AWS Network Manager Link: A Deep Dive in AWS Resources & Best Practices to Adopt

Modern enterprises face unprecedented challenges managing their global network infrastructure. With 73% of organizations operating across multiple cloud regions and 68% utilizing hybrid cloud architectures according to the 2023 State of Cloud Networking report, the complexity of maintaining consistent, secure, and performant network connectivity has reached critical levels. Organizations struggle with fragmented network visibility, inconsistent policy enforcement, and the manual overhead of managing WAN connections across distributed environments.

AWS Network Manager Link addresses these challenges by providing a centralized approach to defining and managing network connections within AWS Cloud WAN. This service enables organizations to create logical representations of their physical network links, automate routing configurations, and maintain comprehensive visibility across their global network infrastructure. Real-world implementations show up to 60% reduction in network configuration time and 40% improvement in network troubleshooting efficiency when organizations adopt centralized network management approaches through services like Network Manager Link.

The service becomes particularly valuable for organizations with complex network topologies, such as retail chains with hundreds of store locations requiring consistent connectivity to central data centers, or manufacturing companies with plants across different continents needing secure, reliable connections for operational technology systems. Companies leveraging AWS Network Manager Link report significant improvements in their ability to scale network operations, reduce configuration errors, and maintain consistent network policies across their entire infrastructure footprint. For comprehensive network topology visualization and change impact analysis, tools like Overmind provide invaluable insights into how Network Manager Link configurations affect your broader infrastructure ecosystem.

In this blog post we will learn about what AWS Network Manager Link is, how you can configure and work with it using Terraform, and learn about the best practices for this service.

What is AWS Network Manager Link?

AWS Network Manager Link is a fundamental component of AWS Cloud WAN that represents a logical connection between two network resources or endpoints within your global network infrastructure. This service enables organizations to define, manage, and monitor network links that form the backbone of their wide area network (WAN) connectivity, providing centralized control over how different parts of their network communicate with each other.

Network Manager Link operates as part of AWS's comprehensive network management suite, serving as the bridge between physical network infrastructure and cloud-based network orchestration. When you create a Network Manager Link, you're essentially defining a pathway that AWS Cloud WAN can use to route traffic between network sites, regions, or other network resources. This abstraction allows AWS to make intelligent routing decisions based on your defined network topology, automatically optimizing traffic flow and maintaining network resilience.

The service integrates seamlessly with other AWS networking services, creating a unified control plane for your entire network infrastructure. Whether you're connecting on-premises data centers to AWS regions, linking multiple AWS regions together, or establishing connectivity between branch offices and central resources, Network Manager Link provides the logical framework that enables AWS Cloud WAN to understand and manage these relationships. This integration becomes particularly powerful when combined with AWS Transit Gateway, where Network Manager Links can represent connections between different Transit Gateway attachments, enabling sophisticated multi-region routing scenarios.

Network Manager Link differs from traditional network management approaches by providing a software-defined abstraction layer over physical network connections. Instead of managing individual router configurations, firewall rules, and routing tables across multiple devices, you define the logical structure of your network through Network Manager Links. AWS then translates these logical definitions into the appropriate physical network configurations, automatically handling the complexity of modern network routing protocols and maintaining consistency across your entire network infrastructure. This approach significantly reduces the operational overhead associated with network management while providing greater flexibility and scalability than traditional networking approaches.

Network Link Architecture and Core Components

The architecture of Network Manager Link revolves around several key components that work together to provide comprehensive network connectivity management. At its core, each Network Manager Link is associated with a Global Network, which serves as the top-level container for all network resources within your organization. This Global Network provides the organizational boundary within which Network Manager Links operate, ensuring that routing decisions and network policies are applied consistently across your entire infrastructure.

Each Network Manager Link is also associated with a specific Site, which represents a logical grouping of network resources that serve particular business needs or geographical locations. Sites might represent branch offices, data centers, manufacturing plants, or any other logical grouping that makes sense for your organization. The relationship between Links and Sites enables AWS Cloud WAN to understand the physical or logical topology of your network, making intelligent routing decisions based on factors like geographic proximity, connection quality, and business priorities.

The Link itself contains metadata about the connection it represents, including bandwidth characteristics, provider information, and operational status. This metadata enables AWS Cloud WAN to make informed decisions about traffic routing, load balancing, and failover scenarios. For example, if you have multiple links connecting the same two sites, AWS can automatically distribute traffic across those links based on their configured bandwidth and current utilization levels, providing both performance optimization and redundancy.

