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Overview

This Guidance demonstrates an automated, secure method for connecting a virtual private cloud (VPC) to AWS Cloud WAN. By streamlining VPC attachments to a core network, it facilitates proper configuration and compliance with network policies. In addition, it operates automatically within AWS systems, minimizing user intervention while preventing unauthorized changes. With this Guidance, users can manage VPC attachments, handle IP addressing conflicts, and control exceptions when needed. This approach helps AWS customers save time, reduce errors, and maintain a consistent, secure network architecture across their organization, while also providing flexibility for future enhancements.

How it works

These technical details feature an architecture diagram to illustrate how to effectively use this solution. The architecture diagram shows the key components and their interactions, providing an overview of the architecture's structure and functionality step-by-step.

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Sample code

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Sample code

Well-Architected Pillars

The architecture diagram above is an example of a Solution created with Well-Architected best practices in mind. To be fully Well-Architected, you should follow as many Well-Architected best practices as possible.

EventBridge filters network manager events and sends them to Amazon SNS. In different Regions, multiple Amazon SQS queues subscribe to Amazon SNS, receiving these events for processing by Lambda, which then performs the attachment configuration automatically based on metadata.

For unexpected events, an Amazon SQS DLQ captures the malformed events to prevent data loss. This setup automates AWS Cloud WAN attachment management without user intervention, serving two purposes. One, it prevents cross-network domain leakage, and two, it removes the need for manual oversight, supporting efficient and secure management of complex network configurations.

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AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) Roles for Lambda limit access to specific resources like Amazon SQS and Amazon SNS, enforcing the principle of least privilege. In addition, resource policies in Amazon SQS and Amazon SNS are narrowly defined, granting only the minimum permissions necessary for proper application functions.

By implementing these security measures, organizations limit authorized access to the AWS Cloud WAN attachment configuration resources exclusively. This approach reduces the potential attack surface and minimizes the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches.

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To support reliable workloads, the Lambda functions for the AWS Cloud WAN attachment are deployed in at least two Regions. This multi-service, multi-Region approach creates a resilient system that can withstand various types of failures and continue operating smoothly. Furthermore, EventBridge routes events to Lambda for processing, while Amazon SQS and Amazon SNS provide a robust subscribing mechanism for Lambda as part of routing control. For event processing and routing control, Lambda offers a serverless framework deployed across two Regions to mitigate Regional failures. As managed services, EventBridge, Amazon SQS, and Amazon SNS significantly reduce the likelihood of failure, helping to ensure that all relevant events are processed without downtime.

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This Guidance uses a durable, subscription-based mechanism for handling events across at least two Regions. For example, EventBridge, Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, and Lambda work together to process AWS control plane events in real-time, specifically for new routes learned in AWS Cloud WAN. This setup delivers near real-time performance for event processing. EventBridge initiates the process by capturing and routing events, while Amazon SQS and Amazon SNS work in tandem to help ensure reliable message delivery. Lambda functions, deployed across multiple Regions, process these events efficiently, minimizing delays in network configuration updates. By utilizing these services, the system achieves minimum latency for attaching network segments in AWS Cloud WAN.

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When configured, this Guidance processes control plane events tied to network topology changes, which typically don't occur in high volumes daily. This event-driven approach conserves resources, as computing power is used only when needed for event processing. Consequently, the system avoids wasting resources on idle, long-running processes, leading to optimized costs and efficient resource utilization. Also, EventBridge, Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, and Lambda process only specific AWS control plane events related to new routes in AWS Cloud WAN. These services activate solely when new events occur, eliminating the need for long-running processes.

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EventBridge, Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, and Lambda are fully managed AWS services that offer higher efficiency compared to traditional long-running or compute-intensive alternatives. By processing only specific AWS control plane events related to new routes in AWS Cloud WAN, the system minimizes unnecessary resource consumption. The near real-time, serverless event processing approach eliminates the need for constantly running compute resources, leading to a reduced environmental footprint as energy is consumed only when events require processing.

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Disclaimer

The sample code; software libraries; command line tools; proofs of concept; templates; or other related technology (including any of the foregoing that are provided by our personnel) is provided to you as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement, or the relevant written agreement between you and AWS (whichever applies). You should not use this AWS Content in your production accounts, or on production or other critical data. You are responsible for testing, securing, and optimizing the AWS Content, such as sample code, as appropriate for production grade use based on your specific quality control practices and standards. Deploying AWS Content may incur AWS charges for creating or using AWS chargeable resources, such as running Amazon EC2 instances or using Amazon S3 storage.