Yes, you can use AWS Global Accelerator with existing AWS resources such as EC2 instances and S3, but there are specific details and limitations to consider for each.
Using AWS Global Accelerator with EC2 Instances:
- AWS Global Accelerator supports EC2 instances directly as endpoints. You can create an accelerator and add EC2 instances by specifying their instance IDs. This allows you to front your EC2 instances with static IP addresses provided by Global Accelerator, improving availability and performance for global users by routing traffic through the AWS global network instead of the public internet[6].
- When using EC2 instances as endpoints, it is recommended to control inbound traffic using security groups within your Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). Global Accelerator preserves the source IP address of the client all the way to the EC2 instance, enabling client-specific logic and personalized content delivery for TCP and UDP applications[6].
- Dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6) EC2 instances can also be added as endpoints if they have a primary IPv6 elastic network interface (ENI) attached. This allows routing of both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic via Global Accelerator[4][11].
- It is important to remove EC2 instances from Global Accelerator endpoint groups before terminating them to avoid routing issues if a new instance with the same private IP address is created in the same VPC[4].
Using AWS Global Accelerator with S3:
- AWS Global Accelerator does not directly support Amazon S3 buckets as endpoints in the same way it does for EC2 or load balancers. However, AWS offers a related service called Amazon S3 Transfer Acceleration, which improves upload and download performance for S3 buckets by routing traffic through AWS edge locations and the AWS global network[7][10].
- For multi-region S3 access, AWS provides S3 Multi-Region Access Points, which offer a global endpoint that routes requests to the lowest-latency S3 bucket across multiple regions. This leverages the AWS global network to improve performance but is distinct from Global Accelerator itself[2].
- While Global Accelerator cannot directly front S3 buckets, it can be used with other AWS resources like Application Load Balancers or Network Load Balancers that in turn serve content from S3 or other backend services[4].
Additional Notes:
- Global Accelerator supports endpoints such as Application Load Balancers (ALB) and Network Load Balancers (NLB) that can be used in front of EC2 instances or other AWS services. ALBs and NLBs must be regional, and there are some restrictions regarding dual-stack configurations and target types[4].
- The resources added as endpoints to Global Accelerator must generally be owned by the same AWS account unless cross-account access is explicitly configured[4].
In summary, AWS Global Accelerator can be used directly with EC2 instances and with load balancers that serve your applications, but it does not directly support S3 buckets as endpoints. For accelerating S3 access, AWS provides S3 Transfer Acceleration and Multi-Region Access Points, which use similar AWS global network optimizations but are separate services from Global Accelerator[2][4][6][7][10].
Citations:
[1] https://aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/faqs/
[2] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/latest/dg/introduction-how-it-works.html
[3] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/latest/dg/introduction-benefits-of-migrating.html
[4] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/global-accelerator/latest/dg/about-endpoints-caveats.html
[5] https://cloudchipr.com/blog/aws-global-accelerator
[6] https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2019/10/aws-global-accelerator-supports-ec2-instance-endpoints/
[7] https://cloudblog.kitboga.net/index.php/2025/01/22/s3-global-accelerator/
[8] https://aws.amazon.com/s3/faqs/
[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7iC_sIM4QU
[10] https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/transfer-acceleration-examples.html
[11] https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/networking-and-content-delivery/global-accelerator-ipv6-ec2/
[12] https://portal.tutorialsdojo.com/forums/discussion/global-accelerator-and-s3/