This topic describes the release notes for Express Connect and provides links to the relevant references.
September 2024
Feature | Type | Description | References |
New access points | New feature | The US-Santa Clara-B access point in US (Silicon Valley) is supported. |
July 2024
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Failure drills | Optimized feature | Failure drills can be performed on virtual border routers (VBRs) and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) peers. | |
Advanced features of ports | Optimized feature | The quality of service (QoS) policy and VBR failover group advanced features can be configured when you apply for Express Connect circuits. | |
Physical port monitoring | Optimized feature | The numbers of inbound error packets and outbound error packets can be monitored. | Monitoring and alerting for connections over Express Connect circuits |
February 2024
Feature | Category | Description | References |
New access points | New feature | The following new access points in the China (Zhengzhou - Local Region) and China (Hangzhou) regions are added: Zhengzhou-HighTech-A and Hangzhou-Gongshu-A. |
January 2024
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Express Connect Router (ECR) | New feature | ECR is a component that is used for forwarding services in global hybrid cloud networking connected over Express Connect circuits. ECR provides features such as Express Connect circuit-based global networking, dynamic routing networking, and centralized release management for routes. |
November 2023
Feature | Category | Description | References |
High reliability mode | New feature | Express Connect circuits can be created in high reliability mode. In this mode, the service availability in the service-level agreement (SLA) is up to 99.99%. | |
Failure drills | New feature | Failure drills can be performed to test the reliability of hybrid-cloud networking solutions. | |
New access points | New feature | The following new access points in the China (Hong Kong) region are added: HK-KwaiChung-A and HK-ChaiWan-B. |
October 2023
Feature | Category | Description | References |
New access points | New feature | The following new access points in the China (Wuhan - Local Region) and China (Taiyuan - Local Region) regions are added: Wuhan-Donghu-A and Taiyuan-Xiaodian-A. |
August 2023
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Tags and resource groups | New feature | Tags and resource groups are supported for VBRs and VBR-to-virtual private cloud (VPC) connections. |
June 2023
Feature | Category | Description | References |
New access points | New feature | The following new access points in the China (Changsha - Local Region), China (Jinan - Local Region), China (Tianjin - Local Region), and China (Dalian - Local Region) regions are added: Changsha-Yuelu-A, Jinan-Gaoxin-A, Tianjin-Jinnan-A, and Dalian-Pulandian-A. |
May 2023
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Route prefixes | New feature | Route prefixes can be added to the route table of a VBR. After you create a VBR, the system automatically creates a route table for the VBR. You can add route prefixes to the route table and manage the route prefixes. |
February 2023
Feature | Category | Description | References |
VBR diagnostics | New feature | VBRs are connected to Network Intelligence Service (NIS), and support the one-click diagnostics feature. The feature checks the configurations and operating status of a VBR and provides suggestions on how to resolve identified anomalies. You can use this feature to check the health status, configurations, quota limit, and costs of VBRs. In addition, you can use this feature to view the details of historical diagnostics results. | |
Query of access point locations | New feature | Details of the access point locations of dedicated Express Connect circuits can be queried. | |
Application of permissions to create shared ports for hosted connections over Express Connect circuits | New feature | Permissions to create shared ports can be requested in the Quota Center console. |
December 2022
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Support for detaching a VBR from a Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) instance | Optimized feature | A VBR can be detached from a CEN instance in the CEN console. |
November 2022
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Tags | New feature | Tags are supported by Express Connect circuits and shared ports. This meets the business requirements of enterprises. | |
Optimized process of purchasing a VBR-to-VPC connection | Optimized feature | The process of purchasing a VBR-to-VPC connection is optimized. If a VBR and a VPC are deployed in the same region, you are no longer charged for a VBR-to-VPC connection, and the order page about a VBR-to-VPC connection is not displayed in the Express Connect console. |
October 2022
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Optimized process of purchasing an Express Connect circuit | Optimized feature | The process of purchasing an Express Connect circuit is optimized. You are no longer charged for initial installation fees of an Express Connect circuit, and the order page about the initial installation of an Express Connect circuit is not displayed in the Express Connect console. | Create and manage a dedicated connection over an Express Connect circuit |
February 2022
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Support for IPv6 | New feature | The IPv4/IPv6 dual stack feature is supported. Requests from both IPv4 and IPv6 clients can be forwarded to backend servers. |
August 2021
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Monitoring and alerting for Express Connect circuits | New feature | Express Connect is integrated with CloudMonitor. You can view the status of Express Connect circuits updated in real time and configure alert rules. This helps you gain deep insights into Express Connect circuits and detect connectivity errors at the earliest opportunity to prevent service interruptions. | Monitoring and alerting for connections over Express Connect circuits |
July 2021
Feature | Category | Description | References |
Billing for outbound data transfer | New feature | Outbound data transfer refers to the data transfer from Alibaba Cloud to a data center. Starting from July 1, 2021, you must enable billing for outbound data transfer before you can create a connection over an Express Connect circuit. | |
Shared ports | New feature | Shared ports are supported. Express Connect partners can create shared ports instead of VBRs for tenants to manage hosted connections. Shared ports belong to tenants and are managed by tenants. |
April 2021
Feature | Category | Description | References |
VBR failover | New feature | Two VBRs can be added to a failover group. When Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) detects connectivity errors on one of the VBRs in a failover group, network traffic can be switched to the standby VBR within less than 1 second. This accelerates route convergence and prevents service interruptions. |