How do you connect an on-premises network (a company office or data center) to your cloud network?
Options
- A site-to-site VPN, or a private line like Direct Connect or ExpressRoute (Correct option)
- By emailing the configuration files to the cloud provider
- Only with a USB drive that is carried to the data center
- It is not possible to connect them, so data is copied by hand
Answer
Site-to-site VPN over the internet (encrypted), or a dedicated private line: AWS Direct Connect / Azure ExpressRoute
Why
Hybrid cloud connects existing infrastructure with the cloud.
- Site-to-site VPN: an encrypted tunnel over the public internet. Quick and cheap, variable latency (AWS Site-to-Site VPN, Azure VPN Gateway).
- Dedicated connection: a private physical circuit from a provider (AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute): more predictable latency and bandwidth, more cost and lead time.
Network ranges must not overlap. Hub-and-spoke designs (AWS Transit Gateway, Azure Virtual WAN) manage many networks.
Remember
VPN = encrypted over internet. Direct Connect/ExpressRoute = private line.