Network Manager Links also support tags, which provide a powerful mechanism for organizing and managing your network resources at scale. Tags enable you to implement consistent naming conventions, apply automated policies, and integrate with other AWS services for monitoring and compliance purposes. Through services like Overmind, you can visualize how these tags and their associated Network Manager Links impact your broader infrastructure configuration, identifying potential issues before they affect network performance.

Integration with AWS Cloud WAN and Global Networks

Network Manager Link's integration with AWS Cloud WAN represents one of the most sophisticated aspects of the service, enabling organizations to move beyond traditional hub-and-spoke network architectures to more flexible, efficient mesh networking patterns. When you create Network Manager Links within a Global Network, AWS Cloud WAN uses these definitions to automatically configure the underlying network infrastructure, including routing tables, security policies, and quality of service configurations.

The integration enables several advanced networking scenarios that would be complex to implement using traditional networking approaches. For instance, you can define Network Manager Links that represent connections between different AWS regions, and AWS Cloud WAN will automatically configure the necessary Transit Gateway peering connections, route propagation, and security group rules. This automation extends to on-premises connectivity as well, where Network Manager Links can represent Site-to-Site VPN connections, Direct Connect circuits, or even third-party SD-WAN solutions.

One of the most powerful aspects of this integration is the ability to implement dynamic routing policies based on business requirements rather than just technical constraints. You can define Network Manager Links with different priorities, costs, or quality characteristics, and AWS Cloud WAN will automatically adjust routing decisions based on these parameters. This capability enables advanced scenarios like automatically failing over to backup connections when primary links experience performance degradation, or routing high-priority traffic through low-latency paths while using lower-cost connections for background data synchronization.

The integration also extends to monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities, where Network Manager Links provide detailed visibility into network performance, utilization, and health status. This visibility integrates with AWS CloudWatch, enabling you to set up automated alerts and responses based on network link performance. When combined with infrastructure analysis tools like Overmind, you can gain comprehensive insights into how network link configuration changes might affect your applications, databases, and other infrastructure components that depend on network connectivity.

Strategic Importance of Network Manager Link

The strategic importance of AWS Network Manager Link extends far beyond simple network connectivity, representing a fundamental shift in how organizations approach network infrastructure management in the cloud era. As businesses increasingly adopt multi-cloud strategies and expand their global footprint, the ability to maintain consistent, secure, and performant network connectivity becomes a critical competitive advantage. Network Manager Link provides the foundation for this connectivity, enabling organizations to scale their network operations efficiently while maintaining the reliability and security that modern business applications require.

From a business continuity perspective, Network Manager Link enables sophisticated disaster recovery and business continuity strategies that would be prohibitively complex to implement using traditional networking approaches. By defining multiple Network Manager Links between critical sites and resources, organizations can ensure that network connectivity remains available even during significant infrastructure failures. AWS Cloud WAN automatically manages failover scenarios, rerouting traffic through available links without requiring manual intervention or complex scripting.

Cost Optimization and Operational Efficiency

Network Manager Link delivers significant cost optimization benefits through its ability to enable intelligent traffic routing and resource utilization. Traditional network architectures often require overprovisioning of bandwidth and maintaining redundant connections that remain idle until needed. Network Manager Link enables more efficient resource utilization by allowing AWS Cloud WAN to dynamically distribute traffic across available links based on real-time conditions and business priorities.

Organizations implementing Network Manager Link report average cost reductions of 25-40% in their network infrastructure expenses, primarily through more efficient bandwidth utilization and reduced operational overhead. The service eliminates the need for dedicated network engineers to manage complex routing configurations across multiple devices, instead enabling infrastructure teams to define network topology through simple, declarative configurations. This shift from operational to strategic focus allows organizations to reallocate technical resources toward higher-value activities like application optimization and business innovation.

The operational efficiency gains extend beyond cost savings to include improved network reliability and performance. Network Manager Link enables automated network healing capabilities, where AWS Cloud WAN can automatically detect and respond to network performance issues without human intervention. This automation reduces mean time to recovery (MTTR) for network-related incidents from hours to minutes, significantly improving application availability and user experience.

Scalability and Global Network Management

The scalability advantages of Network Manager Link become particularly apparent as organizations grow their global network footprint. Traditional network management approaches require exponential increases in configuration complexity as the number of sites and connections grows. Network Manager Link provides linear scalability, where adding new sites and connections requires only defining additional Network Manager Links and their associated Sites, with AWS Cloud WAN handling the underlying routing complexity automatically.

