Node types in Aspera on Cloud

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An IBM Aspera node is a computing machine (physical, virtual, or container) on which IBM Aspera High-Speed Transfer Server (HSTS) software is installed. Your Aspera on Cloud subscription comes provisioned with one node, managed by IBM Aspera and connected to storage in IBM Cloud. You can connect additional storage to your AoC organization, either by attaching your own IBM Aspera HSTS node or cluster, or by using Aspera Transfer Service (ATS), the Aspera-managed auto-scaling transfer cluster.

The vast majority of Aspera on Cloud (AoC) features are supported on all node types. In the rare cases when node type is relevant, the related Help Center article makes node-type support clear.

Aspera Transfer Service (ATS)

Managed by IBM Aspera, ATS is an auto-scaling, multi-tenant cluster of IBM Aspera High-Speed Transfer Servers (HSTS).

Use ATS as a transfer engine to connect your own cloud object storage to your AoC organization. IBM Aspera runs ATS in all the major cloud platforms; your storage must be in a region supported by ATS. While the cloud storage is associated with your cloud account, the ATS engine is associated with IBM Aspera's cloud account.

Each AoC organization has one built-in ATS transfer cluster provisioned in IBM Cloud during the subscription process. In addition to this built-in transfer cluster, you can attach as many ATS clusters to your AoC organization as necessary to make your cloud-based content available to AoC users.

To identify the type of a particular node attached to your AoC organization, see Identifying a node type.

Aspera-managed node

An Aspera-managed node is an IBM Aspera HSTS installed on a physical or virtual machine managed by IBM Aspera.

This node type was formerly the default IBM storage provisioned for an AoC organization during subscription. The current default node type is ATS.

  • Usage accrual

    All transfer usage by an Aspera-managed node accrues to your AoC subscription usage allotment. Like ATS, an Aspera-managed node automatically sends usage records to the AoC Activity app to give you monitoring and reporting capabilities. It also send usage records to the IBM Aspera billing app, to be reported on the AoC Subscription management page and billed to your account.

  • Transfer rate

    Default: 100 Mbps. Maximum: 500 Mbps.

Subscriber-managed tethered node or cluster

A tethered node is a subscriber-managed instance of IBM Aspera HSTS installed on a physical machine on your customer premises or on a virtual machine in the cloud or on your customer premises, attached to Aspera on Cloud.

A tethered cluster, similarly, is a subscriber-managed auto-scale cluster of IBM Aspera HSTS. The tethered cluster can be an array of physical or virtual machines on your premises or in the cloud.

You can tether any number of your HSTS nodes to any AoC subscription that includes a pre-committed transfer volume. You can tether one HSTS node to a Pay-as-You-Go subscription.

Other Aspera products like Console, Faspex, and Shares can also access and use your tethered nodes and cluster, as can other computing resources like transcoders.

  • Usage accrual

    If your tethered node or cluster is enabled by:

    • An entitlement, transfer usage accrues to your AoC subscription.
    • A license, transfer usage does not accrue to your AoC subscription.
  • Transfer rate

    If your tethered node or cluster is enabled by:

    • An entitlement, transfer rates depend on your server settings and on available bandwidth in the network.
    • A license, the maximum bandwidth allowed by the license governs transfer rate.
  • Tether your Aspera HSTS node or cluster to your AoC organization

    You must first configure your node or cluster specifically for this purpose. Once configured, you can tether or attach the node or cluster. See Tether Your Aspera Transfer Server to Aspera on Cloud.

To identify the type of a particular node attached to your AoC organization, see Identifying a node type.