If you are unfamiliar with the concept of traffic engineering, it refers to the action network operators take when adjusting a routing policy to determine how to receive and send traffic through nearby systems. Traffic engineering is done for various reasons. It might be done to reduce bandwidth costs by using a specific path. It may be done to improve performance by using a particular provider that has a lower-latency route to the destination.
All of these networks and paths work in a particular way, which is to say that they scale their capacity based upon utilization. So, when traffic goes up, links will be added to individual networks. If a change in traffic is sudden, those paths may be congested until they catch up as they are handling more traffic than before. This is all to say that traffic engineering is complicated and takes a lot of work.
World Networking
Before this, we were talking about one network, but the truth is there are tons of networks around the world. Each of these is working to deliver traffic and do their traffic engineering. Then to make things even more stressful, some networks will not pair with other networks. The only solution when this occurs is a transit AWS managed services providers. You’ll have a path at this point, but it may not be an uncongested one, especially when it’s during peak hours.
AWS Direct Connect
Direction connections are one way to eliminate the hops between many different networks. AWS Direct Connect is built to do just that. Using this service, customers can connect directly to the AWS infrastructure. This enables bypassing network providers via direct physical connectivity and removes routing and capacity issues that can cause huge problems.
Amazon states that this type of private network connection is more consistent and safe than an Internet-based connection. This is particularly true for companies who cannot use the public Internet to transfer data due to compliance concerns. Direct Connect is a workaround for these dilemmas. It can be used with all other AWS services, which include Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).
While AWS Direct Connect, as mentioned above, is flexible, compatible, and reliable, it does take some lengthy and challenging work to make it work for a company’s specific needs. You have to procure requirements, deploy things, configuring things to work correctly, and then monitor everything is working as it should be. That can take some serious time, which may or may not be available.
APN Technology and Consulting Partner
The good news is that you can always work with an Amazon Partner Network (APN) Technology and Consulting Partner. These experts can help you with constructing a hybrid environment or even assist you with using AWS Direct Connect by establishing circuits between an AWS Direct Connect location and a location found in a data center. There are many options for partners, but it’s essential to ensure that they offer the ports you need and have Direct Connect capabilities in the AWS regions that are important to your company.
AWS Requirements
In order to use AWS Direct Connect, there are three conditions, of which you must meet one.
- You are partnered with an independent service provider to connect with AWS Direct Connect.
- You are involved with an AWS Direct Connect partner who is a part of the APN.
- Your network is collocated with an already existing AWD Direct Connect location.
Other details about criteria can be found on the AWS Direct Connect page. If you see that your business fits the requirements, this might be an excellent solution for you and your company. If you need help with partnering with a member of APN, feel free to contact us at QuoteColo.com.