Add an accelerated domain name

Limitations

• An accelerated domain name can be added only once. If you receive a Domain name already added message, in addition to checking whether the domain name is used by other Alibaba Cloud products (such as ApsaraVideo Live, DCDN, or Video Surveillance), also check whether the domain name is already bound to ApsaraVideo VOD under the current or another Alibaba Cloud account. If so, you must first delete the existing binding or use a different domain name. If you cannot resolve the issue, submit a ticket. For information about how to submit a ticket, see Contact us.

• ApsaraVideo VOD does not support directly transferring the ownership of an accelerated domain name to another Alibaba Cloud account. If you need to migrate ApsaraVideo VOD business to another account, you must first delete the accelerated domain name under the original account, and then add the domain name again under the target account. Otherwise, the system returns a "Domain name already added and bound to ApsaraVideo VOD" error.

• You can add multiple accelerated domain names to the same VOD system bucket. For example, you can add a domain name for the Chinese mainland and a separate domain name for regions outside the Chinese mainland to the same bucket. All domain names that point to the same origin bucket automatically share the same underlying data, so no manual data synchronization is required. However, each domain name corresponds to a different playback URL. Make sure your application distributes the correct playback address to users based on their region.

• After you activate ApsaraVideo VOD, you can add a maximum of 20 domain names. If the average daily peak bandwidth of your domain names exceeds 50 Mbps and your services are risk-free, you can submit a ticket to request an increase in your domain name quota. For information about how to submit a ticket, see Contact us.

• All accelerated content must be lawful and comply with business standards. For more information, see Domain name admission criteria.

• Accelerated domain names support access over IPv6. To enable this feature, see Configure IPv6.

• If an accelerated domain name experiences slow access or is throttled, and you have ruled out bandwidth peak throttling as the cause, check your domain name's DNS resolution quota. The Free Edition of DNS resolution allows up to 100,000 requests per day. Exceeding this quota triggers dynamic throttling. If your business has a high resolution volume (for example, a daily average of more than 100,000 requests), we recommend upgrading to the paid edition of the DNS resolution service to remove the throttling limit.

Video tutorial

Procedure

1. Log on to the ApsaraVideo VOD console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Configuration Management > CDN Configuration > Domain Names.

3. Click Add Domain Name.

4. Configure the Domain Name, Type, Port, and Acceleration Region parameters.

   Parameter	Parameter category	Description
   Domain name	N/A	Note the following when you add a domain name: We recommend that you use a subdomain for acceleration. The domain name can contain only lowercase English letters. Chinese domain names are not supported. For example, if your primary domain is aliyundoc.com, the accelerated domain name can be a subdomain of aliyundoc.com, such as example.aliyundoc.com. ApsaraVideo VOD does not support wildcard domains, such as *.aliyundoc.com. Note The subdomain must be unique within your Alibaba Cloud account. When you add a domain name, CDN checks whether it is already in use. If the subdomain is added to another account or is already used by another Alibaba Cloud service, the system returns an error. If you cannot resolve the issue, submit a ticket. For information about how to submit a ticket, see Contact us.
   Type	VOD Bucket	Select this option for VOD acceleration. Then, select a VOD system bucket in the target region as the origin server from the drop-down list. Note If the drop-down list is empty, enable the system-assigned VOD system bucket in the ApsaraVideo VOD console first to generate a storage address. Otherwise, you cannot add an accelerated domain name. For more information, see Storage Management. The storage address may take some time to generate. Refresh the page later and make your selection. After you select a VOD system bucket, the system automatically assigns a storage bucket in the corresponding region. You do not need to manually configure the bucket address.
   Port	N/A	Select the access port. Port 80: CDN sends back-to-origin requests to port 80 of the origin server. Port 443: CDN sends back-to-origin requests to port 443 of the origin server.
   Acceleration region	Chinese Mainland (ICP Filing Required)	If you select Chinese Mainland (ICP Filing Required), an ICP filing is required. For more information about how to apply for an ICP filing, see ICP filing for accelerated domain names. If your users are located outside Chinese Mainland, select Global (ICP Filing Required) or Global (Excluding Chinese Mainland) instead to accelerate overseas access.
   Global (ICP Filing Required)	If you select Global (ICP Filing Required), an ICP filing is required. For more information about how to apply for an ICP filing, see ICP filing for accelerated domain names. To improve the access experience for users in a specific overseas region (for example, users in Singapore accessing resources hosted in US (Silicon Valley)), select an acceleration region that covers your target region, and enable Range back-to-origin and configure an appropriate directory cache time to take advantage of the caching capabilities of CDN points of presence worldwide and reduce cross-border back-to-origin latency.
   Global (Excluding Chinese Mainland)	If you select Global (Excluding Chinese Mainland), no ICP filing is required. To improve the access experience for users in a specific overseas region (for example, users in Singapore accessing resources hosted in US (Silicon Valley)), select an acceleration region that covers your target region, and enable Range back-to-origin and configure an appropriate directory cache time to take advantage of the caching capabilities of CDN points of presence worldwide and reduce cross-border back-to-origin latency.

