In today’s global market, application performance and availability are critical for user satisfaction and business success. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Accelerator enhances the availability and performance of your applications by using the AWS global network to route traffic to optimal endpoints. This guide will walk you through setting up AWS Global Accelerator with Endpoint Groups targeting specific endpoints and Application Load Balancers (ALBs).

What is AWS Global Accelerator?

AWS Global Accelerator is a networking service that improves the availability and performance of your applications with local or global users. It provides static IP addresses that act as a fixed entry point to your application and routes user traffic through the AWS global network infrastructure.

Why Use AWS Global Accelerator?

  1. Improved Performance: AWS Global Accelerator leverages the vast AWS global network to reduce latency and increase the speed of your applications.
  2. High Availability: Directing traffic to healthy endpoints it ensures that your application remains available even if some endpoints become unhealthy.
  3. Simplified Management: Static IP addresses provide a fixed entry point, simplifying DNS management and improving your application’s stability.

Setting Up AWS Global Accelerator

Step 1: Create a Global Accelerator

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console.
  2. Navigate to AWS Global Accelerator.
  3. Click Create Accelerator.
  4. Enter a name for your accelerator.
  5. (Optional) Add a description.
  6. Click Next to configure listeners and endpoint groups.

Step 2: Configure Listeners

  1. Listener Configuration:
    • Protocol: Choose the protocol (TCP or UDP).
    • Port: Specify the port number on which your application is running.
  2. Click Next to configure endpoint groups.

Step 3: Configure Endpoint Groups

  1. Endpoint Group Configuration:
    • Region: Select the AWS region where your endpoint is located.
    • Traffic Dial: Set the percentage of traffic to be directed to this region.
  2. Add Endpoints:
    • Endpoint Type: Choose the type of endpoint (Instance, IP address, ALB, NLB, etc.).
    • Endpoint: Specify the endpoint (e.g., ALB ARN, EC2 instance ID, or IP address).
  3. Click Add endpoint to add more endpoints if needed.

Step 4: Finalize and Review

  1. Review the configurations you have made.
  2. Click Create Accelerator to complete the setup.

Best Practices

  1. Health Checks: Ensure health checks are configured for all endpoints to reroute traffic from unhealthy endpoints automatically.
  2. Traffic Management: Use traffic dials to distribute traffic effectively across multiple regions.
  3. Monitoring: Utilize AWS CloudWatch to monitor the performance and health of your AWS Global Accelerator.

Conclusion

AWS Global Accelerator is a powerful tool to enhance the performance and availability of your global applications. By targeting specific endpoints and Application Load Balancers (ALBs), you can ensure efficient and reliable user experiences worldwide.

For more information, visit the AWS Global Accelerator Documentation.

References 

https://aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/faqs/

Endpoint groups for standard accelerators in AWS Global Accelerator