AWS Networking: Key Concepts for Certifications and Real-World Projects

by Nastya Dulhiier

In preparing for AWS Associate-level certifications, such as the AWS Solutions Architect and AWS Developer Associate, understanding networking is crucial. Networking is the backbone of cloud infrastructure, ensuring secure, reliable communication between services and systems. It’s also a key part of designing scalable, high-performance architectures for real-world projects. Whether you’re deploying an API behind an Elastic Load Balancer or setting up hybrid connectivity with Direct Connect, networking knowledge plays a central role.

This post outlines the main networking topics I studied, covering fundamental services and concepts to help deepen my understanding of AWS networking.

Networking Fundamentals in Action: Video Guide

AWS re:Invent 2023 - AWS networking foundations (NTA307)

In this session, learn about a methodical approach to help you build your network on AWS from curated AWS greenfield experiences. Learn about network connectivity models, beginning with a single VPC in a single Region and growing to a hybrid cloud environment, integrating your on-premises networks to global network connection models, and how the AWS Partner Network can help you complete your vision. Explore services like Amazon VPC, AWS Transit Gateway, AWS Site-to-Site VPN, AWS Direct Connect, and AWS Cloud WAN and learn general recommendations for networking on AWS.

AWS Summit - AWS Networking Fundamentals

In this session, we walk through the fundamentals of Amazon VPC. First, we cover build-out and design fundamentals for VPCs, including picking your IP space, subnetting, routing, security, NAT, and much more. We then transition to different approaches and use cases for optionally connecting your VPC to your physical data center with VPN or AWS Direct Connect. This mid-level architecture discussion is aimed at architects, network administrators, and technology decision makers interested in understanding the building blocks that AWS makes available with Amazon VPC. Learn how you can connect VPCs with your offices and current data center footprint.

AWS Networking Basics For Programmers | Hands On

This short, practical video covers the core concepts of AWS networking, making it ideal for follow-along learning. By engaging actively, you’ll reinforce your understanding and retain the material more effectively.

Key Networking Topics in AWS

1. Amazon CloudFront

Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that caches content at edge locations globally to reduce latency. When users request content, CloudFront serves the cached version from the nearest location, improving response times and reducing server load. It integrates seamlessly with S3, EC2, and Lambda@Edge for dynamic content.

• Use Cases: Streaming video, accelerating static/dynamic websites, API caching.
• Security: Supports AWS WAF for web application firewalling and HTTPS encryption for secure data transmission.

2. AWS Global Accelerator

AWS Global Accelerator uses AWS’s global network infrastructure to route traffic efficiently based on proximity, improving performance for users worldwide. It allocates two static anycast IP addresses for application endpoints, distributing traffic to the closest healthy region.

• Difference from CloudFront: While CloudFront focuses on content caching, Global Accelerator enhances application performance for non-cacheable content or low-latency applications like gaming.

3. Elastic Load Balancer (ELB)

Elastic Load Balancer distributes traffic across multiple targets, such as EC2 instances, containers, and IP addresses, ensuring high availability. There are three main types:

• Application Load Balancer (ALB): Ideal for HTTP/HTTPS traffic, supporting advanced routing like path-based routing.
• Network Load Balancer (NLB): Optimized for ultra-low latency and TCP/UDP traffic.
• Classic Load Balancer (CLB): An older generation that balances traffic at the connection level.

ELB integrates with Auto Scaling to handle traffic surges and health checks to ensure only healthy targets receive requests.

4. Direct Connect

AWS Direct Connect provides dedicated network connections between an on-premises data center and AWS, bypassing the public internet. This ensures low-latency, consistent performance and improves data security.

• Use Cases: Hybrid architectures, data migrations, financial applications with strict latency requirements.

5. Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)

VPC is a logically isolated section of the AWS cloud where you can launch AWS resources in a virtual network. With VPC, you control IP addresses, routing, and security settings at the network level.

Key VPC Components:

• CIDR Block: Defines the IP address range for the VPC (e.g., 10.0.0.0/16). Here’s a short explanation on what that notation means.
• Subnets: Divide the VPC into smaller segments (public and private). Public subnets have internet access, while private ones do not.
• Route Tables: Control how traffic is routed within the VPC.
• Security Groups: Virtual firewalls controlling inbound/outbound traffic for resources.
• Network ACLs (NACLs): Optional, stateless firewalls controlling traffic at the subnet level.

6. VPC Peering

VPC peering connects two VPCs (even across different AWS accounts or regions), enabling communication between them. It’s cost-effective, but it doesn’t scale as well as Transit Gateway for large, complex networks.

7. VPC Endpoints

VPC endpoints allow private communication between your VPC and AWS services without traversing the public internet.

• Interface Endpoints: Use Elastic Network Interfaces (ENIs) to connect to services like S3 or DynamoDB.
• Gateway Endpoints: Create a direct route for S3 or DynamoDB traffic through the VPC’s route table.

8. AWS VPN

AWS VPN provides secure, encrypted communication between on-premises networks and AWS over the public internet.

• Site-to-Site VPN: Establishes a connection between your data center and AWS.
• Client VPN: Allows individual users to securely access AWS resources.
• CloudHub VPN: Facilitates multiple VPN connections in a hub-and-spoke model, ideal for branch offices connecting to the cloud.

9. Transit Gateway

Transit Gateway simplifies network management by acting as a central hub that connects multiple VPCs and on-premises networks. It’s more scalable than VPC peering and is useful for enterprise networks with complex routing needs.

Putting It All Together: Real-World Use Cases

In practical projects, these networking components often work together:

• Hybrid Cloud Setup: Use Direct Connect or Site-to-Site VPN for secure communication between on-premises and AWS.
• High-Availability Web Applications: Deploy an Elastic Load Balancer with Auto Scaling and serve static content via CloudFront.
• Multi-VPC Architecture: Use Transit Gateway to centralize network management and VPC Endpoints to securely access services like S3.
• Global User Base: Improve performance with AWS Global Accelerator, routing users to the nearest healthy region.

Final Thoughts

Networking is essential to mastering AWS and building resilient, scalable cloud applications. As you prepare for the AWS Solutions Architect and Developer Associate exams, understanding these networking concepts will not only help you pass the tests but also empower you to design better architectures for real-world projects.

AWS networking might seem overwhelming at first, but breaking it down into manageable sections—like VPC, load balancing, and connectivity solutions—makes it more digestible. Whether your goal is certification or building robust applications, mastering these topics will ensure your success in the cloud.

This structured knowledge of AWS networking will help me on my journey to becoming more proficient in cloud computing and further applying these skills in my day-to-day work.