Networking & Content Delivery | AWS Direct Connect Flashcards
What is AWS Direct Connect?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
AWS Direct Connect is a network service that provides an alternative to using the Internet to connect customer’s on premise sites to AWS.
What can I do with AWS Direct Connect?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Using AWS Direct Connect, data that would have previously been transported over the Internet can now be delivered through a private network connection between AWS and your datacenter or corporate network.
What are the benefits of using AWS Direct Connect and private network connections?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
In many circumstances, private network connections can reduce costs, increase bandwidth, and provide a more consistent network experience than Internet-based connections.
Which AWS services can be used with AWS Direct Connect?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
All AWS services, including Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), and Amazon DynamoDB can be used with AWS Direct Connect.
Can I use the same private network connection with Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and other AWS services simultaneously?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes. Each AWS Direct Connect connection can be configured with one or more virtual interfaces. Virtual interfaces may be configured to access AWS services such as Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3 using public IP space, or resources in a VPC using private IP space.
If I’m using Amazon CloudFront and my origin is in my own data center, can I use AWS Direct Connect to transfer the objects stored in my own data center?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes. Amazon CloudFront supports custom origins including origins you run outside of AWS. The access to the CloudFront edge locations will be restricted to the geographically nearest AWS region. With the exception of the North America regions which currently allow access to all North American region’s on-net CloudFront origins. With AWS Direct Connect, you will pay AWS Direct Connect data transfer rates for origin transfer.
Through Direct Connect, customer traffic will remain in Amazon backbone network after it enters it. Therefore, prefixes of CloudFront locations that are not on the Amazon backbone network will not be advertised through Direct Connect. You can also find more details about IP prefixes advertised on AWS Direct Connect public virtual interfaces here. You can also refer to this link to know more about Direct Connect routing policy.
Where is AWS Direct Connect available?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You can find the complete list of Direct Connect locations on the Product Details page.
Can I use AWS Direct Connect if my network is not present at an AWS Direct Connect location?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes. APN Partners supporting AWS Direct Connect can help you extend your preexisting data center or office network to an AWS Direct Connect location. Please see APN Partners for more information.
How can I get started with AWS Direct Connect?
General Questions
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Use the AWS Direct Connect tab on the AWS Management Console to create a new connection. Then you will change the region to the region you wish to use. When requesting a connection, you will be asked to select the AWS Direct Connect location you wish to use, the number of ports, and the port speed. You will also have the opportunity to request to have an APN Partner contact you if you need assistance extending your office or data center network to the AWS Direct Connect location.
Can I order a port for AWS GovCloud (US) in the AWS Management Console?
Billing
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
If you wish to order a port to connect to AWS GovCloud (US) you will need to use the AWS GovCloud (US) management console. Details about getting started in the AWS GovCloud (US) region can be found here.
Are there any setup charges or a minimum service term commitment required to use AWS Direct Connect?
Billing
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
There are no setup charges, and you may cancel at any time. Services provided by APN Partners may have other terms or restrictions that apply.
How will I be charged and billed for my use of AWS Direct Connect?
Billing
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
AWS Direct Connect has two separate charges: port-hours and Data Transfer. Pricing is per port-hour consumed for each port type. Partial port-hours consumed are billed as full hours.
Data Transfer via AWS Direct Connect will be billed in the same month in which the usage occurred. If you have a hosted virtual interface, you will only be charged for the data transferred out of that virtual interface at the applicable Data Transfer rates. The account that owns the port will be charged the port-hour charges. Read more about hosted virtual interfaces here.
For AWS Direct Connect pricing information, please see AWS Direct Connect pricing. If using an APN partner to facilitate a Direct Connect connection, contact the partner regarding any fees they may charge.
Will regional data transfer be billed at the AWS Direct Connect rate?
Billing
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
No, data transfer between Availability Zones in a region will be billed at the regular regional data transfer rate in the same month in which the usage occurred.
What defines billable port-hours?
Billing
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Port-hours are billed once the connection between the AWS router and your router is established, or 90 days after you ordered the port, whichever comes first. Port charges will continue to be billed anytime the AWS Direct Connect port is provisioned for your use. If you no longer wish to be charged for your port, please follow the cancellation process detailed in How do I cancel the AWS Direct Connect service?.
How does AWS Direct Connect work with consolidated billing?
Billing
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
AWS Direct Connect data transfer usage will be aggregated to your master account.
How do I cancel the AWS Direct Connect service?
Billing
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You can cancel AWS Direct Connect service by deleting your ports from the AWS management console. You should also cancel any service(s) offered by a third party. For example, contact the colocation provider to disconnect any cross-connects to AWS Direct Connect, and/or a network service provider who may be providing network connectivity from your remote locations to the AWS Direct Connect location.
