Transit Gateway - AWS Study Guide (v2.0)

Learning Objectives

Understand the primary function of AWS Transit Gateway in connecting VPCs and simplifying network topologies.

Distinguish Transit Gateway's capabilities and limitations, particularly in contrast to Gateway Load Balancer for appliance integration.

Recognize Transit Gateway as an alternative to VPC Peering for network connectivity.

Introduction to Transit Gateway

AWS Transit Gateway is a centralized networking service that streamlines the connectivity of multiple Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) and on-premises networks.

Transit Gateway is a service that directly connects Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs). It acts as a central hub for traffic routing, enabling a many-to-many relationship between VPCs and on-premises networks.

AWS Transit Gateway is specifically mentioned as a way to simplify networks. Instead of managing numerous individual VPC peering connections, a Transit Gateway allows VPCs to connect to a single gateway, which then routes traffic between them.

Transit Gateway is presented as an alternative to VPC Peering for network connectivity. The choice between 'VPC Peering or Transit Gateway' is a consideration in advanced AWS networking, suggesting different use cases and complexity levels.

Distinction from Other Networking Services

Understanding where Transit Gateway fits within the broader AWS networking landscape involves contrasting its capabilities with specialized services.

Transit Gateway connects VPCs, but it does not provide appliance load balancing or transparent redirection for virtual firewall appliances without complex routing. It also lacks the built-in scaling and flow handling that would be required for such a transparent integration. In contrast, a Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) is designed for inserting third-party virtual appliances, automatically distributing traffic, scaling, and maintaining flow stickiness for transparent redirection.

Exam Tips

When evaluating solutions for integrating third-party virtual firewall appliances for traffic inspection, remember that a Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) is purpose-built for transparent appliance insertion, distributing traffic, scaling, and maintaining flow stickiness. Transit Gateway connects VPCs but does not provide these appliance load balancing or transparent redirection features without complex routing and missing built-in handling.

The question 'VPC Peering or Transit Gateway?' often appears in scenarios requiring network connectivity between multiple VPCs, highlighting Transit Gateway's role in simplifying network topology compared to managing numerous individual peering connections.

Glossary

Transit Gateway

An AWS networking service that acts as a central hub to connect multiple Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) and on-premises networks.

VPC Peering

A networking connection between two Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) that enables instances in either VPC to communicate with each other as if they were within the same network. Transit Gateway is an alternative to VPC Peering.

Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB)

A load balancer designed for inserting third-party virtual appliances. It automatically distributes traffic, scales, and maintains flow stickiness for transparent redirection, a capability not natively offered by Transit Gateway without complex routing.

Key Takeaways

AWS Transit Gateway centralizes VPC connectivity, simplifying network management and offering an alternative to complex VPC peering setups (Source: Page 3, 7, 10).

Transit Gateway is not designed for transparent third-party appliance insertion and load balancing; for that, services like Gateway Load Balancer are more appropriate (Source: Page 3).