Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to deliver optimized connectivity services and solutions with the launch of the Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor for AWS Direct Connect service. We’re pleased to announce that Equinix customers using AWS Direct Connect services can now leverage Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor to help troubleshoot and resolve hybrid network connectivity issues on their dedicated and hosted Direct Connect services. The service levels and resilience from Equinix, combined with this new service, will help ensure their business and critical applications are always available and running.
Equinix is a long-standing member of the AWS Partner Network (APN), connecting customers to AWS Cloud via the 49 AWS Direct Connect on-ramp sites within our 250+ Equinix IBX® colocation data centers worldwide. Today, Equinix provides more than 25,000 connections through the AWS Direct Connect services for private interconnection to our customers’ on-premises infrastructure and cloud-connected edge. Customers can access hosted or dedicated AWS Direct Connect connections on Platform Equinix®, with capacities ranging from 50Mbps up to 10Gbps on Equinix Fabric® (hosted) and 1G, 10G and 100G capacities on dedicated AWS Direct Connect services. Both options provide high-speed, private interconnection to AWS with low latency.
Digital businesses must be up and running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Until now, customers have had to build their own solutions to monitor hybrid network connectivity on AWS Direct Connect services to and from AWS. With real-time monitoring on Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor, they will now have direct visibility into their AWS Direct Connect network performance, reducing the risk of a critical outage or data loss over AWS networks.
Monitor and troubleshoot AWS hybrid network connectivity in real time
Enterprise customers can use Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor to ensure the health of AWS Direct Connect traffic between workloads running in their VPCs and on-premises locations. With this launch now you can track uptime, availability, latency and packet loss, in addition to bandwidth and throughput.
Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor helps customers to identify possible network impairments within the AWS network or the customer’s network based on packet loss, round-trip latency metrics and customizable alarm thresholds displayed in the Amazon CloudWatch console. Customers can then use this real-time data to mitigate the issue quickly by rerouting traffic to a redundant, healthy path.
In parallel, customers can use Equinix Fabric® virtual private interconnection services to set up redundant connections—ensuring high availability and resiliency if one of their AWS Direct Connect connections goes down. Quick Connect to AWS Direct Connect allows customers to create redundant connections in a single transaction from the Equinix Fabric web portal. Doing so helps customers respond to any issue Amazon CloudWatch identifies and move their traffic over to a functioning connection. Customers can also engage with our architects to ensure they are building the most effective resilient design for their connectivity requirements.
4 ways Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor adds value
Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor gives customers critical insights into their AWS network performance and availability that they didn’t have access to previously. This comprehensive monitoring service adds value in the following four ways:
- Real-time visibility. Monitor the health of AWS Direct Connect connections from the AWS console–across all deployments worldwide.
- Fully managed monitoring. Turn on and use the AWS monitoring service in minutes; there’s no software installation required for virtual private connections or on-premises network infrastructure.
- Fault alerting and mitigation. Assign custom notification thresholds on metrics published to Amazon CloudWatch and set up alarms via various communication channels like Amazon SNS.
- Comprehensive network health history. Review the complete event history for stats about ongoing issues with specific connections to determine the first instance and diagnose the cause.
Once customers enable Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor, they can share this information with Equinix Support to address a performance concern within their network or when planning architectural changes to avoid similar issues in the future.
Leverage AWS cloud on-ramps at Equinix
In addition to being the largest AWS Direct Connect service provider, we offer a complete portfolio of data center services and digital infrastructure services on Platform Equinix to provide our customers with a consistent experience and the ability to expand quickly. Our ecosystem includes cloud service providers, network service providers and SaaS partners that help customers unlock opportunities in the digital economy and future-proof their businesses.
Learn more about how our AWS Direct Connect partnership helps enterprises harness the power of hybrid cloud by enabling simplified, effective hybrid network connectivity.
You may also be interested in reading:
Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor Documentation
AWS Blog: Monitor hybrid connectivity with Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor
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