Posted On: Oct 12, 2023

AWS Lambda now allows Lambda functions to access resources in dual-stack VPC (outbound connections) over IPv6, at no additional cost. With this launch, and Lambda’s support for public IPv6 endpoints (inbound connections) in 2021, Lambda enables you to scale your application without being constrained by the limited number of IPv4 addresses in your VPC, and to reduce costs by minimizing the need for translation mechanisms.

Previously, Lambda functions configured with an IPv4-only or dual-stack VPC could access VPC resources only over IPv4. To work around the constrained number of IPv4 addresses in VPC, customers modernizing their applications were required to build complex architectures or use network translation mechanisms. With today’s launch, Lambda functions can access resources in dual-stack VPC over IPv6 and get virtually unlimited scale, using a simple function level switch. You can also enable VPC-configured Lambda functions to access the internet using egress-only internet gateway.

Lambda’s IPv6 support for outbound connections in VPC is generally available in all commercial regions that Lambda exists in, except Asia Pacific (Hyderabad), Asia Pacific (Melbourne), Europe (Spain), Europe (Zurich), Israel (Tel Aviv), and Middle East (UAE). For more information on availability, please see the AWS Region table.

You can enable outbound access for new or existing Lambda functions to dual-stack VPC resources over IPv6 using the AWS Lambda API, AWS Management Console, AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), AWS CloudFormation, AWS Serverless Application Model (AWS SAM), and AWS SDK. For more information on how to enable IPv6 access for Lambda functions in dual-stack VPC, see the Lambda documentation. To learn more about Lambda, see the Lambda developer guide.