Overview
In today’s interconnected world, users expect high-performance applications with minimal latency, regardless of their location. AWS Global Accelerator is a powerful service that helps meet these expectations by improving the availability, performance, and reliability of your applications. This blog will guide you through what AWS Global Accelerator is, how to set it up with an Application Load Balancer (ALB), and the scenarios where it is most beneficial.
What is AWS Global Accelerator?
AWS Global Accelerator is a networking service that enhances the performance and availability of your application by providing global static IP addresses as a single entry point. It intelligently routes traffic to the optimal AWS region and endpoint based on factors like latency, health, and routing policies. By leveraging AWS’s global network infrastructure, it ensures low-latency access and high availability for your applications.
How to Create AWS Global Accelerator
Follow these steps to set up AWS Global Accelerator and attach it to an Application Load Balancer (ALB):
Step 1. Log in to AWS Console
For this tutorial i have create a single instance where apache server is running. with one load application load balancer
Target Group
Application Load Balancer
Step 2: Navigate to the Global Accelerator service in the AWS Management Console
Click on "Create Accelerator".
Provide a name for the accelerator.
Choose the Accelerator Type:
Standard: Optimized for both dynamic and static content.
Custom Routing: For advanced traffic routing use cases.
AWS will generate two static IP addresses, which serve as the global entry point for your application.
Configure a Listener
- Add a listener and specify the protocol (TCP/UDP) and port(s), such as 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS.
Add Endpoints
Under the "Add Endpoints" section, select Endpoint Group.
Choose the AWS region where your ALB is deployed.
Add the Application Load Balancer as the endpoint
Set Traffic Dial and Weights
Adjust the traffic dial to control the percentage of traffic routed to specific regions.
Use endpoint weights to prioritize routing between multiple ALB endpoints
Save the Configuration
- Once all configurations are complete, save the setup, and AWS will deploy the Global Accelerator.
Copy DNS name this DNS you can point in route 53 with domain name.
Why Use AWS Global Accelerator?
AWS Global Accelerator offers several benefits that make it a valuable addition to your architecture:
1. Improved Performance
Leverages AWS’s global network to reduce latency by routing traffic to the AWS region closest to the user.
Ensures faster failover and routing using Anycast.
2. High Availability
Automatically routes traffic to healthy endpoints based on health checks.
Supports disaster recovery by routing traffic to alternate AWS regions during outages.
3. Simplified Management
Provides static IPs as a consistent entry point for your application.
Simplifies multi-region deployments.
4. Global Application Support
- Ensures low-latency access for users worldwide.
5. Disaster Recovery
- Ideal for active-passive or active-active setups across multiple regions to ensure business continuity.
When Should You Use AWS Global Accelerator?
AWS Global Accelerator is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s most beneficial in specific scenarios:
1. Multi-Region Applications
- When your application is deployed in multiple AWS regions, Global Accelerator ensures users are routed to the region with the lowest latency.
2. High Availability Needs
- For applications requiring robust failover mechanisms and high availability.
3. Low Latency Requirements
- Ideal for latency-sensitive applications like gaming, media streaming, or financial services.
4. Static IP Requirement
- When you need fixed IP addresses for compliance or customer requirements.
5. Disaster Recovery
- Provides seamless traffic routing to backup regions in case of failure in the primary region.
6. Global User Base
- Applications accessed by users worldwide benefit from improved routing and reduced latency.