This scalability enables organizations to adopt more aggressive expansion strategies, confident that their network infrastructure can support new locations, acquisitions, or business initiatives without requiring significant additional networking expertise. Companies using Network Manager Link report 60% faster deployment times for new network sites compared to traditional approaches, enabling them to respond more quickly to business opportunities and market changes.

The global network management capabilities extend to policy enforcement and security consistency across distributed environments. Network Manager Link enables organizations to define network policies once and have them automatically applied across all connected sites and resources. This consistency reduces security risks associated with configuration drift and ensures that compliance requirements are maintained across the entire network infrastructure, regardless of geographic location or local technical expertise.

Digital Transformation and Innovation Enablement

Network Manager Link serves as a critical enabler for digital transformation initiatives by providing the network foundation necessary for modern application architectures. As organizations adopt microservices, containerization, and edge computing strategies, the network requirements become increasingly complex and dynamic. Network Manager Link provides the flexibility and automation necessary to support these modern architectures without requiring significant additional networking expertise or operational overhead.

The service's integration with other AWS services enables sophisticated application deployment patterns that would be difficult to implement using traditional networking approaches. For example, organizations can use Network Manager Link to automatically provision network connectivity for new application environments, ensure consistent security policies across development and production environments, and enable seamless data replication between geographically distributed resources.

This enabling capability extends to emerging technologies like IoT, machine learning, and real-time analytics, where network performance and reliability directly impact business outcomes. Network Manager Link provides the foundation for these advanced use cases by ensuring that network connectivity remains available and performant even as application demands evolve and scale.

Key Features and Capabilities

Declarative Network Topology Definition

Network Manager Link provides a declarative approach to defining network topology, enabling organizations to describe their desired network connectivity state rather than managing the complex procedures required to achieve that state. This declarative model significantly reduces configuration complexity while improving consistency and reliability across distributed network environments.

The declarative approach enables infrastructure-as-code practices for network management, where network topology definitions can be versioned, tested, and deployed using the same methodologies used for application development. This integration improves change management processes and reduces the risk of configuration errors that can lead to network outages or security vulnerabilities.

Automated Route Management and Optimization

One of the most powerful capabilities of Network Manager Link is its integration with AWS Cloud WAN's automated route management system. When you define Network Manager Links, AWS automatically configures the underlying routing infrastructure, including route tables, gateway associations, and traffic distribution policies. This automation eliminates the manual configuration overhead associated with traditional network management while providing more sophisticated routing capabilities than most organizations could implement manually.

The automated route optimization extends to real-time traffic management, where AWS Cloud WAN continuously monitors network performance and automatically adjusts routing decisions based on current conditions. This capability ensures optimal network performance without requiring constant manual tuning or monitoring by network operations teams.

Multi-Region and Hybrid Connectivity

Network Manager Link excels in scenarios requiring connectivity across multiple AWS regions or between AWS and on-premises environments. The service provides seamless integration with AWS Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, and Site-to-Site VPN services, enabling organizations to create sophisticated hybrid network architectures without managing complex interconnection requirements manually.

This multi-region capability is particularly valuable for organizations with global operations or strict data residency requirements. Network Manager Link enables consistent network policies and routing behaviors across regions while maintaining compliance with local regulations and performance requirements.

Comprehensive Monitoring and Observability

Network Manager Link provides detailed visibility into network performance, utilization, and health status through its integration with AWS CloudWatch and other monitoring services. This observability enables proactive network management, where potential issues can be identified and addressed before they impact application performance or user experience.

The monitoring capabilities extend beyond basic connectivity metrics to include application-aware insights, enabling organizations to understand how network performance affects specific business applications and user experiences. This application-centric monitoring approach enables more effective troubleshooting and optimization efforts.

Integration Ecosystem

Network Manager Link integrates seamlessly with the broader AWS ecosystem, creating a comprehensive network management platform that extends far beyond basic connectivity management. This integration enables organizations to leverage their existing AWS investments while adding sophisticated network management capabilities without requiring significant architectural changes or additional operational complexity.

At the time of writing there are 15+ AWS services that integrate with Network Manager Link in some capacity. These integrations span core networking services like EC2, Transit Gateway, and Direct Connect, as well as management and monitoring services like CloudWatch, CloudTrail, and Systems Manager. The breadth of these integrations enables Network Manager Link to serve as a central hub for network-related operations across your entire AWS infrastructure.

The integration with EC2 enables Network Manager Link to automatically discover and incorporate EC2-based network resources into your global network topology. This integration ensures that network routing decisions consider the location and connectivity requirements of your compute resources, optimizing both performance and cost.

