Difference between VPC Peering, PrivateLink, and VPC Endpoints

The primary differences between VPC Peering, PrivateLink, and VPC Endpoints in AWS revolve around their use cases, the way they facilitate communication, and their configuration requirements. Here's a basic breakdown of each:

VPC Peering

Use Case: VPC Peering is used to connect two VPCs to enable communication between them as if they are part of the same network.

Communication: Direct, private IP connectivity between VPCs.

Configuration: A peering connection is established, and route tables are updated to direct traffic between the VPCs.

Scalability: Each VPC Peering connection is one-to-one. For a mesh network, multiple peering connections are required.

Transitive Peering: Not supported. Traffic cannot be routed from one peered VPC to another indirectly.

PrivateLink

Use Case: PrivateLink is used to provide private access to services hosted on AWS without exposing traffic to the public internet. Often used for SaaS applications.

Communication: Uses endpoint services (powered by Network Load Balancer) and interface endpoints to connect to services privately.

Configuration: Service provider creates an endpoint service, and service consumers create an interface endpoint in their VPC to connect to the service.

Scalability: Allows one-to-many and many-to-one communication. Multiple consumers can connect to a single service provider.

Transitive Peering: Not applicable as it is service-based connectivity rather than VPC-to-VPC.

VPC Endpoints

Use Case: VPC Endpoints are used to privately connect your VPC to supported AWS services without requiring an internet gateway, NAT device, VPN connection, or AWS Direct Connect.

Types:

Interface Endpoints: Use elastic network interfaces (ENIs) with private IPs in the VPC subnet.

Gateway Endpoints: Use route tables to direct traffic to AWS services like S3 and DynamoDB.

Communication: Private connectivity to AWS services. Interface endpoints use ENIs, and gateway endpoints use route tables.

Configuration: Create endpoints in the VPC and update route tables (for gateway endpoints) or security groups (for interface endpoints).

Scalability: Highly scalable as they are designed to handle traffic to and from AWS services.

Transitive Peering: Not applicable as they connect VPCs to AWS services rather than VPC-to-VPC.

Key Differences

Purpose:

VPC Peering: Connects two VPCs for internal communication.

PrivateLink: Provides private access to services across different VPCs and AWS accounts.

VPC Endpoints: Connects VPCs to AWS services privately.

Type of Communication:

VPC Peering: Direct VPC-to-VPC communication.

PrivateLink: Service-based, not VPC-to-VPC, uses endpoint services and interface endpoints.

VPC Endpoints: Service-based, either interface (using ENIs) or gateway (using route tables).

Configuration Requirements:

VPC Peering: Peering connection and route table updates.

PrivateLink: Endpoint service creation and interface endpoint configuration.

VPC Endpoints: Creation of endpoints and possibly route table/security group updates.

Scalability and Flexibility:

VPC Peering: Limited by the number of peering connections and complexity increases with a large number of VPCs.

PrivateLink: Scalable, one service can be accessed by multiple consumers.

VPC Endpoints: Scalable for connecting VPCs to multiple AWS services efficiently.

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