This section of the Solution Architect Associate learning path introduces you to the core networking concepts and services relevant to the SAA-C03 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 services to meet specific design scenarios relevant to the Solution Architect Associate exam.
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Learning Objectives
- Get a foundational understanding of VPCs, their security, and connectivity
- 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
Hello and welcome to this lecture where I want to talk about what AWS PrivateLink is and what it could be used for. I'd like to begin this lecture with a semi-fictitious conversation I recently had with a customer of mine. I was told that my assistance was needed to build a site-to-site VPN tunnel from one AWS customer to another. When I asked why the VPN was needed, the reply was, our organization needs to read data from a server contained within a remote VPC, and we must do this using private IP addressing. I thanked my customer for the clarification and then I asked, "Have you considered using AWS PrivateLink for this?"
The response; what is AWS PrivateLink? AWS PrivateLink, as a service, involves two entities; Service Providers and Service Consumers. Service Providers are those organizations responsible for offering a service. Service Consumers are those organizations that consume the services offered by the Service Provider.
So, what is AWS PrivateLink? PrivateLink is an AWS capability that enables AWS-based service providers to create and offer endpoint services to their consumers privately and securely using the AWS global network as opposed to the public Internet. In general, AWS PrivateLink has three primary use cases. One, many AWS partners such as Datadog, MongoDB, NetApp, Snowflake, and Salesforce provide services to their customers on AWS. AWS PrivateLink allows customers to access services provided by PrivateLink service providers without requiring any public Internet connectivity. Additionally, PrivateLink service connections can only be initiated by the service consumer.
Thus, the consumer is safeguarded against unwanted communication from the service provider. Two, since the Amazon network is subject to strong controls to meet the highest possible security and compliance standards, PrivateLink can be used as a means to maintain regulatory compliance by keeping sensitive data from traversing the public Internet. Three, as it relates to hybrid cloud migrations, PrivateLink enables on-premises resources the ability to connect to AWS service endpoints over an AWS Direct Connect or VPN.
Stuart has been working within the IT industry for two decades covering a huge range of topic areas and technologies, from data center and network infrastructure design, to cloud architecture and implementation.
To date, Stuart has created 150+ courses relating to Cloud reaching over 180,000 students, mostly within the AWS category and with a heavy focus on security and compliance.
Stuart is a member of the AWS Community Builders Program for his contributions towards AWS.
He is AWS certified and accredited in addition to being a published author covering topics across the AWS landscape.
In January 2016 Stuart was awarded ‘Expert of the Year Award 2015’ from Experts Exchange for his knowledge share within cloud services to the community.
Stuart enjoys writing about cloud technologies and you will find many of his articles within our blog pages.