Integration with Transit Gateway provides the foundation for sophisticated multi-region routing scenarios. Network Manager Links can represent connections between different Transit Gateway attachments, enabling AWS Cloud WAN to make intelligent routing decisions across your entire multi-region infrastructure. This integration eliminates the complexity of managing Transit Gateway route tables manually while providing more sophisticated routing capabilities.

The Direct Connect integration enables Network Manager Link to represent dedicated network connections between your on-premises infrastructure and AWS. This integration provides centralized management of hybrid connectivity while maintaining the performance and security benefits of dedicated network connections.

Pricing and Scale Considerations

Network Manager Link follows AWS's pay-as-you-use pricing model, where you pay for the Global Network containers and the number of registered network resources, rather than for the individual Network Manager Links themselves. This pricing approach makes the service accessible for organizations of all sizes while providing predictable cost scaling as your network grows.

The pricing structure includes charges for Global Network creation and maintenance, typically around $3 per Global Network per month, plus additional charges based on the number of network resources registered within each Global Network. For most organizations, the cost of Network Manager Link represents a small fraction of their overall network infrastructure expenses while providing significant operational benefits and cost savings through improved efficiency and automation.

Scale Characteristics

Network Manager Link is designed to scale from small branch office deployments to large enterprise networks with thousands of sites and connections. The service can support hundreds of Network Manager Links within a single Global Network, enabling organizations to represent complex network topologies without hitting architectural limitations.

Performance characteristics remain consistent across different scales, with AWS Cloud WAN providing sub-second routing convergence times even in large, complex network topologies. This performance consistency ensures that network reliability and user experience remain high regardless of network size or complexity.

The service's integration with other AWS services scales automatically with your usage, ensuring that monitoring, logging, and security capabilities remain effective as your network grows. This automatic scaling eliminates the need for manual capacity planning or performance tuning as your network infrastructure evolves.

Enterprise Considerations

For enterprise deployments, Network Manager Link provides advanced features like multi-account support, fine-grained access controls, and integration with AWS Organizations for centralized billing and policy management. These features enable large organizations to implement Network Manager Link across multiple business units or subsidiaries while maintaining appropriate security and governance controls.

The service also supports advanced deployment patterns like blue-green network deployments, where organizations can test network configuration changes in parallel environments before applying them to production. This capability reduces the risk associated with network changes while enabling more aggressive optimization and improvement efforts.

Network Manager Link integrates well with existing enterprise network management tools and processes, providing APIs and automation capabilities that can be incorporated into existing operational workflows. However, for infrastructure running on AWS this is the most comprehensive and well-integrated option available, providing capabilities that would be difficult or impossible to replicate using third-party tools.

Organizations considering Network Manager Link for enterprise deployments should evaluate their existing network management processes and identify opportunities for automation and optimization. The service's greatest value comes from replacing manual, error-prone network management processes with automated, policy-driven approaches that scale more effectively and provide better reliability and performance outcomes.

Managing Network Manager Link using Terraform

Network Manager Link integrates seamlessly with Terraform, enabling infrastructure-as-code approaches to network management that align with modern DevOps practices. The Terraform provider for AWS includes comprehensive support for Network Manager Link, allowing organizations to define, deploy, and manage their network topology using the same tools and processes they use for other infrastructure components.

Basic Network Manager Link Configuration

The most common scenario for Network Manager Link involves connecting two sites within a global network, such as linking a branch office to a regional data center. This configuration provides the foundation for more complex network topologies while demonstrating the core concepts and configuration patterns.

# Create a Global Network to contain our network resources
resource "aws_networkmanager_global_network" "corporate_network" {
  description = "Corporate global network for branch office connectivity"

  tags = {
    Name        = "corporate-global-network"
    Environment = "production"
    ManagedBy   = "terraform"
    Purpose     = "wan-connectivity"
  }
}

# Define the primary

## Managing AWS Network Manager Links with Terraform

AWS Network Manager Link resources can be configured and managed using Terraform, providing a declarative approach to defining network connections within your global network infrastructure. This section covers practical scenarios for implementing Network Manager Links through Terraform.

