations
Acceleration configuration (pay-as-you-go)
Accelerated IP address type
A pay-as-you-go standard GA instance supports two accelerated IP address types: EIP and Anycast EIP.
Item | Elastic IP Address | Anycast EIP |
Access mode | Uses the custom nearby access mode. You must configure an acceleration area.  You can select acceleration areas and regions as needed. GA provides an EIP for each acceleration region. | Uses the automatic nearby access mode. You do not need to configure an acceleration area.  GA provides two Anycast EIPs in multiple regions across the globe. Clients can connect to the nearest access point of the Alibaba Cloud acceleration network through the Anycast EIPs. |
Supported access points | GA supports Acceleration areas and regions. | Relies on access points covered by Anycast EIP to provide network acceleration, mainly for regions outside the Chinese mainland. Clients in the Chinese mainland connect through China (Hong Kong). |
Features |
|
|
The Anycast EIP accelerated IP address type is available only to beta users. To use this feature, contact your account manager.
The number of accelerated IP addresses for each acceleration region of a medium GA instance varies based on the billing method of the instance and the accelerated IP address type:
Pay-as-you-go GA instances
If the accelerated IP address type is Elastic IP Address, two EIPs are allocated to each acceleration region. The two EIPs can be used to simultaneously accelerate client traffic and ensure high availability for the acceleration region.
If the accelerated IP address type is Anycast EIP, GA provides two Anycast EIPs in multiple regions across the globe.
Subscription GA instances
Only the Elastic IP Address type is supported. One EIP is allocated to each acceleration region.
ISP line type
For a GA instance that uses the pay-as-you-go billing method and the EIP accelerated IP address type, you can select an ISP line type for the acceleration region.
BGP (Multi-ISP): BGP (Multi-ISP) provides high-quality BGP lines that cover multiple regions across the globe. It connects to the networks of multiple carriers and automatically selects the optimal route to ensure fast and stable access.
All acceleration regions support and use the BGP (Multi-ISP) type by default.
BGP Pro: BGP Pro is a premium network line that optimizes traffic from regions outside the Chinese mainland to the Chinese mainland. It improves the quality of international connections. Compared with standard BGP (Multi-ISP) lines, BGP Pro lines provide lower latency when they serve clients in the Chinese mainland (excluding data centers in the Chinese mainland) because they are directly connected to the Chinese mainland through premium carrier networks.
Currently, GA supports the BGP Pro type only in the China (Hong Kong) and Japan (Tokyo) regions.
Transmission network type
Select a transmission network type only if your business requires cross-border acceleration between the Chinese mainland and regions outside the mainland.
Premium Bandwidth For Cross-domain Acceleration: uses premium BGP lines to accelerate connections between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), Taiwan (China), or other countries and regions.
Compared with Leased Line for Cross-domain Acceleration, this option simplifies the enterprise real-name registration process.
Leased Line For Cross-domain Acceleration: uses cross-domain leased lines to accelerate connections between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), Taiwan (China), or other countries and regions.
This option provides better acceleration performance than Premium Bandwidth for Cross-domain Acceleration, but you must complete enterprise real-name registration.
For more information about these network quality attributes, see Data transfer fees and Cross-border data transfer fees.
You can select an ISP line type and a transmission network type based on the service region and the region that requires acceleration.
The configured acceleration region and endpoint group determine the geographic distribution of your service.
If your accelerated service is deployed in the Chinese mainland, or if the acceleration area includes the Chinese mainland, you must complete ICP filing for your domain name before providing services.
If your accelerated service is deployed in a region outside the Chinese mainland and the acceleration area includes the Chinese mainland, you must complete an ICP filing for your service's domain name or select the China (Hong Kong) BGP (Multi-ISP) Pro line as the acceleration area for users in the Chinese mainland.
For pay-as-you-go instances, whether the service is deployed on Alibaba Cloud only determines whether public network data transfer fees are charged for traffic between the acceleration region and the endpoint group's region. This does not affect the choice of ISP line types or transmission network types.
Acceleration area | Service region | ICP filing required | ISP line type | Transmission network type |
Chinese mainland | Chinese mainland | Yes | BGP (Multi-ISP) | Not applicable |
Regions outside the Chinese mainland, including China (Hong Kong), China (Macao), and China (Taiwan) | No | BGP (Multi-ISP) Pro You must select China (Hong Kong) or Japan (Tokyo) as the acceleration area. | Not applicable | |
Yes | BGP (Multi-ISP) | Default: Premium Bandwidth Cross-border Acceleration You can also switch to Dedicated Line Cross-border Acceleration. | ||
Regions outside the Chinese mainland, including China (Hong Kong), China (Macao), and China (Taiwan) | Regions outside the Chinese mainland, including China (Hong Kong), China (Macao), and China (Taiwan) | No | BGP (Multi-ISP) | Not applicable |
Chinese mainland | Yes | BGP (Multi-ISP) | Default: Premium Bandwidth Cross-border Acceleration You can also switch to Dedicated Line Cross-border Acceleration. If you select China (Hong Kong) as the region for the endpoint group, the transmission network type is not applicable. |
Accelerated configuration (subscription)
The acceleration configurations of a subscription standard GA instance include the instance specification and bandwidth plan type.
