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The practical decision is therefore two-part: decide where the workload must run, then design how that environment connects to the rest of your network and cloud. Facility readiness, link resilience, location-specific availability, and operational responsibility all affect the answer.
What does AWS in a colocation facility mean?
A colocation facility supplies the physical environment—such as floor space, power, cooling, and connectivity—for equipment operated by a customer or provider. In an AWS Outposts deployment, AWS-managed infrastructure is installed in a data center, colocation space, or other on-premises facility selected by the customer. AWS describes Outposts as extending AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and operating models into that environment; it also documents an AWS-native variant and a VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts variant. See AWS’s overview of hybrid cloud solutions.
Outposts is not simply a private network link to the AWS cloud. It places supported infrastructure at the selected site, while connecting that infrastructure to a designated AWS home Region. Do not assume that every AWS service or Outposts configuration behaves exactly like a Region: confirm the supported services and requirements for the specific hardware and configuration under consideration.
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How do Outposts, Local Zones, and private connections differ?
| Option | Where infrastructure or workload runs | What it contributes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Outposts | AWS-managed infrastructure is installed at a customer-selected data center, colocation space, or on-premises facility. | Supported AWS infrastructure, services, APIs, and operating models at that site, connected to a home Region. | That every AWS service is available or identical to its Regional version. |
| AWS Local Zones | AWS-operated metro locations; workload placement is in an AWS site, not equipment installed in the customer’s chosen colo. | Selected AWS resources closer to users or other metro workloads, with a VPC extended from a parent Region. | A fixed latency: results depend on location and connection modality. |
| AWS Direct Connect | It is a connection between AWS and a data center, office, or colocation environment; the connection itself does not specify where compute runs. | A private physical network path to AWS, with options that vary by location. | That AWS compute is present in the connected colo. |
| Google Cloud Interconnect options | The hybrid-connectivity overview describes connection products; compute deployment in a particular colo is not stated by that connectivity source. | Dedicated, partner-mediated, cross-cloud, and cross-site connectivity choices. | That a Google Cloud facility or compute equipment is installed in a particular customer colo. |
| Azure connectivity to other providers | The cited guidance describes networking architectures; Azure compute deployment in a particular colo is not stated by that connectivity source. | Options including ExpressRoute circuits connected through customer-managed routing to another provider’s private connection. | A complete inventory of rival-cloud on-premises hardware options. |
AWS’s comparison of Local Zones and Outposts for edge workloads emphasizes the distinction in installation and operational ownership. Local Zone latency depends on distance and connection type, so a product label is not a substitute for measuring the path that matters to an application.
How does Outposts connect a colo to AWS?
An Outposts deployment has two network sides. The service link connects the Outpost to its home Region for management and Region traffic; customer-side networking connects Outpost subnets to the local network through the Outposts local gateway. Routing—including BGP where applicable—must be designed for the actual topology. AWS discusses these components and design considerations in its hybrid-cloud networking guidance.
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AWS recommends redundant service-link connectivity of at least 500 Mbps, with 1 Gbps preferred. These are AWS recommendations, not universal capacity guarantees or data-center benchmarks. The bandwidth needed depends on the number of racks, workload behavior, and traffic exchanged with the home Region. The service-link path may use internet connectivity or Direct Connect; the appropriate design depends on the deployment and its network requirements.
Outposts also has a maximum round-trip latency requirement between the Outpost and its home Region in AWS’s listed prerequisites. Treat that as a configuration-specific design constraint to verify against the current requirements, not as a general latency promise. AWS’s hybrid architecture best-practices PDF describes prerequisites, including site and support-plan considerations.
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Is a colocation site ready for Outposts?
Before selecting a facility, compare its documented capabilities with the current AWS requirements for the intended Outposts configuration. Requirements can depend on geography, hardware, and service availability, so get confirmation for the actual site rather than relying on a generic facility description.
- Physical environment: confirm space, power, and cooling for the proposed equipment.
- Network resilience: check the required redundant links, available routing options, and capacity for both local traffic and communication with the home Region.
- Connectivity and cabling: verify cross-connect availability, routing responsibilities, and the specific optics, connectors, cable type, length, and supported rates for the installation.
- Eligibility and support: confirm supported geography and any support-plan prerequisites in the current AWS site requirements.
- Failure domains: identify what happens if a local link, carrier, cross-connect, facility component, or path to the Region fails; do not treat two circuits as independent without checking their physical routes and providers.
- Operational boundaries: document which responsibilities belong to AWS, the colocation provider, the network provider, and your own team, especially for incidents and changes.
What does Direct Connect add—and what does it not?
AWS Direct Connect is a private physical connection between AWS and a data center, office, or colocation environment. AWS lists connection speeds from 50 Mbps to 400 Gbps on its Direct Connect features page; some options are available only at select locations. Availability, cross-connect arrangements, and commercial charges depend on the location and provider, so the published range does not guarantee that every speed can be ordered at a particular colo.
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Direct Connect SiteLink can privately connect offices, data centers, and colocation facilities that have connections at two or more Direct Connect locations. It is a network capability, not a workload-placement product. For Local Zones, AWS documents Direct Connect connectivity as well; one migration pattern is to move a front end to a Local Zone while leaving a database in a customer data center. See AWS’s Local Zones Direct Connect guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do Google Cloud and Azure connect to colocation environments?
Google Cloud
Google Cloud’s hybrid connectivity overview describes several distinct connection approaches:
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- Dedicated Interconnect: a direct physical connection from an on-premises network.
- Partner Interconnect: a connection provided through a partner.
- Cross-Cloud Interconnect: a managed link to third-party clouds, including AWS, Azure, and Oracle.
- Cross-Site Interconnect: a high-bandwidth site-to-site option.
These descriptions establish networking choices, not that Google Cloud compute equipment is installed at a particular colocation facility.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft’s connectivity guidance for other providers describes cross-cloud designs, including ExpressRoute circuits connected with customer-managed routing to another provider’s private connection. It also points to the Azure–Oracle Cloud Infrastructure partnership for high-throughput, low-latency connections. These are network approaches and a named cloud-to-cloud link, not a complete inventory of Azure on-premises hardware options.
How should you choose a hybrid-cloud design?
Start with workload placement, then test the network and operating model against the application’s needs. In particular, distinguish a requirement for compute inside a selected facility from a requirement for a private connection to a cloud provider.
- Locate the workload. Decide whether it must run in your chosen colo, in an AWS-operated metro site, or in a cloud Region. If it must run in the selected facility on AWS-managed infrastructure, evaluate Outposts; if proximity to a metro is sufficient, assess whether a Local Zone fits.
- Set performance and data-location requirements. Identify which users, systems, and data need local access, and what latency and data-location obligations apply. Have compliance teams assess those obligations; do not infer them from a product name or facility location alone.
- Map the complete traffic path. Document local routes, the Outposts service link if applicable, Regional or cross-cloud paths, capacity, redundancy, and failure domains. Confirm that routing and ownership are clear at every handoff.
- Validate the facility and availability. Check site requirements, geography, supported configuration, power, cooling, space, cabling, and support prerequisites with the relevant providers.
- Assign operations and incident responsibilities. Establish who monitors each layer and who responds when the facility, hardware, local network, private circuit, or cloud-side path is unavailable.
No option is a universal winner: the right design depends on where compute must run, the application’s proximity needs, the selected facility’s readiness, and the private paths available there. Capabilities and availability vary by location and configuration, so validate the specific site and services before committing.
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