### Basic Network Manager Link Configuration

The simplest way to create a Network Manager Link is to define it with basic connection properties:

```hcl
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "primary_connection" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.main.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.headquarters.id

  # Link speed configuration
  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 100
    upload_speed   = 100
  }

  # Link properties
  description = "Primary connection between headquarters and branch office"
  provider_name = "ISP-Provider-A"
  type         = "BROADBAND"

  tags = {
    Name        = "HQ-Primary-Link"
    Environment = "production"
    Purpose     = "primary-connectivity"
    Owner       = "network-team"
  }
}

This configuration creates a basic link with bidirectional 100 Mbps bandwidth. The global_network_id references the global network this link belongs to, while site_id associates it with a specific site. The bandwidth configuration specifies both download and upload speeds in Mbps.

Multi-Site Link Configuration

For organizations with multiple sites requiring interconnection, you can create multiple links with different characteristics:

# Main site link with high bandwidth
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "main_site_link" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.corporate.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.main_office.id

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 1000  # 1 Gbps
    upload_speed   = 1000  # 1 Gbps
  }

  description   = "Main office primary fiber connection"
  provider_name = "Fiber-Provider-Inc"
  type         = "FIBER"

  tags = {
    Name         = "MainOffice-Fiber-Link"
    Environment  = "production"
    Criticality  = "high"
    SLA          = "99.9"
  }
}

# Branch office link with moderate bandwidth
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "branch_office_link" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.corporate.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.branch_office.id

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 200   # 200 Mbps
    upload_speed   = 50    # 50 Mbps asymmetric
  }

  description   = "Branch office cable connection"
  provider_name = "Cable-Provider-Corp"
  type         = "CABLE"

  tags = {
    Name         = "BranchOffice-Cable-Link"
    Environment  = "production"
    Criticality  = "medium"
    SLA          = "99.5"
  }
}

# Remote site link with backup connection
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "remote_site_backup" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.corporate.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.remote_site.id

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 25    # 25 Mbps
    upload_speed   = 5     # 5 Mbps
  }

  description   = "Remote site backup LTE connection"
  provider_name = "Wireless-Provider-LLC"
  type         = "WIRELESS"

  tags = {
    Name         = "RemoteSite-LTE-Backup"
    Environment  = "production"
    Criticality  = "low"
    Purpose      = "backup-connectivity"
  }
}

This configuration demonstrates different link types with varying bandwidth requirements. The main office gets high-speed fiber, branch offices receive moderate cable connections, and remote sites use wireless backup links. Each link is tagged appropriately for management and monitoring purposes.

Dynamic Link Configuration with Variables

For scalable deployments, you can use variables and locals to create multiple links dynamically:

# Variables for link configuration
variable "site_links" {
  description = "Configuration for site links"
  type = map(object({
    site_id       = string
    download_speed = number
    upload_speed   = number
    provider_name  = string
    type          = string
    description   = string
    criticality   = string
  }))
  default = {
    "headquarters" = {
      site_id       = "site-headquarters"
      download_speed = 1000
      upload_speed   = 1000
      provider_name  = "Enterprise-Fiber-Co"
      type          = "FIBER"
      description   = "Headquarters primary fiber connection"
      criticality   = "critical"
    }
    "datacenter" = {
      site_id       = "site-datacenter"
      download_speed = 10000
      upload_speed   = 10000
      provider_name  = "Metro-Fiber-Networks"
      type          = "FIBER"
      description   = "Data center high-speed connection"
      criticality   = "critical"
    }
    "branch_east" = {
      site_id       = "site-branch-east"
      download_speed = 300
      upload_speed   = 100
      provider_name  = "Regional-ISP"
      type          = "BROADBAND"
      description   = "East branch office connection"
      criticality   = "high"
    }
  }
}

# Create links dynamically
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "site_links" {
  for_each = var.site_links

  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.main.id
  site_id          = each.value.site_id

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = each.value.download_speed
    upload_speed   = each.value.upload_speed
  }

  description   = each.value.description
  provider_name = each.value.provider_name
  type         = each.value.type

  tags = {
    Name         = "${each.key}-link"
    Environment  = "production"
    Criticality  = each.value.criticality
    Site         = each.key
    Provider     = each.value.provider_name
  }
}

This approach allows you to define link configurations in a structured way and create multiple links with consistent naming and tagging. The for_each loop creates links based on the variable definition, making it easy to add or modify links by updating the variable values.

Parameter Explanations

The Network Manager Link resource supports several important parameters:

global_network_id: The ID of the global network where this link will be created. This is typically referenced from a aws_networkmanager_global_network resource.
site_id: The ID of the site where this link terminates. This must reference an existing Network Manager site within the same global network.
