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John  Ajera
John Ajera

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AWS VPC Endpoints: Secure Private Connectivity

🔌 AWS VPC Endpoints: Secure Private Connectivity

📌 What is a VPC Endpoint?

VPC Endpoints allow private connectivity between AWS services and your VPC, eliminating the need for internet access.

🎯 Why Use VPC Endpoints?

Enhanced Security – No public IP exposure
Lower Costs – Avoid NAT Gateway charges
Better Performance – Uses AWS backbone network


📜 Requirements

  • VPC with private subnets
  • Security Groups allowing internal traffic
  • IAM Policies for access control
  • Private DNS enabled (for Interface Endpoints)

🔀 Types of VPC Endpoints

🟢 Interface Endpoints (AWS PrivateLink)

  • Uses Elastic Network Interfaces (ENI)
  • Supports most AWS services (e.g., SSM, CloudWatch, EC2 Messages)
  • Requires security group rules

🔵 Gateway Endpoints

  • Available only for S3 & DynamoDB
  • Uses route table entries instead of ENIs
  • No additional cost

🔧 Setting Up a VPC Endpoint

resource "aws_vpc_endpoint" "ssm" {
  vpc_id              = aws_vpc.example.id
  service_name        = "com.amazonaws.${data.aws_region.current.name}.ssm"
  vpc_endpoint_type   = "Interface"
  subnet_ids          = aws_subnet.private[*].id
  security_group_ids  = [aws_security_group.vpc_endpoints.id]
  private_dns_enabled = true
}
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For a complete working example, check out this Terraform demo:
🔗 tf-aws-vpc-endpoint-demo


⚠️ Gotchas & Considerations

  • Security Group Rules – Must allow inbound traffic
  • Private DNS – Enable for easier access
  • Costs – Interface Endpoints have hourly & data charges
  • Service Limits – Only S3 & DynamoDB support Gateway Endpoints

✅ Pros & Cons

Feature ✅ Pros ❌ Cons
Security Private AWS traffic Needs SG fine-tuning
Cost Avoids NAT fees Interface costs apply
Performance Faster, AWS backbone Region availability varies

🔍 Troubleshooting

🔗 Check Endpoint Status

aws ec2 describe-vpc-endpoints --region <region>
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🌐 Verify Connectivity

nc -zv logs.<region>.amazonaws.com 443
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🔄 Test IAM Permissions

aws ssm describe-instance-information
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🚀 Summary

VPC Endpoints enhance security, reduce costs, and improve performance by keeping AWS service traffic inside the VPC. Plan your security groups and IAM policies carefully to maximize benefits!

🔗 AWS VPC Endpoints Docs

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