AWS Direct Connect Overview

AWS Direct Connect provides a dedicated, private network path between your network and AWS, bypassing the public internet. IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect delivers that path as a managed service: Tata Communications provisions the Hosted Connection, carries it over the private MPLS backbone with end-to-end bandwidth shaping, and hands you a connection to accept in your AWS account. You retain full control of the AWS-side constructs – Virtual Interfaces, routing, and VPC association – while Tata Communications owns delivery and assurance up to the AWS hand-off.

Key definitions

AWS Direct Connect – Amazon’s service for a dedicated network connection between your network and AWS, delivered here as a Hosted Connection.

Hosted Connection – a logically partitioned AWS Direct Connect connection delivered over an interconnect that Tata Communications either owns (direct) or reaches through an interconnection partner (partner-routed). Each Hosted Connection carries a single VLAN and a single Virtual Interface.

Virtual Interface (VIF) – the BGP peering session over a Direct Connect connection. Three types: Private VIF (VPC access), Public VIF (AWS public services), and Transit VIF (multi-VPC / multi-region via Transit Gateway). See Configuring Virtual Interfaces (VIFs) for AWS.

Modular service design – the IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect connection pattern where the GVPN service and the cloud-side virtual circuit are provisioned independently over a shared cloud-facing port, so cloud connectivity can be added without changing your existing routers.

How IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect delivers AWS Direct Connect

The modular design is the core of how IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect delivers AWS connectivity. On each Tata Communications MPLS PE router with AWS interconnect capacity, the cloud-facing port is shared, and each customer receives a dedicated logical circuit (a Cloud VC) over it. At a high level:

1. Tata Communications provisions a Hosted Connection towards AWS Direct Connect, referencing your AWS account ID.

2. You accept the Hosted Connection in your AWS account (Tata Communications has allocated it against your account ID).

3. You create the Private, Public, or Transit VIF and set its BGP ASN to 4755.

4. BGP comes up between the Tata Communications Cloud VC (ASN 4755) and AWS; your sites reach AWS across the MPLS backbone. 

The dedicated path bypasses the public internet end to end, and delivery is assured across the Tata Communications portion up to the AWS hand-off.

Connection types

IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect offers AWS Direct Connect over two delivery paths. Both present an identical Hosted Connection to AWS; the difference is how Tata Communications reaches the AWS Direct Connect location.

In short: choose the Tata Communications-managed direct path when you want the simplest operational model and in-place (hot) bandwidth changes; choose the partner-routed path when the target metro is better served through a partner network. Both are covered in detail on their own pages.

Provisioning at a glance

Provisioning AWS connectivity follows the same workflow regardless of delivery path:

1. Sign up for the TC^x Portal.

2. Open Orders --> New Order, select IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect on the Product page, click Buy, then choose your Legal Entity.

3. Choose locations – your site and the AWS-side termination point.

4. Configure the Fabric Port and Virtual Cloud Connection – bandwidth, AWS account ID, your AS number, peer type, and BGP key. (No VLAN field – the VLAN is allocated by Tata Communications.)

5. Review and place the order.

6. Retrieve the network configuration – Inventory --> Connections --> Get Network Config (Connection ID, Cloud/Peer IPs, ASN 4755, BGP key).

7. Accept the Hosted Connection in your AWS console, create the VIF (BGP ASN 4755), and enter the peer IPs from Get Network Config.

8. Validate and go live.

The full walkthrough is covered in Provisioning and Configuration section. 

Reaching multiple AWS regions

A single Hosted Connection terminates at one AWS Direct Connect location and serves the AWS region it is associated with. To reach several AWS regions over one connection, use an AWS Transit Gateway with a Transit VIF: Tata Communications delivers the Hosted Connection underneath, and the multi-region routing is configured in your AWS account. Size the Hosted Connection for the aggregate demand and see Configuring Virtual Interfaces (VIFs) for AWS for the Transit VIF parameters.

IZO™+ Multi Cloud Connect for AWS vs. ordering Direct Connect directly

Some organisations consider procuring Direct Connect directly from AWS. The trade-off, at a glance:

The direct route can suit organisations with existing colo and carrier relationships at a Direct Connect location. For most enterprises, the managed path removes the colo, carrier, and cross-connect overhead.

Next steps

• Ready to provision? Start with Provisioning and Configuration
• Configuring routing? See BGP Configuration for AWS.
• Troubleshooting an active connection? See AWS Troubleshooting.
• Common questions are answered on the AWS FAQs.

Related pages

• Tata Communications-Managed Direct Interconnect
• AWS Partner-Routed Hosted Connection
• Supported Cloud Providers