Alibaba Cloud CDN
Alibaba Cloud CDN: An Overview
Alibaba Cloud CDN, part of Alibaba Cloud’s suite of services, is a prominent content delivery network (CDN) provider, especially strong in the Asia-Pacific region. Founded in 2009 as part of Alibaba Group, Alibaba Cloud is headquartered in Hangzhou, China. The company offers a wide range of cloud computing services, with CDN being a key component. Alibaba Cloud CDN provides robust and scalable content delivery solutions for various industries such as e-commerce, media, gaming, and finance, leveraging Alibaba’s extensive infrastructure and technological expertise.
Features
| Feature | Alibaba Cloud CDN |
|---|---|
| Number of PoPs | 2800+ |
| Web Application Firewall | Yes |
| DDoS Protection | Yes |
| SSL/TLS Support | Yes |
| Origin Shield | Yes |
| Image Optimization | Yes |
| Real-Time Analytics | Yes |
| Edge Computing | Yes |
| API Gateway | Yes |
| Support for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 | Yes |
| Global Anycast Network | Yes |
| Developer-Friendly Tools | Yes |
Comparison with Top CDN Providers
| Feature | Alibaba Cloud CDN | Akamai | Google Cloud CDN | Azure CDN | AWS CloudFront |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of PoPs | 2800+ | 300+ | 140+ | 130+ | 450+ |
| Web Application Firewall | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DDoS Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSL/TLS Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Origin Shield | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Image Optimization | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Real-Time Analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edge Computing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API Gateway | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support for HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Global Anycast Network | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Developer-Friendly Tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Notable Outages and Events
- January 2020: Alibaba Cloud CDN experienced a significant outage due to a configuration error, affecting content delivery for several hours. The issue was resolved, and measures were implemented to prevent future incidents.
- July 2021: Alibaba Cloud CDN faced a service disruption caused by a DDoS attack. The attack was mitigated through enhanced security protocols and the implementation of advanced DDoS protection strategies.
Notable Customers
Technology
Alibaba Cloud CDN leverages a vast network of PoPs to deliver content quickly and reliably. The service integrates advanced security features, including a Web Application Firewall (WAF) and DDoS protection. Alibaba Cloud CDN supports modern web protocols like HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, and offers real-time analytics, image optimization, and edge computing capabilities. The platform is designed to provide high performance, scalability, and ease of use, particularly for businesses targeting the Chinese and broader Asian markets.
Contributions to Open Source
Alibaba Cloud has made numerous contributions to the open-source community through various initiatives. Some notable open-source projects and contributions by Alibaba Cloud include:
- Tengine: A web server project based on Nginx, designed to handle high traffic efficiently.
- AliSQL: A MySQL branch originated from Alibaba Group, offering enhanced features for cloud services.
- Seata: An easy-to-use, high-performance distributed transaction solution.
- Sentinel: A powerful flow control component enabling reliable microservices architecture.
Pricing
Alibaba Cloud CDN’s pricing model is based on data transfer and additional features. Below is a general overview of potential pricing components:
| Service Component | Estimated Price Range |
|---|---|
| Data Transfer Out | $0.01 - $0.10 per GB |
| HTTP/HTTPS Requests | $0.005 per 10,000 requests |
| Web Application Firewall | Additional cost |
| DDoS Protection | Additional cost |
| SSL/TLS | Included |
| Real-Time Analytics | Included |
| Edge Computing | Additional cost |
For detailed and tailored pricing, businesses are encouraged to visit the Alibaba Cloud pricing page or contact Alibaba Cloud directly for a customized quote based on their specific needs.