Do your prices include taxes?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Except as otherwise noted, our prices are exclusive of applicable taxes and duties, including VAT and applicable sales tax. For customers with a Japanese billing address, use of AWS services is subject to Japanese Consumption Tax. Learn more.
What connection speeds are supported by AWS Direct Connect?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
1Gbps and 10Gbps ports are available.Speeds of 50Mbps, 100Mbps, 200Mbps, 300Mbps, 400Mbps, and 500Mbps can be ordered from any APN partners supporting AWS Direct Connect. Read more about APN Partners supporting AWS Direct Connect.
Are there limits on the amount of data that I can transfer using AWS Direct Connect?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
No. You may transfer any amount of data up to the limit of your selected port speed.
What are the technical requirements for the connection?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
AWS Direct Connect supports 1000BASE-LX or 10GBASE-LR connections over singlemode fiber using Ethernet transport. Your device must support 802.1Q VLANs. See the AWS Direct Connect User Guide for more detailed requirements information.
What AWS region(s) can I connect to via this connection?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Using direct connect gateway, you can connect to VPCs deployed in any AWS Region from this location. See the Direct Connect Gateway page to get more details.
Direct connect locations can also access the public resources in any AWS Region using a public virtual interface.
What Availability Zone(s) can I connect to via this connection?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Using direct connect gateway, you can connect to VPCs deployed in any AWS Region Availability Zone(s) from this location. See the direct connect gateway page to get more details.
Are connections to AWS Direct Connect redundant?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Each connection consists of a single dedicated connection between ports on your router and an Amazon router. We recommend establishing a second connection if redundancy is required. When you request multiple ports at the same AWS Direct Connect location, they will be provisioned on redundant Amazon routers.
Will I lose connectivity if my AWS Direct Connect link fails?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
If you have established a second AWS Direct Connect connection, traffic will failover to the second link automatically. We recommend enabling Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) when configuring your connections to ensure fast detection and failover. If you have configured a back-up IPsec VPN connection instead, all VPC traffic will failover to the VPN connection automatically. Traffic to/from public resources such as Amazon S3 will be routed over the Internet. If you do not have a backup AWS Direct Connect link or a IPsec VPN link, then Amazon VPC traffic will be dropped in the event of a failure. Traffic to/from public resources will be routed over the Internet.
Can I extend one of my VLANs to the AWS Cloud using AWS Direct Connect?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
No, VLANs are utilized in AWS Direct Connect only to separate traffic between virtual interfaces.
Does AWS Direct Connect offer a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Not at this time.
What are the technical requirements for virtual interfaces to public AWS services such as Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
This connection requires the use of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) with an Autonomous System Number (ASN) and IP Prefixes. You will need the following information to complete the connection:
A public or private ASN. If you are using a public ASN, you must own it. If you are using a private ASN, it must be in the 64512 to 65535 range.
A new unused VLAN tag that you select
Public IPs (/30) allocated by you for the BGP session
Amazon will advertise public IP prefixes for the region via BGP. Direct Connect customers in the North America will receive the public IP prefixes for all US regions. You must advertise public IP prefixes (/30 or smaller) that you own via BGP. For more details, consult the AWS Direct Connect User Guide.
What is an Autonomous System Number (ASN) and do I need one to use AWS Direct Connect?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Autonomous System numbers are used to identify networks that present a clearly defined external routing policy to the Internet. AWS Direct Connect requires an ASN to create a public or private virtual interface. You may use a public ASN which you own, or you can pick any private ASN number between 64512 to 65535 range.
What IP address will be assigned to each end of a virtual interface?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
If you are configuring a virtual interface to the public AWS cloud, the IP addresses for both ends of the connection must be allocated from public IP space that you own. If the virtual interface is to a VPC and you choose to have AWS auto-generate the peer IP CIDR, the IP address space for both ends of the connection will be allocated by AWS in the 169.254.0.0/16 range.
Can I connect to the Internet via this connection?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
No.
If I have more than one virtual interface attached, can I exchange traffic between the two ports?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Not for public Direct Connect virtual interfaces; but you can exchange traffic between the two ports in the same region if they are connecting to the same VGW.
Can I locate my hardware next to the equipment that powers AWS Direct Connect?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You can procure rack space within the facility housing the AWS Direct Connect location and deploy your equipment nearby. However, AWS customer equipment cannot be placed within AWS Direct Connect racks or cage areas for security reasons. For more information, contact the APN Partner for the particular facility. Once deployed, you can connect this equipment to AWS Direct Connect using a cross-connect.
How do I enable BFD on my Direct Connect connection?
Technical
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Asynchronous BFD is automatically enabled for each Direct Connect virtual interface, but will not take effect until it’s configured on your router. AWS has set the BFD liveness detection minimum interval to 300, and the BFD liveness detection multiplier to 3.
