Direct Connect & Hybrid DNS Exam Tips

Steven MoranTECHNICAL INSTRUCTOR

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

AWS Direct Connect Locations & Hardware• Understand the benefits of using Direct Connect

over a VPN connection. • Understand the general Direct Connect physical

architecture. • Know the hardware requirements for networking

devices to be used with Direct Connect.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

DX Connections• Know the process to request a DX dedicated

connection. • Understand the importance of the LOACFA

document. • Understand the process of establishing the cross-

connect at the DX location. • Know the hardware requirements for the cross-

connect.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

DX Connections• Understand the differences between DX dedicated

and DX hosted connections. • Understand the features and limitations of DX

hosted connections. • Understand the process to request a DX hosted

connection.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Virtual Interfaces (VIFs)• Understand how VIFs facilitate IP traffic over DX

connections. • Know the use-cases for the different VIF types. • Understand the use of hosted VIFs. • Understand the process of creating hosted VIFs.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Virtual LANs (VLANs)• Understand the relationship between DX VIFs and

VLANs. • Understand the distinction between tagged and

untagged ports. • Understand the logic of nested VLANs and why

they would be used with DX hosted connections.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Virtual Interfaces & BGP• Know the BGP requirements and limitations for

each VIF type. • Know the different prefix advertisement behaviors

for each VIF type. • Know how BGP communities can be used to

control prefix advertisements. • Know the AWS BGP communities used in routing

over DX.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Link Aggregation Groups (LAGs)• Know the benefits and limitations of implementing

LAGs using DX connections. • Understand the process of implementing LAGed

DX connections.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Direct Connect Gateways• Understand the different ways DX gateways

extend DX networks to multiple AWS Regions. • Know the limitations of DX gateway usage.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Well-Architected Direct Connect• Understand how to improve the resiliency of DX

connections using: • Multiple DX locations • Bidirectional Forwarding Detection • Failover to VPNs • Local prefix BGP communities

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Well-Architected Direct Connect• Understand how to improve the performance of DX

connections using: • Local prefix BGP communities • Link aggregation groups • Jumbo frames

• Understand how to improve the security of DX connections by using VPNs over DX.

• Understand how DX can impact the cost-optimization of data-transfer and other charges.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Well-Architected Direct Connect• Understand how to improve your DX operational

excellence by: • Knowing where DX connections and features

can be monitored. • Using monitoring information to successfully

troubleshoot common DX connection-related issues.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Hybrid DNS• Thoroughly understand default AWS DNS

resolution behavior. • Know the default limitations of hybrid DNS. • Understand how customer-implemented DNS

resolvers facilitate hybrid DNS. • Know the limitations of customer-implemented

DNS resolvers.

Exam Tips DIRECT CONNECT & HYBRID DNS EXAM TIPS

Hybrid DNS• Understand how Route 53 Resolver endpoints

address the limitations of customer-implemented DNS resolvers.

• Know how to provision Route 53 Resolver endpoints.

• Understand how outbound resolver rules resolve conflicts.