VPC peering – Infrastructure Security – Keeping Your VPC secure

VPC peering

VPC peering allows for the establishment of a direct, private connection between two VPCs, enabling resources in either VPC to communicate with each other as if they were in the same network. This method bypasses the internet, enhancing security and reducing latency. It is beneficial for scenarios where two separate VPCs need to share resources without exposing data to the internet. However, it is important to note that VPC peering traffic is not encrypted within the same region, but it is for inter-region traffic.

While it is possible to establish multiple VPC peering connections for a single VPC, AWS does not support the creation of transitive peering relationships, meaning that indirect connectivity between VPCs through a common peered VPC is not possible. If you have a large number of VPCs that need to communicate with each other, managing individual VPC peering connections can become complex and difficult to manage. In such a case, using a transit gateway might be more appropriate.

Transit gateways

Transit gateways act as hubs that allow multiple VPCs and on-premises networks to connect through a central point, simplifying network management and enhancing scalability. This centralized connection model streamlines operations and enables seamless network expansion as business needs grow.

The use cases for transit gateways are diverse. It is particularly useful for building, deploying, and managing applications across hundreds or even thousands of VPCs without having to manage peering connections or update routing tables for every new connection. Additionally, a transit gateway can be used to screen all traffic passing through the central hub. This can be achieved by setting up an AWS Network Firewall in the central hub, which inspects and filters traffic based on predefined security policies.