How do I set up Direct Connect for the AWS GovCloud (US) Region?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
See the AWS GovCloud (US) User Guide for detailed instructions on how to set up a Direct Connect connection for the AWS GovCloud (US) region.
What is this feature?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Link Aggregation Groups (LAG) are a way for customers to order and manage multiple direct connect ports as a single larger connection instead of as separate discrete connections.
What’s the max number of links I can have in a LAG group?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
The maximum number of links will be 4x in a LAG group.
What does the LOA look like?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You will receive a single LOA document with dedicated page for each connection.
What are you using for Link Aggregation Groups?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
We are using the industry standard of LACP.
Are these LAGs Static or Dynamic LACP?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
We are configuring Dynamic LACP bundles. Static LACP bundles are not supported.
Are these in Active/Active or Active/Passive mode?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
They will be in Active/Active. That means, that AWS ports will always be sending Link Aggregation Control Protocol Data Units (LACPDUs).
Does the MTU change at all?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
The MTU does not change.
Can I have my ports configured for Active/Passive instead of Active/Active?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You could configure LAG at your endpoint with LACP active or passive mode, AWS side is always configured as Active mode LACP.
Can I mix interface types and have a few 1G ports and a few 10G ports in the same bundle?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Only like interface types (ie. No mixing 1G and 10G in a bundle)
What ports types will this be available on?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
It will be available for 1G and 10G ports.
Can I LAG hosted connections as well?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
It will only be available for dedicated 1G and 10G connections. It will not be available for hosted connections on partner NNIs.
Can I create a LAG out of my existing ports?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes, if your ports are on the same chassis. Please note this will cause your ports to go down for a moment while they are reconfigured as a LAG. They will not come back up until LAG is configured on your side as well.
Can I have a LAG that spans multiple AWS routers?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
LAG will only include ports on the same AWS device. We don’t support multi- chassis LAG.
How do I add links to my LAG once it’s set up?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You can request another port for your LAG, but if we do not have ports available in the same chassis you will need to order a new LAG and migrate your connections. For example, if you have 3x 1G links, and would like to add a fourth but we do not have a port available on that chassis, you will need to order a new LAG of 4x 1G ports.
What does the new LOA look like when I order additional connection to add to the LAG?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You will receive a separate LOA for each the new members of the LAG group.
You’re out of ports and I have to order a new LAG, but I have VIFs configured! How do I move those?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You can have multiple VIFs attached to a VGW at once, and you can configure VIFs on a connection even when it’s down. We suggest you create the new VIFs on your new bundle, and then move the connections over to the new bundle once you’ve created all of your VIFS. Remember to delete the old connections so we stop billing you for them.
Can I delete a single port from my LAG?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes, but only if your min links is set to lower than the ports you’ll have left. Ex: You have 4 ports and Min links set to 4 – you won’t be able to delete a port from the bundle. If min links is set to 3, you can then delete a port from the bundle. We will return a notification with the specific panel/port you’ve deleted and a reminder to disconnect the cross connect and circuit from Amazon.
Can I delete my LAG bundle all at once?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes, but just like a regular connection you won’t be able to delete it if you have VIFs configured.
If I have only 2 ports in my LAG can I still delete one?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes, you can have a single port in a LAG.
Can I order a LAG with only one port?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes you can. Please note we can’t guarantee there will be more ports available on the same
chassis in the future if you wish to add more ports.
Can I convert a bundle back to individual ports?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes. This can be done with the DisassociateConnectionWithLag API call. See the API section.
Can you just create a tool to move my VIFs for me?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
You can use AssociateVirtualInterface API or console to do this operation.
Does the LAG show as a single connection or a collection of connections?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
It will show as a single dxlag and we’ll list the connection id’s under it.
What does Min Links mean, and why do I have a check box for it when I order my bundle?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Min links is a feature in LACP where you can set the minimum number of links needed to be active in a bundle for that bundle to be active and pass traffic. If, for example, you have 4 ports, your min links is set to 3, and you only have 2 active ports, your bundle will not be active. If you have 3 or more then the bundle is active and will pass traffic if you have a VIF configured.
What’s the behavior if I don’t click the Min Links?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
We’ll set Min Links to 0 by default.
Can I change the Min Links after I’ve set up my bundle?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
Yes. You can change the min links value after you’ve set up the bundle, either via console or via API.
When I associate my existing DirectConnect connection with a LAG what happens with existing Virtual Interfaces already created with DirectConnect connection?
Link Aggregation Group (LAG) support in Direct Connect
AWS Direct Connect | Networking & Content Delivery
When a DirectConnect connection with existing Virtual Interfaces (VIFs) is associated to a LAG, Virtual Interfaces are migrated to the LAG. Please note that certain parameters associated with VIFs needs to be unique like VLAN numbers to be moved to LAG.