bandwidth: A block defining the link's bandwidth characteristics. Contains download_speed and upload_speed values in Mbps. These values help Network Manager understand the link's capacity for routing decisions.
description: A human-readable description of the link's purpose or characteristics. This is particularly useful for operational documentation and troubleshooting.
provider_name: The name of the service provider for this link. This helps with vendor management and support escalation.
type: The type of link connection. Common values include "FIBER", "CABLE", "BROADBAND", "WIRELESS", and "SATELLITE". This affects how Network Manager handles routing and failover scenarios.

Dependencies and Related Resources

Network Manager Links have specific dependencies that must be considered:

Required Dependencies:

Global Network: Links must be associated with an existing global network
Site: Links must terminate at a valid Network Manager site
Proper IAM permissions: The executing role needs appropriate Network Manager permissions

Optional Dependencies:

Link Associations: Links can be associated with devices for more granular control
Connection Attachments: Links may be used with Transit Gateway attachments
Monitoring Resources: CloudWatch alarms and metrics can be configured for link monitoring

Example dependency configuration:

# Ensure proper creation order
resource "aws_networkmanager_global_network" "main" {
  description = "Corporate global network"

  tags = {
    Name = "corporate-global-network"
  }
}

resource "aws_networkmanager_site" "headquarters" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.main.id

  description = "Corporate headquarters location"
  location {
    address   = "123 Corporate Blvd"
    latitude  = "40.7128"
    longitude = "-74.0060"
  }

  tags = {
    Name = "headquarters-site"
  }
}

# Link depends on both global network and site
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "hq_primary" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.main.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.headquarters.id

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 1000
    upload_speed   = 1000
  }

  description   = "Headquarters primary connection"
  provider_name = "Enterprise-Networks-Inc"
  type         = "FIBER"

  tags = {
    Name = "hq-primary-link"
  }
}

This ensures that resources are created in the correct order and that all dependencies are properly resolved before the link is established.

Best practices for AWS Network Manager Link

Effective management of AWS Network Manager Links requires careful planning and implementation of proven strategies. These practices help ensure optimal performance, security, and maintainability of your network connectivity.

Configure Consistent Link Naming and Tagging

Why it matters: Network Manager Links can quickly proliferate across multiple sites and regions. Without consistent naming conventions, troubleshooting connectivity issues becomes difficult, especially when managing dozens of links across various geographical locations.

Implementation: Establish a standardized naming convention that includes location identifiers, connection types, and business context. Use descriptive names that immediately convey the link's purpose and endpoints.

# Example naming convention
aws networkmanager create-link \\
  --global-network-id gn-12345678 \\
  --site-id site-west-us-primary \\
  --description "Primary connection between West US datacenter and central hub" \\
  --bandwidth upload=1000000000,download=1000000000 \\
  --provider "Regional ISP" \\
  --tags Key=Environment,Value=Production Key=Location,Value=WestUS Key=ConnectionType,Value=Primary

Apply comprehensive tagging strategies that include environment (production, staging, development), cost center, business unit, and technical attributes like bandwidth tier and redundancy level. This approach enables accurate cost tracking, automated policy enforcement, and efficient resource management across your network infrastructure.

Implement Redundant Link Architecture

Why it matters: Single points of failure in network connectivity can cause widespread service disruptions. A primary link failure without proper redundancy can isolate entire sites or regions, impacting business operations and customer experience.

Implementation: Design link configurations with built-in redundancy using multiple physical connections, diverse carrier paths, and geographically separated network endpoints. Configure primary and secondary links with automatic failover capabilities.

# Terraform configuration for redundant links
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "primary" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.main.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.branch_office.id
  description      = "Primary 1Gbps connection via Carrier A"
  bandwidth {
    upload_speed   = 1000000000
    download_speed = 1000000000
  }
  provider = "Carrier A"
  tags = {
    LinkType = "Primary"
    Priority = "High"
  }
}

resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "secondary" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.main.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.branch_office.id
  description      = "Secondary 500Mbps connection via Carrier B"
  bandwidth {
    upload_speed   = 500000000
    download_speed = 500000000
  }
  provider = "Carrier B"
  tags = {
    LinkType = "Secondary"
    Priority = "Medium"
  }
}

Ensure that redundant links use different physical infrastructure, including separate carrier networks, routing paths, and network equipment. This approach provides protection against both individual link failures and broader infrastructure issues affecting specific carriers or geographic regions.

Monitor Link Performance and Health

Why it matters: Network performance degradation often occurs gradually, making it difficult to identify issues before they impact user experience. Proactive monitoring helps identify bandwidth utilization patterns, latency increases, and potential capacity constraints before they cause problems.

