Do we need ExpressRoute, Direct Connect or Cloud Interconnect?
For most SMBs, a Site-to-Site VPN over internet is plenty and much cheaper. Direct Connect / ExpressRoute starts to make sense above a few TB per month or sub-10 ms latency demands.
Try this first
- 1Measure actual on-prem to cloud traffic. Under 1 TB per month: VPN. 1-10 TB: tipping point, run the numbers. Above 10 TB or latency-critical: dedicated link.
- 2For IPsec VPN: AWS Site-to-Site VPN, Azure VPN Gateway, GCP HA VPN. With BGP and dual tunnels you typically hit 99.9+ percent uptime.
- 3Direct Connect costs port hours plus data-out at a lower tier. Add installation and partner fees (Eunetworks, Equinix) for the full picture.
- 4ExpressRoute has a Local tier at a lower rate if you sit in the same city as the Microsoft edge (Amsterdam-AMS). Often a third of Standard.
- 5GCP Cloud Interconnect has Dedicated and Partner. Partner via a Dutch provider often starts at a few hundred euro per month, Dedicated is thousands.
When to bring us in
Negotiating with a carrier or partner over a 3-year contract, get someone with routine on those contracts to review. The fine print sits in port deactivation and data overage.
See also
- Everyone logs in with the AWS root accountRoot is for emergencies and billing. Day-to-day work belongs in IAM users or SSO.
- Every developer has AdministratorAccessAdministratorAccess everywhere is convenient now, painful later. Start with role-based policies.
- Everyone has individual IAM users with their own passwordIdentity Center (formerly AWS SSO) links to your IdP and issues temporary credentials per session.
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