Connecting to AWS Direct Connect
You can create a network connection from your Port to AWS with Virtual Cross Connects (VXCs) and AWS Direct Connect.
Megaport supports three AWS Direct Connect models:
Hosted Virtual Interfaces
Hosted VIFs can connect to public or private AWS cloud services. Each VXC (Hosted VIF) lets you manage the bandwidth and as long as the total bandwidth of the VXCs does not exceed the size of the Port, utilization of each VXC (to the VPC) will not impact the other VPCs.
Key features include:
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Connections can share bandwidth, which is managed and monitored to ensure defined network performance.
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If you connect to AWS from a Megaport Cloud Router (MCR), the Hosted VIF provides access to the routing information for automatic configuration of your MCR.
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You can change the service speed without impact to the service.
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This model does not support Transit Gateway virtual interfaces.
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AWS Direct Connect port charges are included with your Megaport order. You are informed of the billing details and shown the Megaport rates as you configure the connection.
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Maximum VXC speed of 5 Gbps.
Note
This is the original option supported by Megaport for AWS Direct Connect.
To get started with Hosted VIFs:
Hosted Connections
A Hosted Connection can support one private, public, or transit virtual interface.
Key features include:
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Support for Transit Gateway.
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Dedicated (not shared) bandwidth with one-to-one subscription.
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You cannot change the speed after you create the connection. To change the speed, you must create and configure a new connection.
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The configuration process does not have automatic access to routing information for the MCR and you need to configure the routing manually.
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Maximum VXC speed of 10 Gbps.
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Support for diverse AWS ports for resiliency and to avoid any single-point-of-failure.
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AWS Direct Connect port charges are billed by Amazon.
With Hosted Connections, you can aggregate connections using Transit Gateway and have a single Hosted Connection with dedicated bandwidth instead of multiple Hosted VIFs sharing the bandwidth. With this scenario, a VPC can be impacted by other VPCs requiring bandwidth over the same connection.
Note
If you are not co-located in a data center that offers Hosted Connections, you can use a VXC to connect to the closest enabled location.
To get started with Hosted Connections:
Direct Connect dedicated connections
A Direct Connect dedicated connection can support up to 50 public or private virtual interfaces and one transit virtual interface. With this option, you provision a Direct Connect port in the AWS Console and work with Megaport to set up a physical cross connect from the Direct Connect port to a Port at the same data center. Then, using a private VXC, you can connect the Port to a second Port in a different data center.
Key features include:
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You cannot change the port speed after you create the connection request. To change the port speed, you must create and configure a new connection.
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Support for a large number of VPCs.
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Support for Transit Gateway configurations.
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AWS port charges are billed by Amazon.
To get started with a Direct Connect dedicated connection:
Helpful references
To learn more about AWS Direct Connect models and features, explore these resources.
Additional Megaport Information
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AWS Virtual Gateway vs. Direct Connect Gateway vs. Transit Gateway
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Enabling Cloud Native VPN/Encryption Options Over Dedicated Cloud Connectivity Paths
Amazon Documentation