AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty (ANS-C01)Network Management and OperationsEasy
A global e-commerce company uses AWS Direct Connect to establish a dedicated network connection between its on-premises data centers and AWS. They are experiencing intermittent connection issues and want to quickly identify if the problem lies with the Direct Connect connection itself, specifically packet loss or errors. Which AWS service and metric should they primarily monitor to diagnose this issue?
- AAmazon CloudWatch, `ConnectionErrorCount` for the Direct Connect connection
- BAmazon CloudWatch, `NetworkPacketsIn` on the EC2 instance
- CAmazon CloudWatch, `ConnectionBpsEgress` for the Direct Connect connection
- DAWS CloudTrail, `DirectConnectAPIActivity` logs
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Amazon CloudWatch, `ConnectionErrorCount` for the Direct Connect connection
To diagnose packet loss or errors specifically on a Direct Connect connection, monitoring `ConnectionErrorCount` in Amazon CloudWatch is the most direct and effective method. This metric provides a count of errors detected on the Direct Connect link, indicating potential physical or logical issues with the connection itself.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. `NetworkPacketsIn` on an EC2 instance monitors traffic at the instance level, not the Direct Connect connection itself.
- C. `ConnectionBpsEgress` monitors the bandwidth usage of the Direct Connect connection, not error counts or packet loss.
- D. AWS CloudTrail logs API activity, which is useful for auditing configuration changes but not for real-time operational metrics like packet loss or connection errors.
Direct Connect ConnectionErrorCount
A CloudWatch metric that tracks the number of errors detected on an AWS Direct Connect connection, indicating potential physical or logical link issues.
- Monitors connection health.
- Increases with packet loss or physical link problems.
- Found in Amazon CloudWatch under Direct Connect metrics.
Memory trick: Directly Connect to CloudWatch to Catch Connection Errors Fast!