Orca endpoints control how read and write traffic is distributed across nodes in a PolarDB for MySQL cluster. Use this page to create, modify, or release Orca endpoints, and to choose the right endpoint type for your workload.
Endpoint types
| Type | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Default endpoint | Route traffic with automatic read/write splitting. Writes go to the primary node; reads go to read-only nodes. This endpoint is assigned automatically when you enable Orca during cluster creation. Add read-only nodes at any time to scale out read capacity. |
| Custom endpoint | Route traffic to a specific subset of read-only nodes, or apply a custom load balancing policy. All requests to a custom endpoint are routed to its associated read-only nodes. Create multiple custom endpoints to isolate access for different services — for example, dedicate one endpoint to read-only analytical workloads. To configure a custom endpoint to serve only read requests, set the Read/Write parameter to Read-only. |
Both endpoint types are served by PolarProxy.
Limitations
In-Memory Column Index (IMCI) nodes do not support Orca. Requests to Orca endpoints cannot be routed to IMCI nodes.
For Orca endpoints, you can configure only the following settings: load balancing policy, whether the primary node accepts read requests for load balancing, and consistency level. Connection pool, hybrid transactional and analytical processing (HTAP) optimization, and security protection settings are not available.
Create a custom Orca endpoint
Log on to the PolarDB console.
In the left-side navigation pane, click Clusters.
In the upper-left corner, select the region where the cluster is deployed.
Find the cluster and click its ID.
In the Database Connections section of the Basic Information page, click Create Custom Cluster Endpoint.
Set Endpoint Type to Orca Endpoint, enter an Endpoint Name, and configure PolarProxy. For configuration details, see Configure PolarProxy.
Modify an Orca endpoint
Keep the following constraints in mind before modifying an endpoint:
The endpoint prefix must be 6–40 characters, can contain lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens (-), and must start with a lowercase letter and end with a digit or letter.
The port number must be in the range 3000–5999.
If SSL is enabled, the cluster restarts after you save the change, and the total length of the new endpoint cannot exceed 64 characters.
Log on to the PolarDB console.
In the left-side navigation pane, click Clusters.
In the upper-left corner, select the region where the cluster is deployed.
Find the cluster and click its ID.
In the Database Connection section of the Basic Information page, find the endpoint and click
> Edit to the right of the Private or Public endpoint address. 
Release an Orca endpoint
Before releasing an endpoint, switch your application to a different endpoint. A released endpoint cannot be restored — it can only be recreated.
Log on to the PolarDB console.
In the left-side navigation pane, click Clusters.
In the upper-left corner, select the region where the cluster is deployed.
Find the cluster and click its ID.
In the Database Connection section of the Basic Information page, find the endpoint and click Release in the upper-right corner.
In the dialog box, click OK.
Next steps
Configure PolarProxy — adjust the load balancing policy, consistency level, and read/write mode for an endpoint.
PolarProxy — learn how PolarProxy handles connection routing and read/write splitting.