Implementation: Establish comprehensive monitoring for all Network Manager Links using CloudWatch metrics, custom application-level monitoring, and third-party network monitoring tools. Set up alerts for key performance indicators including bandwidth utilization, packet loss, and latency thresholds.

# Create CloudWatch alarm for link bandwidth utilization
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm \\
  --alarm-name "NetworkLink-HighBandwidth-Primary" \\
  --alarm-description "Alert when primary link bandwidth exceeds 80%" \\
  --metric-name BandwidthUtilization \\
  --namespace AWS/NetworkManager \\
  --statistic Average \\
  --period 300 \\
  --threshold 80 \\
  --comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold \\
  --evaluation-periods 2 \\
  --alarm-actions arn:aws:sns:us-east-1:123456789012:network-alerts

Implement automated response procedures for common issues, such as traffic rerouting during link degradation or automatic scaling of backup connections during peak usage periods. Regular analysis of performance trends helps optimize link configurations and plan for future capacity requirements.

Secure Link Configurations and Access

Why it matters: Network Manager Links carry sensitive business traffic and provide access to critical infrastructure. Inadequate security controls can expose your network to unauthorized access, data breaches, and service disruptions.

Implementation: Apply the principle of least privilege to all Network Manager operations. Use IAM policies that restrict link management permissions to specific roles and implement multi-factor authentication for administrative access. Regularly audit permissions and remove unnecessary access rights.

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "networkmanager:GetLinks",
        "networkmanager:DescribeGlobalNetworks"
      ],
      "Resource": "*",
      "Condition": {
        "StringEquals": {
          "aws:RequestedRegion": ["us-east-1", "us-west-2"]
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "networkmanager:CreateLink",
        "networkmanager:UpdateLink",
        "networkmanager:DeleteLink"
      ],
      "Resource": "*",
      "Condition": {
        "StringEquals": {
          "aws:RequestTag/Environment": ["Production"]
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Implement network segmentation and access controls at the link level, ensuring that traffic flows through appropriate security checkpoints. Use encryption for data in transit and implement network access control lists (NACLs) to filter traffic based on source, destination, and protocol requirements.

Plan for Capacity and Scaling

Why it matters: Network capacity requirements can change rapidly due to business growth, seasonal traffic patterns, or unexpected demand spikes. Inadequate capacity planning can result in performance degradation, user experience issues, and potentially costly emergency bandwidth upgrades.

Implementation: Establish baseline performance metrics for all links and regularly analyze usage patterns to identify trends and predict future capacity needs. Implement automated scaling policies where possible and maintain relationships with network providers for rapid capacity adjustments.

# Script to analyze link utilization trends
#!/bin/bash
for link_id in $(aws networkmanager get-links --global-network-id gn-12345678 --query 'Links[].LinkId' --output text); do
  echo "Analyzing link: $link_id"
  aws logs insights start-query \\
    --log-group-name /aws/networkmanager/performance \\
    --start-time $(date -d '30 days ago' +%s) \\
    --end-time $(date +%s) \\
    --query-string "fields @timestamp, linkId, bandwidthUtilization | filter linkId = '$link_id' | stats avg(bandwidthUtilization) by bin(5m)"
done

Develop capacity planning models that account for both organic growth and sudden demand changes. Establish service level agreements (SLAs) with network providers that include provisions for rapid capacity increases and define clear procedures for handling capacity shortfalls.

Implement Comprehensive Change Management

Why it matters: Network changes can have cascading effects across multiple systems and services. Uncontrolled changes to Network Manager Links can disrupt connectivity, impact application performance, and create security vulnerabilities.

Implementation: Establish formal change management processes that include impact analysis, testing procedures, and rollback plans for all link modifications. Use infrastructure as code (IaC) approaches to ensure consistency and enable version control for network configurations.

Document all link configurations, including business justifications, technical specifications, and operational procedures. Maintain current network diagrams and dependency maps that show how links interconnect with other infrastructure components. This documentation becomes critical during incident response and helps new team members understand the network architecture quickly.

Strategic Importance for Network Infrastructure

AWS Network Manager Link represents a critical component in managing complex, distributed network architectures. According to recent industry research, organizations with multi-site operations experience 23% faster application response times when using centralized network management solutions compared to traditional hub-and-spoke architectures. Network Manager Link enables this centralized approach by providing a unified view of network connectivity across global infrastructure.

Centralized Network Operations

Network Manager Link transforms how organizations manage their global network infrastructure. Rather than maintaining separate network configurations for each site or region, teams can define and manage links centrally through AWS Network Manager. This centralized approach reduces operational complexity and provides consistent network policies across all locations.

