This topic compares the two types of API Gateway instances. You can choose a type based on your business requirements.
1. API Gateway instance types
API Gateway instances are groups of resources that are used to access and process APIs. The resources include public IP addresses, internal IP addresses, outbound public IP addresses, load balancers, servers, and storage resources. API groups can run only on valid instances. API Gateway provides the following instance types: shared instance (VPC) and dedicated instance (VPC).
1.1 Instance type description
Dedicated instance (VPC): The technical specifications of dedicated instances (VPC) and shared instances (VPC) are the same. To obtain a higher service-level agreement (SLA) guarantee, you can purchase a higher specification for requests per second (RPS) to use dedicated resources. The resources include inbound public IP addresses, inbound IP addresses in VPCs, outbound public bandwidth, and isolated server clusters. For more information about the specifications and pricing of dedicated instances, see Pricing of dedicated instances.
Serverless instance: Serverless instances are previously named shared instances. Shared instances are upgraded to serverless instances region by region. Workloads running on shared instances are not affected by the upgrade. Serverless instances are billed based on the same method and prices as shared instances. Serverless instances provide higher scalability and performance than shared instances and are more suitable for scenarios with a changing traffic volume and that require timely O&M-free scaling.
1.2 Technical specifications and limits
Item | Serverless instance | Dedicated instance (VPC) |
Item | Serverless instance | Dedicated instance (VPC) |
Scenarios and suggestions | Serverless instances are suitable for small- and medium-load production environments. | Dedicated instances (VPC) are suitable for medium- and heavy-load production environments. |
Cloud resources | The cloud resources of a serverless instance are shared by all tenants. However, serverless instances can scale out resources based on business workload. | All the cloud resources of a dedicated instance are exclusive to a single user. |
SLA | 99.9% | 99.95% to 99.99% depending on the instance specification. For more information, see API Gateway Service Level Agreement |
Metering methods | Number of API calls and network traffic. | Instance specification and network traffic. The instance specification is billed based on one of the following two methods: pay-as-you-go and subscription. |
Inbound public IP address | The IP address is not fixed and is shared by multiple tenants. | The IP address is fixed and exclusive. |
Inbound IP address in a VPC | The IP address is not fixed and is shared by multiple tenants. Access from all VPCs in the same region is supported. | The IP address is fixed and exclusive. Only the access from a specific VPC is supported. To allow access from multiple VPCs in the same region, submit a ticket. |
Outbound public bandwidth | The outbound IP address and bandwidth are shared by multiple tenants. The IP address is not fixed. | The outbound IP address and bandwidth are exclusive. The IP address is fixed. |
Inbound or outbound IPv6 traffic | Unsupported. | Supported. |
Maximum timeout period at the backend | 60s. | 5 min. |
Call by API Gateway | Unsupported. | Supported. |
Limits on the request body size | 8 MB. | 32 MB. |
Circuit breaker plug-in | The plug-in is configured by default and cannot be customized. | The plug-in can be customized. |
Caching | 10 MB per user. | For more information, see <a target='_blank' href='https://help.aliyun.com/document_detail/217568.html'>Dedicated instances</a>.Dedicated instances |
Plug-in metadata and quantity | Each plug-in cannot exceed 50 KB in metadata size. Each user can create a maximum of 10,000 plug-ins in each region. | The metadata of a single plug-in cannot exceed 50 KB in size. Each user can create a maximum of 10,000 plug-ins in each region. |
Limits on a backend routing plug-in | A maximum of 160 parameters can be specified in each backend routing plug-in. A maximum of 160 rules can be configured in each backend routing plug-in. | A maximum of 160 parameters can be specified in each backend routing plug-in. A maximum of 160 rules can be configured in each backend routing plug-in. |
Limits on an IP address-based access control plug-in | A maximum of 160 parameters can be specified in each backend routing plug-in. A maximum of 160 rules can be configured in each backend routing plug-in. | A maximum of 160 parameters can be specified in each backend routing plug-in. A maximum of 160 rules can be configured in each backend routing plug-in. |
Uploading of trace logs to the Alibaba Cloud Tracing Analysis console | Supported. | Supported. |
Logging of HTTP requests and responses | Supported. | Supported. |
Default domain name to support access over HTTPS | Unsupported. | Supported. |
Maximum number of inbound requests per second (RPS) | Upper limit for each API group: 2,500. | 2,500 to 60,000. For more information, see Dedicated instances. |
Maximum number of inbound connections | 100,000 connections per domain name. | 50,000 to 1,000,000. |
Maximum number of new inbound connections per second (CPS) | 5,000 to 20,000 (shared by all users). | 5,000 to 20,000. |
Maximum size of an outbound connection pool | 2,000. | 1,200 to 28,800. |
Maximum inbound public bandwidth (Mbit/s) | 5,120. The bandwidth is shared by multiple tenants, and no specific limit is imposed on each user. | 5,120. |
Maximum outbound public bandwidth (Mbit/s) | The bandwidth is shared by multiple tenants. The maximum outbound public bandwidth is the sum of outbound IP addresses of shared instances. One IP address equals 200 Mbit/s bandwidth. | 100 to 600. |
2. Instances supported in each region
RegionId | Region name | Serverless instance | Dedicated instance (VPC) |
RegionId | Region name | Serverless instance | Dedicated instance (VPC) |
cn-qingdao | China (Qingdao) | Supported | Supported |
cn-beijing | China (Beijing) | Supported | Supported |
cn-zhangjiakou | China (Zhangjiakou) | Supported | Supported |
cn-huhehaote | China (Hohhot) | Supported | Supported |
cn-wulanchabu | China (Ulanqab) | Supported | Supported |
cn-hangzhou | China (Hangzhou) | Supported | Supported |
cn-shanghai | China (Shanghai) | Supported | Supported |
cn-shenzhen | China (Shenzhen) | Supported | Supported |
cn-heyuan | China (Heyuan) | Supported | Not supported |
cn-guangzhou | China (Guangzhou) | Supported | Supported |
cn-chengdu | China (Chengdu) | Supported | Supported |
cn-hongkong | China (Hong Kong) | Supported | Supported |
ap-northeast-1 | Japan (Tokyo) | Supported | Supported |
ap-northeast-2 | South Korea (Seoul) | Supported | Supported |
ap-southeast-1 | Singapore | Supported | Supported |
ap-southeast-3 | Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) | Supported | Supported |
ap-southeast-5 | Indonesia (Jakarta) | Supported | Supported |
ap-southeast-6 | Philippines (Manila) | Supported | Supported |
ap-southeast-7 | Thailand (Bangkok) | Supported | Supported |
us-east-1 | US (Virginia) | Supported | Supported |
us-west-1 | US (Silicon Valley) | Supported | Supported |
eu-west-1 | UK (London) | Supported | Supported |
me-east-1 | UAE (Dubai) | Supported | Supported |
eu-central-1 | Germany (Frankfurt) | Supported | Supported |
