AWS Global Accelerator
AWS Global Accelerator is a networking service that uses the AWS global network to improve application availability, performance, and security. It provides intelligent traffic routing and fast failover capabilities to ensure optimal application performance across the globe.
- AWS Network Optimization: Routes traffic through the AWS private global network for improved performance
- Intelligent Traffic Routing: Uses health checks and routing algorithms to direct traffic to optimal endpoints
- Fast Failover: Automatically redirects traffic from unhealthy endpoints within seconds
- Static IP Addresses: Provides static anycast IP addresses that simplify DNS management and improve performance
Global Accelerator provides improved application performance, enhanced availability through intelligent failover, simplified traffic management, and better security through the AWS global network.
Use case: Global Accelerator is ideal for applications requiring consistent performance across regions, gaming applications with latency requirements, financial trading platforms, and any application needing reliable global connectivity.
Think of Global Accelerator like creating express lanes on the internet highway specifically for your application's traffic - instead of taking congested public routes, your users' requests travel through AWS's high-speed private network infrastructure.
How Global Accelerator Works​
Anycast IP Addresses: Global Accelerator provides you with static IP addresses that serve as a fixed entry point to your applications. These anycast IPs are announced from multiple AWS edge locations, automatically routing users to the nearest location.
AWS Global Network: Instead of routing traffic over the public internet, Global Accelerator directs traffic through AWS's private global network infrastructure. This network is designed for high performance, low latency, and consistent connectivity.
Endpoint Health Monitoring: The service continuously monitors the health of your application endpoints using configurable health checks. It automatically routes traffic away from unhealthy endpoints to maintain application availability.
Traffic Routing and Optimization​
Intelligent Routing Algorithms: Global Accelerator uses sophisticated algorithms to determine the best path for traffic based on factors including endpoint health, geographic proximity, and network conditions.
Traffic Distribution: You can configure traffic distribution policies to control how traffic is routed between multiple endpoints, including weighted routing and geographic preferences.
Connection Optimization: The service optimizes TCP connections and uses connection pooling to reduce latency and improve performance for your applications.
Use Case Examples​
Global Gaming Platform: For online gaming applications, Global Accelerator significantly reduces latency and provides consistent performance across different regions. Gamers experience smoother gameplay with reduced lag, while the fast failover capabilities ensure that games remain playable even if one region experiences issues. The static IP addresses simplify client configuration and reduce DNS lookup times.
Financial Trading Application: Trading platforms require ultra-low latency and high reliability for real-time transactions. Global Accelerator routes trading requests through the fastest available paths in the AWS network, while the automatic failover ensures that trading remains available even during regional outages. The consistent IP addresses simplify firewall configurations for financial institutions with strict security requirements.
Integration with Other AWS Services​
Application Load Balancer Integration: Global Accelerator works seamlessly with Application Load Balancers, providing global load balancing capabilities that complement regional load balancing for comprehensive traffic distribution.
Multi-Region Applications: For applications deployed across multiple AWS regions, Global Accelerator provides intelligent routing between regions based on performance and availability, creating truly global applications.
Security Integration: The service integrates with AWS security services including AWS WAF and AWS Shield, providing DDoS protection and application-layer security at the edge.
Performance and Availability Benefits​
Reduced Latency: By routing traffic through the AWS global network rather than the public internet, Global Accelerator typically reduces latency by 10-20% or more, depending on user location and network conditions.
Improved Availability: Fast failover capabilities detect unhealthy endpoints within 30 seconds and redirect traffic to healthy endpoints, minimizing downtime and maintaining application availability.
Network Resilience: The AWS global network provides multiple redundant paths, ensuring that network issues in one area don't affect global connectivity to your applications.
Simplified Management: Static anycast IP addresses eliminate the need for complex DNS configurations and reduce the time-to-live (TTL) issues associated with DNS-based failover solutions.