AWS VPN (Virtual Private Network)
AWS VPN solutions establish secure connections between your on-premises networks, remote offices, client devices, and the AWS global network.
Key Features
- AWS Site-to-Site VPN: Connects your on-premises network to your VPC over the internet using IPsec.
- Requires a Virtual Private Gateway (VGW) or Transit Gateway on AWS side.
- Requires a Customer Gateway on your side.
- AWS Client VPN: Connects remote users (laptops, phones) to AWS or on-premises resources using OpenVPN.
Exam Tips
- "Quick setup / Immediate connectivity": Answer is VPN (vs Direct Connect which takes weeks).
- "Encrypted traffic over internet": Answer is VPN.
- "Backup to Direct Connect": VPN is often used as a failover.
- "IPsec": Standard protocol used by Site-to-Site VPN.
Common Use Cases
- Hybrid Cloud: Quick connectivity for dev/test or small hybrid workloads.
- Remote Work: Accessing internal apps securely.
- Backup Connectivity: Redundancy for Direct Connect.