> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orbitflare.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Apex Endpoints and Regions

> Hostnames, ports, and region codes for OrbitFlare Apex endpoints: HTTP on port 80 and QUIC on UDP 7001 in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, New York, and more.

## Hostname Pattern

Every Apex endpoint has one hostname that serves both transports:

| Transport                                     | Address                             | Protocol      |
| --------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------- |
| **HTTP** (JSON-RPC and the plain HTTP routes) | `http://<code>.apex.orbitflare.com` | TCP port 80   |
| **QUIC**                                      | `<code>.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`   | UDP port 7001 |

Replace `<code>` with a region code from the table below.

## Regions

| Region                           | Code     | HTTP                                | QUIC                              |
| -------------------------------- | -------- | ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| 🇩🇪 Frankfurt, DE               | `fra`    | `http://fra.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `fra.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🇳🇱 Amsterdam, NL               | `ams`    | `http://ams.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `ams.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🇬🇧 London, GB                  | `lon`    | `http://lon.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `lon.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🇺🇸 New York, US                | `nyc`    | `http://nyc.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `nyc.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🇺🇸 Salt Lake City, US          | `slc`    | `http://slc.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `slc.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore, SG               | `sgp`    | `http://sgp.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `sgp.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🇯🇵 Tokyo, JP                   | `tyo`    | `http://tyo.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `tyo.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🇱🇹 Siauliai, LT                | `sqq`    | `http://sqq.apex.orbitflare.com`    | `sqq.apex.orbitflare.com:7001`    |
| 🌐 Global (nearest), rolling out | `global` | `http://global.apex.orbitflare.com` | `global.apex.orbitflare.com:7001` |

<Note>
  **The global endpoint is rolling out.** `global.apex.orbitflare.com` is geolocated and resolves to the Apex endpoint nearest to you. Until it is fully enabled, use a named region.
</Note>

## Choosing an Apex Endpoint

Pick the Apex endpoint nearest to the machine that sends the transaction. Every Apex endpoint knows the full leader schedule and routes each transaction to the validator clients nearest the upcoming leaders. Your choice affects your own round trip to the endpoint. It does not change the landing path.

Use a named region rather than `global` when you need a fixed host, for example for a firewall rule or a pinned round trip.

Measure before you decide. `GET /ping` needs no API key and returns `pong`:

```bash theme={null}
for code in fra ams lon nyc slc sgp tyo sqq; do
  printf "%s " "$code"
  curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{time_total}s\n" "http://$code.apex.orbitflare.com/ping"
done
```

The first request to each host includes the TCP handshake. Run the loop twice and compare the second pass, or see [warm connections](/apex/best-practices#keep-connections-warm).

## Firewall Rules

| Direction | Protocol | Port | Used by                        |
| --------- | -------- | ---- | ------------------------------ |
| Outbound  | TCP      | 80   | JSON-RPC and plain HTTP routes |
| Outbound  | UDP      | 7001 | QUIC                           |

The QUIC client binds an ephemeral local UDP port by default. If your firewall needs a fixed source port, the Rust client accepts a bind address through `ClientOptions::bind_addr`. See [Rust client](/apex/rust-client#options).

## Utility Methods

These JSON-RPC methods work on every Apex endpoint without an API key:

| Method           | Returns                                     |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| `getTipAccounts` | The tip accounts this Apex endpoint accepts |
| `getVersion`     | The endpoint's version                      |
| `health`         | Whether the endpoint is up                  |

```bash theme={null}
curl -s http://fra.apex.orbitflare.com \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"getTipAccounts","params":[]}'
```