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Advanced Connectivity Options

Contents

Course Introduction
1
Introduction
PREVIEW2m 28s
VPC Fundamentals
2
What is a VPC?
PREVIEW2m 25s
3
Subnets
PREVIEW16m 20s
VPC Security and Control
VPC Connectivity
Introduction to AWS PrivateLink
VPC Sharing using the AWS Resource Access Manager
Understanding Direct Connect, Implementation and Configuration
23
Why Direct Connect?
PREVIEW4m 19s
26
Summary
5m 25s
Understanding AWS Direct Connect - Connectivity Options
31
Summary
7m 3s
Examining AWS Routing
32
AWS Default Routing
PREVIEW3m 42s
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Difficulty
Intermediate
Duration
3h 55m
Students
540
Ratings
4.7/5
Description

This section of the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional learning path introduces you to the core networking concepts and services relevant to the SAP-C02 exam. We start with an introduction to the AWS Virtual Private Network (VPC) and networking services. We then understand the options available and learn how to select and apply AWS networking, DNS, and content delivery services to meet specific design scenarios relevant to the AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional exam. 

Want more? Try a Lab Playground or do a Lab Challenge

Learning Objectives

  • Get a foundational understanding of VPCs, their security, and connectivity
  • Learn about VPC sharing using the AWS Resource Access Manager
  • Discover inter-regional and intra-regional communication patterns in AWS
  • Learn about AWS Direct Connect, along with its implementation, configuration, and connectivity options
  • Understand routing in AWS, including static and dynamic routing
  • Understand the basics of networking, including Elastic IP addresses, Elastic Network Interfaces, networking with EC2, VPC endpoints, and AWS Global Accelerator
  • Learn about the DNS and content delivery services Amazon Route 53 and Amazon CloudFront
Transcript

A common first step in the DX connection process is that a customer requests a DX connection in a DX location. And you may be asking yourself, can a customer request multiple DX connections in a DX location, or can a customer request multiple DX connections in multiple DX locations in order to increase the resiliency of their Direct Connect?

And I'm happy to say that the answer to both questions is yes. Most definitely, yes. In fact, with the introduction of the Direct Connect Resiliency Toolkit, AWS has made it easier to deploy resilient DX architectures from the time a DX connection is initially requested. If you open the Direct Connect service dashboard in the AWS management console and click 'Create Connection', you'll see two connection ordering types; classic and connection wizard. The classic connection enables an organization to configure a single Direct Connect connection.

The connection wizard ordering type launches the AWS Direct Connect Resiliency Toolkit to assist with the creation of an advanced DX architecture that is in alignment with an organization's SLA objective. The Resiliency Toolkit provides the following resiliency models: One, maximum resiliency; this model creates multiple DX connections in multiple DX locations. Two, high resiliency; this model creates a single DX connection in multiple DX locations. And three, development and test; this model creates multiple DX connections in a single DX location. If you explore the resiliency levels available to you as part of the Direct Connect connection wizard, you will notice that both the maximum resiliency and the development and test models will deploy multiple DX locations in a given DX location. Multiple DX connections within a single DX location can be configured as a Link Aggregation Group, or LAG for short. LAGs enable multiple physical DX connections to function as a single connection of their total aggregated bandwidth.

For example, four physical 1GB DX connections configured as a LAG would function as a single 4GB DX connection. When considering LAGs, remember the following: One, all DX connections in a LAG are active. Two, there is a maximum of four connections allowed per LAG. Note, however, that if you are using 100GB DX connections, only two connections can be added to a LAG. Three, all DX connections within a LAG must be the same speed. For example, a 1GB DX connection cannot be in the same LAG as a 10GB DX connection. Four, all LAG members must terminate in the same AWS DX location. Five, you can't move an existing DX connection into a LAG and you can create a LAG with one DX connection, though it is a best practice to add all LAG members at the same time. Six, the minimum links attribute of a LAG defines the minimum number of active links required for the LAG to be operational. As you might have guessed, this value can be set from 1 to 4. If you have a 4GB LAG composed of four 1GB DX connections and you know you must have at least 2GB for your applications to work correctly, you would set the minimum links value to two.

If three of the 1GB connections in the LAG are inactive, the LAG itself will be in a downstate until at least one of the DX connections is restored to operation. Though LAGs provide a measure of resiliency, such as the failure of a single DX switch port or cross-connect cable, they do not provide any benefit in regards to the failure of an entire DX location. The primary benefit of a LAG is increased network performance via the consolidated bandwidth of the individual LAG members.

 

About the Author
Students
61889
Courses
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Learning Paths
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Danny has over 20 years of IT experience as a software developer, cloud engineer, and technical trainer. After attending a conference on cloud computing in 2009, he knew he wanted to build his career around what was still a very new, emerging technology at the time — and share this transformational knowledge with others. He has spoken to IT professional audiences at local, regional, and national user groups and conferences. He has delivered in-person classroom and virtual training, interactive webinars, and authored video training courses covering many different technologies, including Amazon Web Services. He currently has six active AWS certifications, including certifications at the Professional and Specialty level.