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Alibaba Cloud Configuration

Overview​

Alibaba Cloud integration enables comprehensive asset discovery and management for your cloud infrastructure. Casibase automatically scans resources across your Alibaba Cloud account, collecting detailed configuration information.

Prerequisites​

Before configuring the Alibaba Cloud provider, you need:

  • An Alibaba Cloud account
  • Access Key ID and Access Key Secret with appropriate permissions
  • Access to at least one region where resources are deployed

Required Permissions​

The Access Key should have permissions to call:

  • resourcecenter:SearchResources - For resource discovery
  • ecs:DescribeInstances - For ECS instance details
  • ecs:DescribeDisks - For disk details
  • vpc:DescribeVpcs - For VPC details

Configuration Steps​

Create Access Key​

  1. Log in to Alibaba Cloud console
  2. Navigate to AccessKey Management
  3. Create a new Access Key pair
  4. Save both the Access Key ID and Access Key Secret securely

Add Provider in Casibase​

  1. Open Casibase and navigate to Providers
  2. Click the Add button
  3. Fill in the configuration:
    • Name: A descriptive name for this provider
    • Type: Select "Aliyun" (this is the internal identifier for Alibaba Cloud)
    • Category: Select "Public Cloud"
    • Client ID: Paste your Access Key ID
    • Client Secret: Paste your Access Key Secret
    • Region: Enter the target region (e.g., cn-hangzhou, cn-beijing)
  4. Click Save & Exit

Asset Discovery​

Once configured, Casibase performs two-level asset discovery:

Level 1: Resource Discovery​

Uses the SearchResources API to scan all resource types in the specified region. This provides basic information about each resource including ID, type, region, and tags.

Level 2: Detailed Enrichment​

For specific resource types, Casibase makes additional API calls to gather comprehensive details:

ECS Instances

  • Instance specifications (CPU cores, memory size)
  • Operating system information
  • Public and private IP addresses
  • Billing method and instance status

Disks

  • Disk category (cloud, cloud_efficiency, cloud_ssd)
  • Size and attachment status
  • Associated instance information

VPCs

  • CIDR block configuration
  • Associated VSwitches
  • Routing table information

Resource Properties​

Each discovered asset includes standard fields plus resource-specific properties. The properties are stored as key-value pairs and displayed in the asset detail view.

Common properties include instance types, network configurations, storage specifications, and billing information.

Scanning Multiple Regions​

To scan resources in multiple regions, create separate providers for each region. This approach allows granular control over which regions are scanned and monitored.

Troubleshooting​

No resources found: Verify the Access Key has correct permissions and the specified region contains resources.

Authentication errors: Check that the Access Key ID and Secret are correctly entered and the key is active.

Missing details: Ensure the Access Key has permissions for the detailed API calls (DescribeInstances, DescribeDisks, DescribeVpcs).