All Products
Search
Document Center

ENS:Instance overview

Last Updated:Nov 29, 2024

An Edge Node Service (ENS) instance is the smallest computing service unit that can provide compute capabilities and services for your business. Each instance type offers different compute and memory capabilities. This topic describes ENS instance families and introduces their features, specifications, and use scenarios.

ENS instance families

Instance family

Definition

Instance type

Storage

Network

Billing method

Scenario

x86 computing

x86 computing instance families have high performance, consistent computing capabilities, and balanced network performance. The instance families are suitable for enterprise scenarios that require high business stability.

General x86 virtual machine (VM) types:

  • Compute-optimized: CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:2

  • General-purpose: CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4

  • Memory-optimized: CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:8

  • Ultra disk

  • All-flash disk

  • Local disk

  • VPC

  • Classic network

  • Subscription

  • Pay-as-you-go

  • General-purpose enterprise-level applications

  • Audio and video transcoding applications

  • Game servers

  • Scenarios in which large volumes of packets are received and transmitted

x86-based bare metal instance

x86-based bare metal instance families combine the strengths of physical machines and Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances to deliver powerful and robust computing capabilities without virtualization overheads. The instance families are ideal for applications that need to run in non-virtualization environments in the cloud.

General x86 bare metal types

Local disk

VPC

Subscription

  • Scenarios in which direct access to physical resources is required

  • Scenarios in which compatibility with third-party hypervisors is required

  • Scenarios in which large volumes of packets are received and transmitted

Heterogeneous computing

Heterogeneous computing instance families mainly include Elastic GPU Service instance families, which use dedicated hardware in specific scenarios. Heterogeneous computing instance families provide higher efficiency and cost-effectiveness than regular ECS instances.

Heterogeneous computing types

  • Ultra disk

  • All-flash disk

VPC

  • Subscription

  • Pay-as-you-go

  • Cloud gaming

  • Cloud rendering

Instance types and specifications

Note
  • Instance type specifications are all verified and obtained within a pure forwarding test environment. In actual business scenarios, the performance of an ECS instance may vary based on other factors such as instance workload type, packet size, connection type (persistent or short-lived), image version, and networking model. We recommend that you perform business stress tests on instances to select appropriate instance types.

  • C refers to the number of vCPUs and G refers to the memory size. For example, 1C2G indicates that the instance has 1 vCPU and 2 GB memory.

Type

Name

Network bandwidth (Gbit/s)

Packet forwarding rate (pps)

Queue quantity

ens.sn1.tiny

Compute-optimized Instance Type 2C4G

1

300,000

2

ens.sn1.small

Compute-optimized Instance Type 4C8G

1.5

500,000

4

ens.sn1.medium

Compute-optimized Instance Type 8C16G

2

800,000

8

ens.sn1.xmedium

Compute-optimized Instance Type 12C24G

2.5

900,000

12

ens.sn1.large

Compute-optimized Instance Type 16C32G

3

1,000,000

16

ens.sn1.mlarge

Compute-optimized Instance Type 24C48G

4.5

1,500,000

16

ens.sn1.xlarge

Compute-optimized Instance Type 32C64G

6

2,000,000

16

ens.sm1.tiny

General-purpose Instance Type 2C8G

1

300,000

2

ens.sm1.small

General-purpose Instance Type 4C16G

1.5

500,000

4

ens.sm1.medium

General-purpose Instance Type 8C32G

2

800,000

8

ens.sm1.large

General-purpose Instance Type 16C64G

3

1,000,000

16

ens.sm1.mlarge

General-purpose Instance Type 24C96G

4.5

1,500,000

16

ens.sm1.xlarge

General-purpose Instance Type 32C128G

6

2,000,000

16

ens.se1.tiny

Memory-optimized Instance Type 2C16G

1

300,000

2

ens.se1.small

Memory-optimized Instance Type 4C32G

1.5

500,000

4

ens.se1.medium

Memory-optimized Instance Type 8C64G

2

800,000

8

ens.se1.large

Memory-optimized Type 16C128G

3

1,000,000

16

Instance state

You can query the status of an instance by using the ENS console or calling the DescribeInstances operation. Instance states are classified into stable and intermediate states based on their attributes. Intermediate states are the states that an instance temporarily stays before the instance enters a stable state. If an instance remains in an intermediate state for an extended period of time, an exception occurs.

The following table lists the possible states in the instance lifecycle:

Console state

Instance API state

State attribute

Description

Creating

Creating

Intermediate

During the creation of an instance, the instance enters this state and then the Starting state.

Running

Running

Stable

The instance is running.

Stopped

Stopped

Stable

The instance is stopped.

Expired

Expired

Stable

When a subscription instance expires or a pay-as-you-go instance is stopped due to an overdue payment, the instance enters this state and is pending release.

Starting

Starting

Intermediate

The instance is being started or restarted.

Stopping

Stopping

Intermediate

The instance is being stopped.

Releasing

Releasing

Intermediate

The instance is being released.

Image Downloading

ImageDownloading

Intermediate

When you create or reset an instance, if the specified image does not exist in the node, the image will be downloaded, and the instance enters this state. After the image is downloaded, the instance enters the Creating state.

Transferring

Transferring

Intermediate

The instance is being transferred and enters the Running state when the transfer is complete.

Resetting

Resetting

Intermediate

The instance is being reset.

When you manage instances, the state of an instance changes based on the following rules.

  • Create an instance: The instance enters the Starting state and then the Running state. You can access the instance when it is in the Running state. For example, when an instance is in the Running state, you can connect to the instance to manage its operating system configurations, build websites, and use a browser to access the websites.

  • Stop an instance: The instance enters the Stopping state and then the Stopped state. Before you perform some operations, such as changing the operating system or type of the instance, you need to stop the instance.

  • Start an instance: The instance enters the Starting state and then the Running state.

  • Restart an instance: The instance enters the Stopping state, then the Starting state, and finally the Running state. After you perform some operations, you need to restart the instance to make the operations take effect.

  • Release an instance: You can release only an instance in the Stopped state. You cannot release an unexpired subscription instance. If you want to release an unexpired subscription instance, submit a ticket. When an instance is released, the ID, static public IP address, system disk, and data disks for which Release Disk with Instance is enabled of the instance are also released and cannot be recovered. The data disks which Release Disk with Instance is disabled are automatically detached from the instance and retained. If the instance is associated with an EIP, the EIP is automatically disassociated from the instance and retained. Proceed with caution when you release instances. To prevent accidental release of instances, we recommend that you enable release protection for instances.