How does Global Accelerator differ from CloudFront?

CloudFront is a content delivery network that caches static and dynamic content at edge locations. Global Accelerator is a networking service that routes TCP/UDP traffic through the AWS backbone to the nearest healthy endpoint without caching. Use CloudFront for HTTP/HTTPS content delivery with caching. Use Global Accelerator for non-HTTP protocols (gaming, IoT, VoIP), TCP applications that need static IP addresses, or when you need deterministic sub-second failover between regions.

What is a traffic dial and how does it work?

A traffic dial is a percentage (0-100) set on each endpoint group that controls how much traffic is routed to that region. Setting a region to 50% means only half the traffic that would normally go to that region is actually sent there — the rest is redistributed to other endpoint groups. Traffic dials are useful for gradually shifting traffic during deployments, performing blue-green migrations, or reducing load on a region experiencing issues.

Global Accelerator Config Builder

NetworkingAWS

Build Global Accelerator endpoint group configurations for multi-region traffic.

Global Accelerator Configuration

Build Global Accelerator endpoint configs with listeners, endpoint groups, and health checks.

Required Fields

NameListenersEndpointGroups[0].EndpointGroupRegionEndpointGroups[0].EndpointConfigurations

{
  "Name": "my-app-accelerator",
  "IpAddressType": "IPV4",
  "Enabled": true,
  "Listeners": [
    {
      "PortRanges": [
        {
          "FromPort": 443,
          "ToPort": 443
        },
        {
          "FromPort": 80,
          "ToPort": 80
        }
      ],
      "Protocol": "TCP",
      "ClientAffinity": "SOURCE_IP"
    }
  ],
  "EndpointGroups": [
    {
      "EndpointGroupRegion": "us-east-1",
      "TrafficDialPercentage": 70,
      "HealthCheckPort": 443,
      "HealthCheckProtocol": "HTTPS",
      "HealthCheckPath": "/health",
      "HealthCheckIntervalSeconds": 10,
      "ThresholdCount": 3,
      "EndpointConfigurations": [
        {
          "EndpointId": "arn:aws:elasticloadbalancing:us-east-1:123456789012:loadbalancer/app/my-alb/abc123",
          "Weight": 128,
          "ClientIPPreservationEnabled": true
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "EndpointGroupRegion": "eu-west-1",
      "TrafficDialPercentage": 30,
      "HealthCheckPort": 443,
      "HealthCheckProtocol": "HTTPS",
      "HealthCheckPath": "/health",
      "HealthCheckIntervalSeconds": 10,
      "ThresholdCount": 3,
      "EndpointConfigurations": [
        {
          "EndpointId": "arn:aws:elasticloadbalancing:eu-west-1:123456789012:loadbalancer/app/my-alb-eu/def456",
          "Weight": 128,
          "ClientIPPreservationEnabled": true
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Generated Output

Output will appear here...

About This Tool

AWS Global Accelerator provides static anycast IP addresses that route traffic through the AWS global network to optimal endpoints in multiple regions. Unlike CloudFront which caches content, Global Accelerator is a network-layer service that improves performance for TCP and UDP traffic by reducing internet hops. Configuration involves defining listeners, endpoint groups per region, and health check settings. The Global Accelerator Config Builder helps you set up endpoint group configurations with traffic dials, health check parameters, and endpoint weights for multi-region architectures.

When to Use This Tool

•Configuring multi-region active-active architectures with traffic dials to control the percentage of traffic sent to each region
•Setting up health checks that automatically fail over to healthy endpoints in another region within seconds
•Building endpoint groups that combine ALBs, NLBs, EC2 instances, and Elastic IPs across multiple regions

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Global Accelerator differ from CloudFront?: CloudFront is a content delivery network that caches static and dynamic content at edge locations. Global Accelerator is a networking service that routes TCP/UDP traffic through the AWS backbone to the nearest healthy endpoint without caching. Use CloudFront for HTTP/HTTPS content delivery with caching. Use Global Accelerator for non-HTTP protocols (gaming, IoT, VoIP), TCP applications that need static IP addresses, or when you need deterministic sub-second failover between regions.
What is a traffic dial and how does it work?: A traffic dial is a percentage (0-100) set on each endpoint group that controls how much traffic is routed to that region. Setting a region to 50% means only half the traffic that would normally go to that region is actually sent there — the rest is redistributed to other endpoint groups. Traffic dials are useful for gradually shifting traffic during deployments, performing blue-green migrations, or reducing load on a region experiencing issues.

Related Learning Guides

AWS Networking Deep Dive30 min read

Disclaimer: This tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to our servers. Always verify outputs before using them in production. AWS, Azure, and GCP are trademarks of their respective owners.