Amazon Web Services has just added four new locations that allow enterprises to use its Direct Connect network service in order to communicate with Amazon’s cloud, according to a statement released by the company on Tuesday. The all new Amazon Web Services Direct Connect locations that have been added include the CoreSite One Wilshire in Los Angeles, TelecityGroup Sovereign in London and Equinix in Singapore and Tokyo. The two locations that these four will be joining currently exist in the United States.
Direct Connect is basically an alternative to using an internet connection to access Amazon Web Services’ cloud service offerings. Advantages of using Direct Connect over a standard internet connection include things like a more consistent network performance for applications that require real-time data as well as enhanced privacy for customers that may have security or compliance policies preventing them from connecting to the cloud via a VPN.
In order to connect, enterprises must choose between 1Gbps and 10Gbps Ethernet ports. Companies that want or need more capacity can always provision multiple connections if need be. However, there are some drawbacks to using Direct Connect, mainly with the network service, in that Amazon does not offer service level agreements with Direct Connect at the moment.
Getting started is simple. All you have to do is fill out a sign-up form indicating your connection requirements and Amazon will contact them. Amazon does charge $0.30 per hour for using Direct Connect for a 1Gbps port and $2.25 an hour for a 10Gbps port. You will also be charged somewhere between $0.02 and $0.045 per gigabyte of data transferred out of the cloud.
Amazon is planning on adding more Direct Connect locations all over the world in 2012 though the company has yet to release any details on when they will go up, where they will go up and just how many are going up.
Source: Computer World – Amazon adds more spots for companies to connect to its cloud
