Introduction

AWS Global Accelerator is a networking service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that improves the availability and performance of applications running on AWS. It works by optimizing the path between users and your applications, leveraging the vast AWS global network infrastructure to route traffic to the optimal AWS endpoint.

Key Features and Characteristics

1. Global Anycast IP Addresses:
   • Global Accelerator provides you with static IP addresses that serve as a fixed entry point to your applications.
   • These IPs are anycast from AWS edge locations, meaning user traffic enters the AWS network as close to the user as possible.
2. Intelligent Traffic Distribution:
   • Automatically routes user requests to the nearest point of presence (PoP) in the AWS global network.
   • Uses advanced routing algorithms to find the optimal path to your application endpoints.
3. Health Checking:
   • Continuously monitors the health of your application endpoints.
   • Routes traffic away from unhealthy endpoints to ensure high availability.
4. Client Affinity:
   • Can direct all requests from a user to the same endpoint, which is crucial for applications that require session persistence.
5. Security:
   • Integrates with AWS Shield for DDoS protection.
   • Masks the actual IP addresses of your backend services, adding an extra layer of security.

Limitations and Challenges

• Cost: Global Accelerator comes with additional charges on top of your regular AWS services.
• Complexity: Setting up and managing Global Accelerator requires a good understanding of AWS networking concepts.
• Limited Protocol Support: Primarily supports TCP and UDP protocols.
• Regional Restrictions: Some AWS regions might not support all Global Accelerator features.
• No Support for Site-to-Site VPN Endpoints: Global Accelerator does not support Site-to-Site VPN connections as endpoints.

Common Use Cases and Applications

1. Global Application Deployment:
   • Ideal for applications with a worldwide user base, ensuring low-latency access from any location.
2. Gaming:
   • Reduces lag and improves player experience for online multiplayer games.
3. IoT and Mobile Applications:
   • Provides stable, low-latency connections for devices spread across different geographical locations.
4. Multi-Region Failover:
   • Enables quick and seamless failover between different AWS regions for increased reliability.