Connect. Secure. Manage.
AWS Direct Connect Network Integration
Plan Cisco network integration with AWS Direct Connect, covering routing, virtual interfaces, resilience and connectivity to the required AWS environments.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
AWS Direct Connect network integration links your network to supported AWS services. We provide client-side Cisco work and coordinate the provider handoff. The design covers virtual interfaces, gateways, routes and security as well as the circuit. Private access and encryption are distinct, and each needs to be assessed against your requirements.
The whole path
Understand how sites, providers, cloud networks and security controls fit together.
Resilience that can be tested
Separate a second circuit from genuine end-to-end service resilience.
Provider coordination
Keep addressing, routing and escalation ownership clear across organisations.
Define the AWS destinations and connection model
We find the AWS accounts, networks and services the organisation needs to reach. Different destinations and architectures can require different virtual-interface and gateway arrangements. The design is agreed with the customer's AWS team rather than assuming one handoff setup supplies every form of private or public service access.
The provider model and ownership are recorded early. Dedicated and hosted arrangements can have different provisioning duties and capabilities. We establish who controls the connection, who supplies the handoff details and who can approve changes. So a technical fault is not delayed by uncertainty over the responsible party.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusMCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information
Prepare addressing and route exchange
We review the peering specification, autonomous-system information and the prefixes exchanged through the chosen virtual interface. The customer must be authorised to advertise the relevant networks, and overlapping private addresses need resolution before app network access is expected to work reliably.
Cisco route policy is designed alongside the AWS routing model. We set out which routes are accepted and advertised, how defaults are handled and where cloud reachability enters the internal network. A BGP neighbour reaching an established state is not proof that the intended workloads have a correct forward and return path.
A useful starting point
Not sure where to start?
Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.
Coordinate gateways and cloud route tables
AWS gateways, virtual private clouds and route tables need to match the intended service. We find the resources and permissions required and assign ownership to the appropriate team. Multiple cloud networks do not on their own gain the desired network access merely because they belong to the same organisation.
Where transit or virtual security appliances are included, we trace the actual path and its return direction. Routing propagation and static entries can interact in ways that are not obvious from one console view. The design explains which component governs each destination and how unintended reachability between setups is prevented.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Make encryption requirements explicit
AWS documents that Direct Connect does not, by default, provide encryption for all traffic. Supported options such as applicable MACsec arrangements or VPN-based protection need to be assessed for the specific connection and endpoints. We distinguish those mechanisms from application-layer encryption and identify the part of the path each one protects.
Encryption can affect equipment choice, throughput and working procedures. The customer should understand the trust boundary and the dependencies of the chosen method. We avoid describing a private circuit as inherently encrypted or assuming a capability available on one connection type is present on another.
Design failure recovery across the whole service
Resilience requires consideration of customer routers, provider paths, Direct Connect locations and AWS-side resources. We review the failure cases the business needs to tolerate and compare them with the actual topology. Multiple logical interfaces on one physical connection should not be represented as independent transport resilience.
Alternative circuits or VPN paths need clear route preferences and sufficient degraded-state capacity. We test how advertisements change and what happens to representative apps when the preferred path is lost. Restoration is included because traffic returning through another stateful path can affect current sessions even after network access appears normal.
Implement with both sides available for validation
The change plan includes the Cisco setup, provider handoff checks and AWS tasks required for the chosen architecture. We agree backups, access, stop conditions and rollback before activating production route exchange. A limited pilot can check the policy before a broader set of prefixes or workloads depends on it.
Acceptance checks include received and advertised routes, relevant security permissions, DNS and app workflows from actual endpoints. We record the observations and distinguish an AWS resource problem from a carrier or on-premises routing fault. A circuit status or single ping is not counted as complete app validation.
Maintain a clear operational boundary
The handover connects circuit identifiers, virtual interfaces, gateways, route policies and escalation contacts. Monitoring should identify lost redundancy and meaningful route changes and complete service failure. Later changes to AWS networks or public addressing should trigger review of the relevant advertisements and security controls.
MCI can deliver the networking scope of a new Direct Connect rollout or assess a current connection that is difficult to support. Our cloud network connectivity services keep Cisco engineering, provider duties and AWS administration clear. Share the connection specification and required traffic flows so the proposal can define a supported rollout and realistic acceptance tests.
Technical references
- AWS Direct Connect overview — Amazon Web Services
- Direct Connect encryption in transit — Amazon Web Services
- Direct Connect disaster recovery and resiliency — Amazon Web Services
Talk to a specialist
What does your network need next?
Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
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