Beginning May 2016 Cornell AWS accounts are setup with AWS Direct Connect joining the campus 10-space network to the 10-space network in Cornell Standard AWS VPCs. Prior to that accounts were setup with VPN connection back to campus.
FAQs
Q: What is the difference in performance between the Direct Connects and a VPN connection.
A: We don't have tons of data on that. Generally, we find that overall realized speed is similar between VPN and DC connections, but that the DC connection has less variability. Here's an example:
- VPN ping statistics:
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 17.749/18.319/19.348/0.458 ms - DC ping statustics:
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 14.873/15.005/15.188/0.139 ms Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping_(networking_utility) for interpreting ping output.
- VPN ping statistics:
Q: What are the physical details of Cornell's Direct Connect to AWS?
A: The primary DC connection is a 1Gbit connection. The secondary connection is a 100Mbit connection. They use geographically separate routes to AWS.
Q: Is the DC monitored?