Microservices Engine (MSE) enables interconnection between on-premises applications and Alibaba Cloud applications by using Alibaba Cloud Toolkit during application development. On-premises Java applications can call cloud-based services, and cloud-based services can call on-premises applications over an encrypted Secure Shell (SSH) channel, without any code changes. This improves development efficiency.
Architecture
On-premises applications connect to a virtual private cloud (VPC) through an SSH channel. Three components handle traffic routing:
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| On-premises channel service | A local process started by the IDE plug-in. It forwards outbound requests from your application through the SSH tunnel. |
| Cloud proxy | A relay inside the VPC that receives tunneled traffic and routes it to the target cloud resource. |
| Cloud resources | Registries, databases, caches, message queues, and other services that your application depends on. |
The data flow works in both directions through the same path:
Your on-premises application sends a request.
The on-premises channel service forwards the request through the SSH tunnel.
The cloud proxy receives the request and routes it to the target cloud resource.
The cloud resource processes the request and returns a response through the reverse path.
For cloud-to-local calls, the flow reverses: a cloud microservice sends a request to the cloud proxy, which forwards it through the SSH tunnel to the on-premises channel service, and then to your local application.
Key capabilities
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Zero code changes | The IDE plug-in handles proxy configuration, channel establishment, and request forwarding automatically. Configure an SSH proxy account, start your application, and the plug-in does the rest. |
| Bidirectional connectivity | Local services call cloud resources, and cloud microservices call local services through the same secure channel. |
| Encrypted transport | All traffic between your workstation and the VPC travels through an SSH tunnel. |
| Cross-platform | Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. |
| Multi-framework | Compatible with Apache Dubbo, Spring Cloud, and High-speed Service Framework (HSF). |
Get started
Install the Alibaba Cloud Toolkit plug-in in IntelliJ IDEA, which is the only supported IDE. For detailed instructions, see Use Alibaba Cloud Toolkit to implement on-premises and cloud interconnection in IntelliJ IDEA.
Limitations
This feature supports Java applications only. The following version requirements apply:
| Framework | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Spring Cloud | Spring Cloud Edgware or later (required when you use a Nacos instance for configuration management) |
| Apache Dubbo | Dubbo 2.7.2 or later |
| dubbo-nacos-registry | 2.7.2 or later |
| edas-dubbo-extension | 2.0.2 or later |