To prevent your traffic from being visible to the public internet, AWS PrivateLink offers private communication between VPCs, AWS services, and your on-premises networks.
Here is what we are going to cover about AWS PrivateLink:
What is AWS PrivateLink?
With the help of the highly available and scalable Amazon PrivateLink technology, you can securely link your VPC to services as though it were your VPC itself. To enable communication with the service from your private subnets, you do not need to employ an internet gateway, NAT device, public IP address, AWS Direct Connect connection, or an AWS Site-to-Site VPN connection. As a result, you have control over the particular websites, services, and API endpoints that may be accessed from your VPC.
AWS PrivateLink-powered interfaces VPC endpoints link you to services hosted by AWS Partners and supported solutions available in the AWS marketplace.
By powering Gateway Load Balancer endpoints, AWS PrivateLink gives the same level of security and performance to your virtual network appliances or custom traffic inspection algorithms.
How does it work?
AWS PrivateLink allows you to securely link your VPCs to supported AWS services, including your own AWS service, services hosted by other AWS accounts, and third-party services on AWS Marketplace. Because communication between your VPC and any of these services does not leave the Amazon network, you no longer require an Internet gateway, NAT device, public IP address, or VPN connection to communicate with the service.
Create an interface VPC endpoint for a service in your VPC to use AWS PrivateLink. This generates an Elastic Network Interface (ENI) with a private IP address in your subnet, which acts as an entry point for traffic destined for the service. Amazon PrivateLink service endpoints will show in your VPCs as ENIs with private IPs.

Benefits
SECURE YOUR TRAFFIC
- You can securely and scalable connect your VPCs to AWS services with the help of the AWS Private link. AWS PrivateLink network traffic does not transit the public internet, minimizing vulnerability to brute force and distributed denial-of-service attacks, among other threats.
- You can use private IP connectivity to make your services function as if they were hosted directly on your network. You may also connect security groups and attach an endpoint policy to interface endpoints to govern who has access to a particular service.
- PrivateLink-powered AWS connections, such as interface VPC endpoints and Gateway Load Balancer endpoints, provide the same security, scalability, and performance benefits.
ACCELERATE THE MOVEMENT OF YOUR CLOUD
- With AWS PrivateLink, classic on-premises applications may be more simply converted to SaaS services hosted in the cloud. You may relocate and utilize additional cloud services with the assurance that your traffic is safe.
- Since your data is not exposed to the Internet, where it might be hacked. You can no longer decide between utilizing the service and disclosing your sensitive information online.
SIMPLIFY NETWORK ADMINISTRATION
- Without using firewall rules, path definitions, or route tables, you may link services across various accounts and Amazon VPCs.
-
There is no obligation to keep a VPC CIDR, peer with another VPC, or set up an Internet gateway (CIDRs). Because AWS PrivateLink simplifies network architecture, you can more simply manage your worldwide network.
AWS PrivateLink features
- Service access through AWS PrivateLink:
It creates an interface VPC endpoint for an external service to use AWS PrivateLink. This creates an elastic network interface in your subnet with private IP addresses that serves as a gateway for traffic to the service.

- Accessing your on-premises apps privately: Applications running on your premises will be able to connect to these services over the Amazon private network thanks to the support for private connectivity over AWS Direct Connect provided by Interface VPC endpoints.
- AWS PrivateLink service sharing for your services: You may develop your endpoint service (powered by AWS PrivateLink) and grant access to it to other AWS users.
- Integration with AWS Marketplace: Through a simple search of the services offered through AWS PrivateLink, AWS Marketplace is connected with AWS PrivateLink. Services that are accessible through the AWS Marketplace are supported with vanity DNS domains to make it easier to identify which services are connected to your endpoint.
Use Cases
- ACCESS SAAS APPLICATIONS SAFELY: Many APN partners provide their clients AWS SaaS services such as log analytics and security checks. SaaS providers install agents or clients in their clients’ VPCs to generate and transmit data back to the SaaS provider. Customers that utilize SaaS apps must choose between using these programs at all or allowing Internet access from their VPC, which puts the VPC’s resources at risk. AWS PrivateLink allows you to create a private, secure, and scalable link from your VPC to AWS services and SaaS applications. Because service connections may only be initiated by you, you are safeguarded against unwanted contact by the service provider.

- ASSURE CONTINUOUS REGULATORY COMPLIANCE: By prohibiting sensitive data, such as customer records, from flowing over the Internet, you may maintain compliance with laws such as HIPAA, EU/US Privacy Shield, and PCI. Customers in the financial services, healthcare, and government sectors must pay particular attention to this. AWS PrivateLink keeps traffic between AWS resources, VPCs, and outside services on the Amazon network, which has rigorous security and compliance procedures in place.
- MIGRATE TO A HYBRID CLOUD: On-premises applications can interface with service endpoints in an Amazon VPC using AWS Direct Connect or AWS VPN, which will then route traffic to AWS services via AWS PrivateLink while keeping all network traffic within the Amazon network. Thanks to AWS PrivateLink, SaaS companies may now offer services that seem and feel like they are hosted on a private network. Through AWS Direct Connect and AWS VPN, these services may be securely accessed from both the cloud and onsite locations in a highly available and scalable way.
FAQ’s
Q1: What is the difference between AWS PrivateLink and Direct Connect?
Ans. It’s similar to AWS Direct Connect in that it creates private connections to the AWS cloud, but Direct Connect connects users’ on-premises environments to AWS. PrivateLink, on the other hand, protects traffic from customers existing AWS VPC environments.
Q2: What’s the difference between a VPC endpoint and a PrivateLink?
Ans. VPC endpoint – The location within your VPC from which you may connect privately to a service. AWS PrivateLink is a technology that allows VPCs and services to communicate privately. So, PrivateLink is a technology that allows you to access services in VPCs privately (without using the Internet).
Related Links/References
- AWS Free Tier Account Details
- AWS Shield | DDoS Attacks | AWS Shield Pricing: Overview
- AWS Virtual Private Network (AWS VPN): Everything You need to Know
- AWS Free Tier Account Services
- Cloud Computing Service Models: SaaS | PaaS | IaaS
- AWS For Testers And AWS Quality Assurance (QA)
- AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for Data Encryption
Next Task For You
Begin your journey towards becoming a Certified AWS Solution Architect Associate by joining our FREE Informative Class on Amazon AWS Solution Architect Certification For Beginners & Q/A by clicking on the below image.
The post AWS PrivateLink: Overview, Benefits, Features & Use Cases appeared first on Cloud Training Program.