While providing solutions to client requirements for migrating their on-premises workloads to the AWS cloud. Upon careful evaluation and comparison of various AWS services, we’ve determined that AWS Direct Connect offers unique advantages tailored to the client’s migration needs. This solution uniquely aligns with the client’s migration objectives, prioritizing paramount factors such as enhanced security, cost efficiency, and robust performance.
What is AWS Direct Connect?
In the vast expanse of cloud computing, establishing robust and reliable connectivity between on-premises infrastructure and cloud services is fundamental. AWS Direct Connect, a pioneering solution offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), serves as a dedicated highway, enabling organizations to seamlessly bridge their on-premises environments with the vast ecosystem of AWS cloud services.
Let’s delve deeper into it
At its core, AWS Direct Connect provides a dedicated network connection between an organization’s data center, office, or colocation facility, and the AWS cloud. By establishing a private link, organizations can transmit data to and from AWS resources with enhanced security and reduced latency, paving the way for seamless cloud integration.
Why did we choose AWS Direct Connect despite other AWS services?
1. AWS Site-to-Site VPN: Site-to-Site VPN provides encrypted connectivity between your on-premises network and AWS VPCs over the public internet. While VPNs offer flexibility and ease of setup, they may not match the performance and security guarantees of Direct Connect, especially for latency-sensitive or bandwidth-intensive workloads.
2. AWS VPC Peering: VPC Peering allows direct connectivity between VPCs within the same AWS Region or across different Regions. While Peering is suitable for intra-cloud communication, it lacks the dedicated, high-performance characteristics of Direct Connect, making it less suitable for large-scale migrations or real-time applications.
3. AWS Transit Gateway: Transit Gateway simplifies network connectivity by acting as a hub for connecting multiple VPCs, VPNs, and Direct Connect connections. While Transit Gateway offers scalability and centralized management, it complements Direct Connect rather than serving as a direct replacement, as Direct Connect provides dedicated, private connectivity.
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Key Features and Components of AWS Direct Connect:
Dedicated Connection: AWS Direct Connect provides a dedicated network connection between your on-premises environment and AWS, ensuring a more reliable and consistent network performance compared to internet-based connections.
Virtual Interfaces: With Direct Connect, you can create multiple virtual interfaces over a single physical connection, allowing you to connect to different AWS services or regions. Each virtual interface can be associated with a specific Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) or AWS Direct Connect Gateway.
Redundancy: You can establish redundant connections to AWS Direct Connect locations to ensure high availability and fault tolerance. AWS recommends connecting to multiple Direct Connect locations or using different providers to enhance redundancy.
Connection Speeds: AWS Direct Connect supports multiple connection speeds, ranging from 50 Mbps to 100 Gbps, depending on the AWS Direct Connect location. You can choose the appropriate connection speed based on your bandwidth requirements.
Global Reach: AWS Direct Connect is available in various AWS regions globally. This allows you to connect your on-premises environment to AWS resources located in different regions using a single Direct Connect connection.
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AWS Direct Connect Gateway: The AWS Direct Connect Gateway enables you to connect multiple VPCs in different AWS regions to your on-premises network over a single Direct Connect connection.
Private Connectivity: Since AWS Direct Connect provides a private connection, it can be used for scenarios where enhanced security and dedicated network performance are critical, such as large data transfers, real-time applications, or sensitive workloads.
Essential Steps and Decisions for On-Premises Connectivity
When you implement Direct Connect, you have several decisions before you can log into the console and create a connection from the Direct Connect dashboard.
The choices at each step will make a complete picture of the requirements you need to meet to connect to your AWS environment successfully. First, note that Direct Connect only supports 802 .1Q encapsulation.
All equipment that will be a part of the physical connection linking to your location with AWS must support 802 .1Q encapsulation.
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Three Ways to Implement AWS Direct Connect
1. Co-locating at a Direct Connect location
AWS has partnered with companies around the world to offer physical uplinks to AWS through the Direct Connect service. Typically, you select a Direct Connect location best suited for your needs by talking with the Direct Connect partners near you.
When you have selected the Direct Connect location, you deploy a router and supporting equipment to that location. The equipment you deploy will be the physical connection between your on-premises location and the AWS router at the Direct Connect location.
By this way, you are responsible for three things, the deployed equipment, the circuit that will connect your on-premises location to the deployed equipment, and the connection from the deployed equipment to the AWS router.
2. Contracting with a Direct Connect Partner
The second option is to contract with a Direct Connect partner who already has equipment at the Direct Connect location. If you choose this option, the Direct Connect partner will provide you with the necessary equipment at the Direct Connect location that will connect to the AWS router.
In most cases, you will need to provide the physical connection between your on-premises location and the Direct Connect Partner equipment, but the Direct Connect Partner will configure and maintain the physical equipment at the Direct Connect location.
3. Direct Physical Connection to a Direct Connect Node
The third and final option is to reach an agreement with AWS to make a direct physical connection from your on-premises location to a Direct Connect node. When you do this, you are responsible for all of the equipment from the node to your location.
You need to speak with your AWS representative for more information if you are interested in this option.
Ethernet Connection Speed range
- 1 GBPS:- It requires a 1310nm 1000BaseLX transceiver.
- 10 GBPS:- It requires a 1310nm 10Gb BaseLR transceiver.
- 100 GBPS:- It requires 100Gb BaseLR4 transceiver.
Regardless of the speed of your connection, they must all be single-mode fiber.
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Certain Key considerations before implementing
The router that will connect to the AWS router must support Border Gateway Protocol or BGP, and Border Gateway Protocol MD5 authentication.
Direct Connect also supports Asynchronous Bidirectional Forwarding Detection or BFD. BFD can be configured with BGP, but is optional. BGP requires an Autonomous System Number, or ASN. ASNs can be public or private.
Private ASNs can be self-determined. Public ASNs must be purchased and registered. Your choice of private or public ASN will determine which type of virtual interface you can use later. Private virtual interfaces require a private ASN, and public virtual interfaces require a public ASN.
Conclusion
AWS Direct Connect is a powerful service that provides businesses with a dedicated, secure, and high-performance connection to the AWS cloud. AWS Direct Connect is often used by organizations with specific networking requirements, high data transfer needs, or regulatory compliance considerations that benefit from a dedicated, private connection to AWS resources.
Stay tuned for our next blog post, where we’ll delve deeper into the implementation of AWS Direct Connect.
