Alibaba is basically just wholesale aliexpress, most sellers have a minimum order quantity and have clear pricing scale depending on your order.

TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1, it may be a little bit outdated, but the core concepts still stand.

You’re asking if you should use it, while my ISP was working on it in 2017 and then it all got canned when they got bought out :( .

Keep in mind that a lot of your local marketplace sellers just order rebadged stuff from alibaba. I’ve found literally the same electronics i’ve bought locally on aliexpress for like half the price.