Aws Direct Connect introduces CloudWatch metrics for BGP monitoring

AWS Direct Connect has enhanced its service by introducing three new Amazon CloudWatch metrics specifically for virtual interfaces (VIFs). These metrics offer insights into the health of Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) sessions and the number of routes. This development allows network engineers and operations teams managing hybrid cloud connectivity to monitor BGP sessions directly through CloudWatch, eliminating the need for custom solutions or the use of API polling.

Previously, monitoring gaps required the use of custom Lambda functions or on-site network management tools. The new metric, VirtualInterfaceBgpStatus, provides information on the state of BGP sessions, helping to identify any session failures. Another metric, VirtualInterfaceBgpPrefixesAccepted, tracks the prefixes from an on-premises network, enabling the setting of proactive alarms to prevent reaching prefix limits, which could cause BGP sessions to enter an idle state. Additionally, VirtualInterfaceBgpPrefixesAdvertised monitors the routes AWS advertises to your network, aiding in the validation of configuration changes and identifying silent route withdrawals that could affect traffic, even if BGP sessions are active.

These metrics are available for private, public, and transit virtual interfaces across all commercial AWS Regions. They can be integrated with CloudWatch alarms, dashboards, and Amazon SNS to provide comprehensive BGP monitoring. This integration helps reduce the mean time to detect network issues and simplifies operations for multi-region and disaster recovery architectures. For more information on AWS Direct Connect, visit AWS Direct Connect.