VIF (Virtual Interfaces)

 Private VIF ────→ VPC

Private VIF 1 ┐
              ├─→ DX Gateway ────→ VPC
Private VIF 2 ┘

Different types of Virtual Interfaces (VIFs):

• Private Virtual Interface (Private VIF):

  • Use when you need private connectivity to VPCs

  • For accessing private AWS resources (EC2, RDS, etc.)

  • When you want to extend your private network to AWS

  • Best for regular workload traffic between on-premises and AWS

  • Supports IPv4 and IPv6 private addressing

  • Requires BGP for route advertisement

• Public Virtual Interface (Public VIF):

  • Use when you need direct access to AWS public services

  • For accessing AWS public endpoints without internet transit

  • When you need to access AWS services like S3 or DynamoDB directly

  • For using AWS APIs over Direct Connect

  • Allows you to access public AWS services from your network

  • Can advertise your public IP addresses to AWS

• Transit Virtual Interface (Transit VIF):

  • Use when connecting to AWS Transit Gateway

  • For hub-and-spoke network architectures

  • When you need to connect multiple VPCs across regions

  • For complex routing scenarios requiring Transit Gateway features

  • Enables connectivity to thousands of VPCs

  • Supports multicast routing

1. Technical Limitations:

   • A private virtual interface can only be associated with either:

     • A single VPC through a Virtual Private Gateway

     • OR a Direct Connect Gateway

   • It cannot be associated with both simultaneously

   • Cannot "move" or "reassign" an existing VIF - it must be deleted and recreated