Instance specification
A subscription standard Global Accelerator instance supports multiple specifications. Each specification provides different acceleration capabilities, as shown in the following table.
Specification | Number of acceleration regions | Maximum bandwidth | Maximum concurrent connections |
Small I | 1 | 20 Mbps | 5,000 |
Small II | 2 | 40 Mbps | 10,000 |
Small III | 3 | 60 Mbps | 15,000 |
Medium I | 5 | 100 Mbps | 25,000 |
Medium II | 8 | 160 Mbps | 40,000 |
Medium III | 10 | 200 Mbps | 50,000 |
Large I | All acceleration regions. For information about the acceleration areas and regions supported by Global Accelerator, see Acceleration areas. | 400 Mbps | 100,000 |
Large II | 600 Mbps | 150,000 | |
Large III | 800 Mbps | 200,000 | |
Large IV | 1 Gbps | 250,000 | |
Large V | 1.2 Gbps | 300,000 | |
Large VI | 1.4 Gbps | 350,000 | |
Large VII | 1.6 Gbps | 400,000 | |
Large VIII | 1.8 Gbps | 450,000 | |
Super Large I | 2 Gbps | 500,000 | |
Super Large II | 4 Gbps | 1,000,000 |
Large III and higher instance types are not available by default. To use these instance types, contact your business manager.
Bandwidth plan type
After you purchase a subscription Global Accelerator instance, you must also associate a basic bandwidth plan with the Global Accelerator instance.
A basic bandwidth plan supports three bandwidth types: basic bandwidth, enhanced bandwidth, and premium bandwidth. These types differ in acceleration capabilities, supported endpoints, and acceleration scope, as detailed in the following table.
Bandwidth type | Acceleration type | Accelerated backend service | Acceleration scope |
Standard Acceleration Bandwidth | Applications deployed on Alibaba Cloud |
| By default, the acceleration area and the area where the endpoint is deployed are located in the Chinese mainland |
Enhanced |
|
| By default, the acceleration area and the area where the endpoint is deployed are located in the Chinese mainland |
Premium |
|
| By default, the acceleration area and the area where the endpoint is deployed are located outside the Chinese mainland. If you want to accelerate data transfer between the Chinese mainland and other areas, you must select China (Hong Kong) as the acceleration region |
For more information about backend service types, see Endpoint groups and endpoints.
You can select a bandwidth type based on the service region, deployment location, and the region that requires acceleration.
If your accelerated service is deployed in the Chinese mainland, or if the acceleration area includes the Chinese mainland, you must complete ICP filing before you can provide services.
Acceleration area | Service region | Server deployment | ICP filing required | Bandwidth type |
Chinese mainland | Chinese mainland | On Alibaba Cloud | Yes | basic bandwidth |
Outside Alibaba Cloud | Yes | enhanced bandwidth | ||
Regions outside the Chinese mainland | On Alibaba Cloud | No | premium bandwidth You must select China (Hong Kong) as the acceleration region. | |
Outside Alibaba Cloud | No | premium bandwidth You must select China (Hong Kong) as the acceleration region. | ||
Regions outside the Chinese mainland | Regions outside the Chinese mainland | On Alibaba Cloud or outside Alibaba Cloud | No | premium bandwidth |
Chinese mainland | On Alibaba Cloud | Yes | premium bandwidth You must select China (Hong Kong) as the region for the endpoint group. | |
Outside Alibaba Cloud | Yes | premium bandwidth You must select China (Hong Kong) as the region for the endpoint group. |
References
For information about how to use standard GA instances, see Get started with GA.
For information about how to manage GA instances, see the following topics:
For information about how to accelerate access to a backend service by specifying the domain name, see the following topics:
To accelerate access to a backend service, you need to map the domain name that you want to accelerate to the CNAME that is allocated by GA. For more information, see Configure a CNAME record.
GA provides a ICP filing-free service for accelerated domain names. After you associate an accelerated domain name that has an Internet Content Provider (ICP) number with a Global Accelerator instance, you do not need to complete further ICP filing for the domain name or its subdomains on Alibaba Cloud. For more information, see Domain name management.
Application Load Balancer (ALB) is integrated with GA. You can purchase a pay-as-you-go standard GA instance when you create an ALB instance. For more information, see Accelerate applications by integrating ALB with GA.
Basic GA instances provide one-to-one acceleration services between acceleration regions and origin server regions. Basic GA instances provide acceleration services only at Layer 3 (IP protocols). For more information about basic GA instances, see Basic GA instances.