Edge node pools

Features

Unlike ECS node pools, which support only Alibaba Cloud ECS instances, edge node pools are designed for edge environments with unreliable, high-latency networks. You can register IDC servers, third-party cloud resources, or edge computing devices as Alibaba Cloud managed instances and add them to a cluster. Edge node pools also provide edge-native capabilities including node autonomy and network autonomy.

• Unified resource access: Connect IDC servers, third-party cloud servers, and edge computing resources to ACK managed Pro cluster over the public network, and manage them with the same deployment, O&M, monitoring, upgrade, and security controls used for cloud-based ECS nodes.

• Deep capability integration: Integrate ACK managed Pro cluster core capabilities — including auto scaling, observability (monitoring, logging, and tracing), security hardening, and networking — so your technology stack stays consistent across cloud and on-premises environments.

• Elastic capacity scaling: Overcome cloud resource shortages or capacity limits in a single region by scaling cluster capacity with on-premises resources, helping maintain service continuity and high availability.

• Enhanced edge autonomy: Node autonomy and network autonomy keep edge nodes and workloads running when network connectivity to the cloud is weak or intermittent.

• Diverse application scenarios: Edge node pools support IoT gateway devices, GPU heterogeneous computing, edge intelligence, smart buildings, smart factories, live video streaming, online education, CDN, and more.

Billing

Using edge node pools in ACK managed Pro cluster incurs the following fees:

• Edge node management fee: Free during the beta period.

• Cloud resource fees: Charges for other Alibaba Cloud services you use (such as Edge Node Service (ENS)) are billed according to each service's pricing.

Node pool comparison

Shared responsibility model

When you use edge node pools, security responsibilities are shared between you and Alibaba Cloud as follows:

• Alibaba Cloud is responsible for:

  • The security of the control plane infrastructure, including cloud resources for computing, storage, and networking.

  • Vulnerability patches and version updates for Kubernetes components in edge node pools.

• You are responsible for:

  • The network connectivity between your edge nodes and the ACK control plane.

  • The stability and security of the edge nodes and their operating systems, including fixing security vulnerabilities and performing version updates.

  • The security of your deployed applications and the management of security configurations and updates for your edge nodes.

Operating system compatibility

Edge node pools support the following operating systems:

To connect nodes that use other operating systems, contact your account manager for an evaluation.