AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty Practice Exam

In AWS Direct Connect, what does a Virtual Interface (VIF) allow?

1. Direct connections to Lambda functions

2. Public-facing network traffic management

3. Private connectivity to EC2 instances only

4. Integration with private IP addresses and public services

The correct answer is: Integration with private IP addresses and public services

A Virtual Interface (VIF) in AWS Direct Connect enables integration with both private and public services by allowing you to define connections that can be utilized for different networking purposes. Direct Connect provides network connectivity between AWS and your on-premises environment using dedicated circuits. When you set up a private VIF, it allows you to connect to your Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) using private IP addresses. This means that you can directly communicate with resources in your VPC, such as EC2 instances or RDS databases, over a secure and high-throughput connection that avoids the public internet. In addition, a public VIF permits access to AWS public services, which can be beneficial for reaching resources like S3 buckets and DynamoDB without routing traffic through the internet. This configuration leverages the robustness and security that Direct Connect provides while ensuring that both private and public resources are accessible efficiently. This capability to handle both private and public services is essential for businesses that need a seamless and secure network solution to connect their on-premises infrastructure with AWS resources, effectively combining utilization of private IP addressing within VPCs and leveraging AWS's numerous public-facing services.