AWS DirectConnect Overview

AWS Direct Connect is a cloud service solution that makes it easy to establish a dedicated network connection from your premises to AWS. Using AWS Direct Connect, you can establish private connectivity between AWS and your data center, office, or colocation environment, which can often reduce your network costs, increase bandwidth throughput, and provide a more consistent network experience than internet-based connections.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up AWS Direct Connect from your AWS account to your on-premise network:

Step-by-Step Setup:

Step 1: Create a Direct Connect Connection

1. Login to AWS Management Console: Navigate to the AWS Direct Connect console.

2. Request a Connection:

   • Choose either a dedicated connection or a hosted connection.

   • Choose the location for your Direct Connect connection.

   • Choose the connection speed (bandwidth).

Step 2: Setup and Configure a Virtual Interface (VIF)

1. Virtual Interfaces: A virtual interface (VIF) is required to establish the connection.

   • Go to the Direct Connect console and choose "Create Virtual Interface".

   • Choose either "Public Virtual Interface" for accessing public services (like S3) or "Private Virtual Interface" to connect to your VPC.

2. Configure the Virtual Interface:

   • Provide a unique virtual interface name.

   • Define the connection type (public/private).

   • For Private VIF, link it to your VPC.

   • Provide the BGP information.

Step 3: Setup Your On-Premises Router

1. BGP Configuration: Configure BGP on your on-premises router to communicate with AWS Direct Connect.

   • Input the connection details provided by AWS such as IP addresses, VLAN ID, and BGP ASN.

2. Redundant Connections (Highly recommended):

   • If availability is crucial, establish a second connection to another location to ensure redundancy.

Step 4: Configure Virtual Private Gateway (VGW)

1. Attach a VGW to Your VPC: This is needed for Private Virtual Interfaces.

   • Go to the VPC management console and create a Virtual Private Gateway (VGW) if you don’t have one.

   • Attach the VGW to the VPC you intend to connect.

Step 5: Route Management

1. Update Route Tables:

   • In the VPC console, update the route tables associated with your subnets to direct traffic through the VGW.

   • Add routes for your on-premises network.

Step 6: Test Connectivity

1. Ping Between Networks: Check the connectivity by pinging from an on-premises system to an EC2 instance or another resource within your VPC.

2. Check Latency and Performance: Evaluate the connection speed and reliability to ensure the configuration meets your performance requirements.

Step 7: Security and Compliance

1. Network Security: Ensure that appropriate firewall and security group rules are in place to control traffic between your on-premises network and AWS resources.

2. Monitoring and Logging: Utilize AWS CloudWatch and other monitoring tools to keep track of the connection status and performance.

Additional Considerations:

• Direct Connect Gateway: If you need to connect multiple VPCs or VPCs in different regions, use AWS Direct Connect Gateway.

• Redundancy and Failover: Implement additional connections for failover purposes and ensure HA (high availability).

• Cost Management: Be mindful of potential costs associated with data transfer over Direct Connect and monitor utilisation accordingly.

Resources:

For more detailed steps and configurations, refer to the official AWS documentation:

1. AWS Direct Connect Documentation

2. Setting Up AWS Direct Connect

3. AWS Direct Connect User Guide