A Tale of Two Networking Options
Picture this: You're creating an AWS infrastructure, and you have multiple VPCs that need to communicate with one another. You could use the tried-and-true VPC peering, or you could opt for the relatively new AWS Transit Gateway. Which should you choose?
The Basics
First, let's go over the basics. VPC peering allows you to connect two VPCs in the same region, while AWS Transit Gateway lets you connect multiple VPCs within the same or different regions, as well as VPNs and on-premises networks.
The Benefits
AWS Transit Gateway offers a range of benefits, including:
- Centralized network routing
- Simplified management of network resources
- More scalability and flexibility for connectivity
- More security with granular network access controls
But VPC peering has its own benefits:
- Simplicity – VPC peering is quick and easy to set up
- No additional costs – VPC peering is free with no data transfer charges
- No single point of failure – since it's a direct connection between two VPCs
The Drawbacks
On the flip side, AWS Transit Gateway has these potential drawbacks:
- Complex setup – IT teams need to adjust their architecture, setup routing tables and network access controls correctly
- Additional cost - some of the benefits come at an extra cost
- Increased latency – multiple hops can cause delays
While VPC peering's drawbacks include:
- Limited to connecting VPCs in the same region
- High data transfer costs – peered VPCs exchange data across the public Internet rather than within the AWS network
- Inter-connection bandwidth is limited to 10Gbps
Conclusion
So, which should you choose? It ultimately depends on your organization's size, network complexity, and what you want to achieve. Small businesses with a simple networking architecture might benefit from VPC peering while larger enterprises with multiple interconnected VPCs across different regions should consider AWS Transit Gateway.