How to configure a custom domain name for a web client - Elastic Desktop Service

Binding a custom domain to the web client reinforces your brand identity, ensures accessibility, simplifies user access, and helps meet compliance requirements. This topic shows you how.

Background

Binding a custom domain to the web client provides the following benefits:

Reinforce brand identity and professionalism: A custom domain enhances your brand's professional image and builds user trust.
Ensure accessibility: Some applications or platforms may block the default domain of the web client. A custom domain prevents this issue and ensures that users can always access the service, even if the default web client domain changes.
Simplify access: A simple and memorable custom domain is easier for users to find and share.
Meet compliance requirements: Due to regulatory policies, if you have cloud resources such as cloud computers deployed in the China (Hong Kong) region or other regions outside the Chinese mainland, users must access these resources through a web client that is bound to a custom domain.

Prerequisites

You have a registered second-level domain name. You can use a domain name that is not registered with Alibaba Cloud. If you do not have a domain name, you can register one on the Alibaba Cloud platform. For more information, see Domain name registration.
(Optional) To enable secure access over HTTPS, you must first complete certificate hosting. For more information, see Upload, sync, and share an SSL certificate.

Limitations

When accessing a cloud computer using a custom domain, file transfer is unavailable.

Step 1: Enter the custom domain

First, enter your custom domain that has a completed ICP filing.

Log on to the EDS enterprise console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Clients > Web Client.
On the Web Client page, click Bind Domain Name.
On the Bind Domain Name tab of the Enter Domain Name panel, enter your custom domain, such as workspace.example.com, and then click Next.
Note
The custom domain must be in a valid format, have a completed ICP filing, and not be bound to any other Alibaba Cloud account.

Step 2: Verify and bind the domain

To verify that you own the custom domain, you must add a TXT record to the DNS configuration for the domain at your DNS provider.

Note

If you are unsure of your DNS provider, you can look it up on the Domain Information Query (WHOIS) page.

On the Verify Domain Ownership tab of the Bind Domain Name panel, copy the hostname and record value of the TXT DNS record.
Add a TXT DNS record on your domain hosting provider's website.

Domains on Alibaba Cloud

Log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console by using the Alibaba Cloud account that you used to register the custom domain.
In the left-side navigation pane, click Public Zone.
On the Public Zone page, click your custom domain.
On the DNS Settings tab, click Add DNS Record.
In the Add DNS Record panel, configure the parameters and click OK.
- Record Type: Select TXT.
- Hostname: Paste the hostname that you copied from the EDS console.
- DNS Request Source: Select Default.
- Record Value: Paste the record value that you copied from the EDS console.
- TTL: Specifies the cache duration. The smaller the value, the faster the record takes effect. The default is 10 minutes.

Domains from other providers

On the DNS management platform of your DNS provider, add a TXT record with the following information:

Hostname: Paste the hostname that you copied from the EDS console.
Record Value: Paste the record value that you copied from the EDS console.

Return to the Bind Domain Name panel and click Verify Domain Ownership and Bind.
If the verification is successful, a message appears indicating that your custom domain is bound but not yet active. Click Next.

Step 3: Add a CNAME record

To activate your custom domain, add a CNAME record with your DNS provider.

On the Configure Domain tab of the Bind Domain Name panel, copy the Hostname and Record Value for the CNAME record.
Go to your DNS provider's website and add a CNAME record.

Domains on Alibaba Cloud

Log on to the Alibaba Cloud DNS console by using the Alibaba Cloud account that you used to register the custom domain.
In the left-side navigation pane, click Public Zone.
On the Public Zone page, click your custom domain.
On the DNS Settings tab, click Add DNS Record.
In the Add DNS Record panel, configure the parameters and click OK.
- Record Type: Select CNAME.
- Hostname: Paste the hostname that you copied from the EDS console.
- DNS Request Source: Select Default.
- Record Value: Paste the record value that you copied from the EDS console.
- TTL: Specifies the cache duration. The smaller the value, the faster the record takes effect. The default is 10 minutes.
On the DNS Settings tab, find the record that you added, click Health Check in the Actions column, and then view the status on the Network Probe page.

Domains from other providers

On the DNS management platform of your DNS provider, add a CNAME record with the following information:
- Hostname: Paste the hostname that you copied from the EDS console.
- Record Value: Paste the record value that you copied from the EDS console.
You can use the nslookup command to check whether the CNAME record is resolving correctly.
1. Replace workspace.example.com with your custom domain and run the following command:
```
nslookup -type=CNAME workspace.example.com
```
2. If the output returns the domain name of the Server Load Balancer (SLB) instance, the CNAME record has taken effect. The following sample output indicates a successful resolution:
```
Server:  ****
Address:  30.XX.XX.XX

Non-authoritative answer:
workspace.example.com   canonical name = alb-m4dpda8wob66fj****.cn-hangzhou.alb.aliyuncs.com
```

In the Bind Domain Name panel, on the Domain Name Binding tab, click Check Domain Name Status at the bottom.
If the check is successful, a message appears indicating that the process is complete. Click Done.
Note
After the process is complete, go back to the EDS console's Web Client page, and click the icon in the upper-right corner of the custom domain list to refresh the list.

Next steps: Host a certificate (optional)

After completing these steps, users can access the web client with your custom domain over HTTP. Web browsers may display a 'Not Secure' warning. To enable secure access over HTTPS, you must host an SSL certificate.

Log on to the EDS enterprise console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose Clients > Web Client.
On the Web Client page, find your custom domain and click Actions in the Certificate Hosting column.
In the Certificate Name drop-down list on the Certificate Hosting panel, select the certificate that you uploaded in the SSL Certificates Service console, and click Upload Certificate.

FAQ

Error during SSO login

Symptom

When a custom domain is configured for the web client and SSO is enabled for the organization ID, an interception error occurs during login.

Cause

The callback address for Single Sign-On (SSO) login is not configured correctly. As a result, login fails unless you first use the default domain name https://wuying.aliyun.com.

Solution

In the management console of your identity provider (IdP), append the redirect parameter ?redirectUri=https://<custom-domain> to the SSO URL of the service provider (SP).

Note

This method supports logins by using an organization ID but does not support logins by using an office network ID. Replace <custom-domain> with the custom domain for the web client, for example, workspace.example.com.