Understanding Hosted Direct Connect Connections in AWS

Overview

As organizations continue to move workloads to the cloud, network reliability, security, and performance become increasingly critical considerations. AWS Direct Connect is one of the most trusted services for building high-bandwidth, low-latency, and private connectivity between on-premises environments and AWS.

Among the connectivity models AWS offers, Hosted Direct Connect connections have grown increasingly popular due to their flexibility, faster provisioning, and lower upfront costs compared to dedicated ports.

In this blog, we break down what Hosted Direct Connect connections are, how they work, their benefits, common use cases, and best practices for implementation.

AWS Direct Connect

AWS Direct Connect is a networking service that allows enterprises to establish a dedicated, private network connection from their data center, office, or colocation environment to AWS.

Unlike VPN tunnels that traverse the public internet, Direct Connect offers:

• Consistent, low-latency network performance
• Higher bandwidth throughput
• Better security & privacy
• Reduced data transfer costs

Hosted Direct Connect Connection

A Hosted Direct Connect connection is a type of Direct Connect connection that is provisioned through an AWS Direct Connect Partner rather than directly through AWS.

In this model, the partner owns the physical port on the AWS Direct Connect router and allocates a portion of that capacity to customers.

For example, a partner may own a 10 Gbps port and allocate sub-1G or multi-G capacities to customers like:

• 50 Mbps
• 200 Mbps
• 500 Mbps
• 1 Gbps
• 5 Gbps
• 10 Gbps (Hosted Dedicated)

This makes Hosted Direct Connect an attractive option for companies that need faster provisioning or cannot justify the cost of a fully dedicated port.

Types of Hosted Direct Connect Connections

AWS supports two main hosted models:

1. Hosted Connection (Capacity-based)

• Allocated from a partner’s shared port.
• Supported capacities: 50 Mbps to 10 Gbps

Key characteristics:

• Provisioned via the AWS console
• Supports AWS Direct Connect Resiliency Toolkit
• Offers flexibility in bandwidth
• Suitable for most mid-sized workloads

2. Hosted Dedicated Connection

Provides a dedicated 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps, or 100 Gbps connection through a partner.

Key characteristics:

• Exclusive physical port allocation
• Higher reliability and predictable performance
• Suitable for enterprise workloads and multi-account environments

How Hosted Direct Connect Works

The setup involves three main components:

1. Customer On-Premises Network

Your router or firewall connects to the partner’s network.

2. AWS Direct Connect Partner Network

The partner cross-connects with AWS at Direct Connect locations.

3. AWS Direct Connect Router

The Hosted Connection is mapped to your AWS account.

Once the connection is available, you can create:

• Private Virtual Interfaces (VIF) for VPC access
• Public VIF for public AWS services
• Transit VIF for AWS Transit Gateway

Benefits of Hosted Direct Connect Connection

1. Faster Provisioning

Unlike dedicated ports (which may take weeks), hosted connections can be provisioned within hours to days, depending on the partner.

2. Lower Entry Cost

You do not pay for a full dedicated port. Instead, you pay only for the capacity you need.

3. Scalability

You can upgrade bandwidth when needed, often without changing physical circuits.

4. High Availability Options

Using the AWS Direct Connect Resiliency Toolkit, you can architect for:

• Active/Active paths
• Active/Passive redundancy
• Failover to VPN

5. Private, Secure Traffic Flow

Traffic bypasses the public internet, reducing risks like DDoS attacks or network instability.

6. Reduced Data Transfer Cost

Direct Connect data transfer rates are significantly lower compared to the public internet.

Common Use Cases

Hybrid Cloud Architectures

Enterprises running workloads partly on-prem and partly in AWS benefit from predictable connectivity.

• Large Data Transfers
• Hosted connections are ideal for:
• Data lake ingestion
• Backup & recovery workloads
• Media/video uploads
• Big Data analytics pipelines

Latency-Sensitive Applications

Systems like transaction processing, financial systems, or SAP require low jitter and high reliability.

Multi-Account Environments with Transit Gateway

Hosted connections support Transit VIF, enabling centralized connectivity to multiple Amazon VPCs.

Design Considerations & Best Practices

1. Always Use Redundant Links

To avoid a single point of failure:

• Use two separate hosted connections
• Preferably through two different partners
• Terminate in different Direct Connect locations

2. Use BGP for Dynamic Routing

• BGP ensures automatic failover and seamless path selection.

3. Integrate with AWS Transit Gateway

• This simplifies connectivity to multiple VPCs.

4. Use VLAN and VIF Segmentation

• Maintain separation between dev, test, and prod traffic.

5. Align with Well-Architected Framework

Ensure:

• Resilience
• Monitoring (Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon VPC Flow Logs)
• Proper AWS IAM access controls

Pricing Overview

Customers typically pay for:

• Hosted Direct Connect port capacity (paid to the partner)
• Cross-connect charges
• AWS data transfer out (DTO)
• VIF usage (if applicable)

Since the partner owns the port, hosting charges vary based on:

• Monthly recurring charges
• Bandwidth allocation
• Contract duration

Conclusion

Hosted Direct Connect connections offer a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective way to establish private connectivity to AWS without the operational burden of provisioning a dedicated port. Whether you’re migrating workloads, building a hybrid cloud, or seeking predictable network performance, Hosted Direct Connect offers an enterprise-grade solution.

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding Hosted Direct Connect connections and we will get back to you quickly.

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