/directconnect

name: directconnect
description: >-
  Configures AWS Direct Connect: choosing a connection model (dedicated, hosted, or a link
  aggregation group) and completing the cross connect; creating private, public, and transit virtual
  interfaces and bringing up BGP; reaching many VPCs through a Direct Connect gateway including
  cross-account transit gateway associations; encrypting traffic with MACsec or a private IP
  Site-to-Site VPN; making the connection resilient and tuning failover; managing link aggregation
  groups; SiteLink; and migrating from a virtual private gateway to a transit gateway. Use when the
  user wants a private, consistent network link between a data center and AWS, or operates an
  existing Direct Connect setup and needs to extend, encrypt, or harden it. Routes to the right
  per-task procedure in references. Do NOT use for transit gateway route tables and attachments
  (transitgateway skill), Site-to-Site VPN without Direct Connect (sitetositevpn skill), or Route 53
  DNS routing (route53 skill).
version: 1

AWS Direct Connect

Overview

Domain expertise for configuring AWS Direct Connect, the service that gives a customer a private, consistent network link between their own data center or colocation and AWS instead of routing over the public internet. Covers choosing a connection model and completing the cross connect, creating virtual interfaces and bringing up Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), reaching many VPCs through a Direct Connect gateway, encrypting traffic in transit, making the connection resilient, managing link aggregation groups, SiteLink, and migrating from a virtual private gateway to a transit gateway.

This skill is a router. Each customer task maps to a procedure file under `references/`. Read the matching reference in full before acting, then follow its constraints and steps. The reference files are self-contained: each carries its own decision tables, constraints, procedure, and troubleshooting.

Execute commands using the AWS MCP server when connected (sandboxed execution, audit logging, observability). Fall back to the AWS CLI otherwise. The Direct Connect console is regional, so pass the customer's working `--region` on `aws directconnect` commands; a Direct Connect gateway is a global resource but is reached through a regional console view.

Which Direct Connect task do you need?

| Goal | Reference | | --- | --- | | Choose dedicated vs hosted vs a link aggregation group, then complete the cross connect | [choosing a Direct Connect connection type](references/choosing-a-direct-connect-connection-type.md) | | Create a private, public, or transit virtual interface and bring up BGP | [creating a virtual interface and configuring BGP](references/creating-a-direct-connect-virtual-interface-and-configuring-bgp.md) | | Reach many VPCs over one connection through a Direct Connect gateway | [connecting many VPCs through a Direct Connect gateway](references/connecting-many-vpcs-through-a-direct-connect-gateway.md) | | Encrypt traffic in transit with MACsec or a private IP Site-to-Site VPN | [encrypting traffic over Direct Connect](references/encrypting-traffic-over-direct-connect.md) | | Make the connection survive a failure and tune failover speed | [making a Direct Connect connection resilient](references/making-a-direct-connect-connection-resilient.md) | | Bundle connections into one logical link and manage members | [managing link aggregation groups](references/managing-direct-connect-link-aggregation-groups.md) | | Connect on-premises sites to each other over the AWS backbone | [setting up SiteLink](references/setting-up-direct-connect-sitelink.md) | | Move from a virtual private gateway to a transit gateway without dropping traffic | [migrating from a virtual private gateway to a transit gateway](references/migrating-direct-connect-from-a-virtual-private-gateway-to-a-transit-gateway.md) |

Routing notes

• **Connection model comes first.** The choosing-a-connection-type reference is the entry point for

a customer with no link yet. It settles dedicated vs hosted vs a link aggregation group, checks location support for the chosen speed, and separates a hosted connection from a hosted virtual interface, a distinction customers confuse constantly. Run it before any cross connect is ordered, since port speed cannot change after the connection is created.

• **A connection carries no traffic until a virtual interface exists.** After the cross connect is

live, the creating-a-virtual-interface reference is the required next step. The virtual interface type (private, public, or transit) decides what the connection can reach and is fixed at creation. The jumbo-frame maximum transmission unit (MTU) should be set at creation but, on a private or transit virtual interface, can be changed later with a brief connectivity disruption.

• **One VPC vs many VPCs.** A single VPC in one Region can be reached over a private virtual

interface to a virtual private gateway. Reaching many VPCs, crossing accounts, or crossing Regions is the Direct Connect gateway reference, which also owns the cross-account transit gateway proposal-and-acceptance handshake.

• **Encryption is a separate, deliberate step.** Direct Connect is not encrypted in transit by

default. The encrypting-traffic reference compares MACsec (Layer 2, over the cross connect) against a private IP Site-to-Site VPN over a transit virtual interface (the recommended IPsec path). Route here whenever the customer mentions regulated data or encryption.

• **Resiliency model vs failover speed are two different questions.** The resiliency reference covers

both: the Resiliency Toolkit sets the topology and service level target, while BGP hold-timer tuning and Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) set how fast failover actually converges.

• **Link aggregation group as a model vs as ongoing management.** The connection-type reference

introduces the link aggregation gro