   Note

   If you select only Chinese Mainland (ICP Filing Required) but have overseas users accessing your content, cache misses will trigger cross-border back-to-origin requests, resulting in high latency or timeouts. To accelerate overseas access, set the acceleration region to Global (ICP Filing Required) or Global (Excluding Chinese Mainland), and enable Range back-to-origin and set an appropriate directory cache time in the Video-related tab of the domain details page.

5. Review the compliance statement and select I understand and agree to the above compliance warranty.

6. Click Submit to complete the configuration.

   After you submit the configuration, a confirmation message appears. You must then add a CNAME record with your DNS provider to activate the acceleration service.

   After you submit the domain name, you must complete domain name ownership verification before the domain name can be added successfully. Choose one of the following verification methods:

   • DNS verification: Add a TXT record to the DNS records of your domain name. Set the host record to verification and the record value to the verification code generated by the system.

   • File verification: Upload the verification file specified by the system to the root directory of your domain name.

   After the verification succeeds, the domain name is added.

   After your accelerated domain name is reviewed and approved, it appears in the domain name list on the Domain Names page. A status of Running indicates a successful setup.

   Note

   • You can submit a ticket to request an expedited review. For information about how to submit a ticket, see Contact us.

   • The review process is faster if your origin server is an Alibaba Cloud ECS instance or an OSS bucket.

You do not need to purchase any additional product to accelerate a website for overseas users. You can complete the configuration by adding a domain name and selecting Global (Excluding Chinese Mainland) as the acceleration region, based on your existing ApsaraVideo VOD service.

What to do next

After you add an accelerated domain name, Alibaba Cloud CDN assigns a CNAME to it. You must add a CNAME record at your DNS provider to point your accelerated domain name to the assigned CNAME. The CDN service takes effect only after the CNAME record is configured. For more information, see Configure a CNAME record.

FAQ

Q: How do I set a default accelerated domain name to change the video URLs generated after upload?

On the Domain Management page in the ApsaraVideo VOD console, set the target domain name as the default domain name. The change takes effect after you refresh the page, and subsequent uploaded videos will use the default domain name to generate playback URLs.

Q: After an accelerated domain name expires or is replaced, will the playback URL automatically switch to the new domain name?

No, the system does not automatically switch playback URLs. After the old domain name becomes invalid, the original playback URL will no longer be accessible. Even if you have added a new domain name, you must manually update the playback URL in your business code, web pages, or apps to use the new domain name.

Key steps for replacing a domain name:

• Configure the new domain name in advance and complete the ICP filing and CNAME resolution.

• Select the VOD system bucket as the origin server.

• Verify that the new domain name is accessible before deactivating the old domain name.

Q: The console shows "Accelerated domain name configuration abnormal" or "Serious issue," but DNS resolution is normal. What should I do?

This prompt may be caused by a detection delay. If the actual domain name access URL plays normally and the DNS resolution is correct, you can safely ignore this prompt. It does not affect business operations.

Q: How do I resolve error code 4400 when playing a video in ApsaraVideo VOD?

This error is typically caused by using the default domain name assigned by ApsaraVideo VOD for playback. To resolve this issue:

• Bind a custom accelerated domain name.

• Configure an SSL certificate for the domain name to enable HTTPS.

• Access the video through the custom domain name.

Q: What domain name should I fill in when applying for features such as m3u8 traceable watermark?

The domain name here refers to the playback accelerated domain name (CDN domain name) configured in the ApsaraVideo VOD console. If the product is not yet online or no domain name has been configured, you can fill in Not applicable or Not configured. This does not affect the processing of your ticket. For formal use, you must bind and complete the ICP filing for the domain name in the console.

Q: The console shows "No accelerated domain name configured yet." What should I do?

This message indicates that no accelerated domain name has been added under the current account. Go to Configuration Management > Distribution and Acceleration Configuration > Domain Management, and click Add Domain Name to complete the configuration. If you do not yet have your own domain name, you can use the temporary playback URL provided by ApsaraVideo VOD for testing.

Q: When configuring my own accelerated domain name, do I need to use different domain names for test videos and production videos?

No. All videos, whether for testing or production, can be uploaded to the same ApsaraVideo VOD service. You do not need to configure separate domain name strategies for test and production content. You can distinguish between them based on your own business scenario.

Q: Must the domain name configured on the client side match the domain name that is actually used to access the content?

Yes. The domain name configured in your application must match the accelerated domain name actually used for access. Otherwise, requests may fail or authentication errors may occur.