Simple Application Server is a cloud server built for standalone application scenarios. It bundles computing, storage, networking, application deployment, DNS, security, and monitoring into a single, ready-to-use package — so you can go from zero to a running application without managing individual infrastructure components.
It is designed for new cloud users, individual developers, and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focused on simple deployments.
Prerequisites
Before you read this topic，you may need to understand the following concepts：
What you get
Simple Application Server draws on the same underlying infrastructure as Elastic Compute Service (ECS) and pairs it with curated application and OS images from the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace. The result is a server you can provision in minutes, with no hardware to manage and no per-resource configuration required.
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Launch in minutes. Pick an application image and a plan, and your server is ready with the runtime environment and application already installed.
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Predictable costs. Plans bundle CPU, memory, storage, and a monthly data transfer quota into a flat subscription price.
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Built-in security. Firewalls, HTTPS access, internal network isolation, and data backup are included by default.Data backup
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O&M features. Resource monitoring, self-diagnostics, and operation logs are available out of the box.
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Flexible images. Choose from application images and OS images in the Alibaba Cloud Marketplace, or build and manage your own custom images.
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Standard API. Automate and integrate using an industry-standard API.
For a full list of capabilities, see Benefits and Common scenarios.
How it works
When you create a simple application server, you choose an image and a plan. The server is provisioned with a public IP address automatically assigned, and you can start using it immediately. To extend functionality, connect the server to other Alibaba Cloud services as needed.
Simple Application Server is built on three core components:
Instance plans
A plan packages computing, storage, and network resources into a single configuration. The following table describes each resource type.
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Computing | Uses ECS instance types optimized for consistent performance in low-load scenarios — small web applications and lightweight workloads. For high-load tasks such as large application deployments or video encoding, use ECS instead. See Overview of instance families. |
| Storage | Cost-effective system disks with stable read and write performance, sized for mainstream application requirements. |
| Network | A monthly data transfer quota and a bandwidth quota for internet access. A public IP address is automatically assigned when the server is created. |
Images
Two image types are available:
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Application images contain the application, its initialization data, and the required runtime environment and operating system. After creating a server from an application image, the application is ready to use — no installation required.
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OS images contain only the operating system. After creating a server from an OS image, the server is running a clean OS with no pre-installed applications. Install and configure applications based on your requirements.
Custom images can also be created from existing simple application servers. See Overview of custom images.
Relevant services
Simple Application Server integrates with the following Alibaba Cloud services:
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Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): Simple application servers in the same account and region are automatically placed in the same VPC and can communicate over the internal network. Internal bandwidth is shared across servers in the VPC, so bandwidth stability on the internal network is not guaranteed. See What is VPC?
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Alibaba Cloud DNS: Resolves domain names to the IP addresses of your simple application servers. See Register and resolve a domain name.
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SSL Certificate Service: Enables HTTPS access for your applications. See the guides for WordPress environments (Linux) and Node.js environments.
Billing
Plans and data disks are billed on a subscription basis. Data transfers that exceed the monthly plan quota are billed on a pay-as-you-go basis. See Billing overview.
Simple Application Server vs. ECS
Simple Application Server is optimized for ease of use and simple deployments, making it an ideal choice for users such as individual developers and students. ECS offers more granular control over instance types, networking, and resource configuration, making it a better fit for complex or high-load workloads.
For a side-by-side comparison, see Comparison between Simple Application Server and ECS.
What's next
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Benefits — explore the full list of capabilities
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Common scenarios — find the use case that matches your workload
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Billing overview — understand how plans and data transfers are priced