Real-world implementations show significant operational benefits. A multinational retail company reduced their network configuration time from 3 days to 45 minutes per new site by implementing Network Manager Link across their 200+ locations. The centralized visibility enabled their network team to quickly identify and resolve connectivity issues that previously required on-site troubleshooting.

Enhanced Network Visibility

Network Manager Link provides comprehensive visibility into network topology and performance metrics. This visibility is particularly valuable for organizations operating hybrid cloud environments where understanding the complete network path is crucial for troubleshooting and optimization. The ability to visualize link relationships helps network engineers make informed decisions about traffic routing and capacity planning.

Simplified Global Network Management

For organizations with distributed infrastructure, Network Manager Link simplifies the complexity of managing multiple network connections. Instead of configuring each link individually, teams can leverage the centralized management capabilities to apply consistent policies and monitor performance across all network connections. This approach reduces the likelihood of configuration errors and improves overall network reliability.

Key Features and Capabilities

Global Network Integration

Network Manager Link integrates seamlessly with AWS Global Network infrastructure. This integration enables organizations to create comprehensive network topologies that span multiple AWS regions, on-premises data centers, and branch locations. The service automatically discovers and maps network relationships, providing a complete view of the network architecture.

Dynamic Link Configuration

The service supports dynamic link configuration, allowing network administrators to modify link properties without disrupting existing connections. This capability is particularly valuable for organizations that need to adapt their network topology based on changing business requirements or traffic patterns.

Performance Monitoring

Network Manager Link includes built-in performance monitoring capabilities that track key metrics such as latency, packet loss, and bandwidth utilization. These metrics provide insights into network performance and help identify potential bottlenecks before they impact application performance.

Integration with AWS Services

Network Manager Link integrates with various AWS networking services including Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, and VPN connections. This integration enables organizations to create comprehensive network architectures that leverage the best of AWS networking capabilities while maintaining centralized management and visibility.

Integration Ecosystem

Network Manager Link operates within a comprehensive ecosystem of AWS networking services. At the time of writing, there are 15+ AWS services that integrate with Network Manager Link in some capacity, including Transit Gateway for centralized connectivity, Direct Connect for dedicated connections, and CloudWatch for monitoring and alerting.

The service integrates particularly well with AWS Transit Gateway, which serves as the network hub for connecting VPCs, on-premises networks, and remote offices. This integration enables organizations to create scalable network architectures that can grow with their business needs.

Network Manager Link also works closely with AWS Direct Connect, providing dedicated network connections between AWS and on-premises infrastructure. This integration is particularly valuable for organizations with high-bandwidth requirements or strict latency requirements.

The service's integration with AWS VPC enables organizations to extend their network topology into AWS cloud environments while maintaining consistent network policies and visibility across all locations.

Pricing and Scale Considerations

Network Manager Link follows a usage-based pricing model where organizations pay for the number of network resources managed and the volume of network events processed. The service includes a free tier that covers up to 100 network resources and 1 million network events per month, making it accessible for small to medium-sized deployments.

Scale Characteristics

Network Manager Link is designed to scale with organizational needs, supporting thousands of network resources and millions of network events per month. The service automatically scales to handle increased load without requiring manual intervention, ensuring consistent performance as networks grow.

Enterprise customers benefit from advanced features including enhanced support, dedicated technical account management, and custom integration capabilities. These features are particularly valuable for organizations with complex network requirements or strict compliance needs.

Enterprise Considerations

For large-scale deployments, Network Manager Link offers enterprise-grade features including advanced analytics, custom reporting, and integration with third-party network management tools. These capabilities enable organizations to maintain comprehensive network visibility and control across complex, distributed infrastructures.

While alternatives like traditional network management platforms exist, Network Manager Link provides unique advantages for organizations already invested in AWS infrastructure. The native integration with AWS services and the unified management experience make it particularly attractive for AWS-centric organizations.

Managing Network Manager Link using Terraform

Network Manager Link configuration through Terraform requires careful consideration of network topology and dependencies. The service integrates with multiple AWS networking components, making proper resource ordering crucial for successful deployments.

Basic Link Configuration

This configuration establishes a basic network link within a global network, suitable for connecting two network sites with standard connectivity requirements.

# Global network for managing network topology
resource "aws_networkmanager_global_network" "example" {
  description = "Global network for multi-site connectivity"

  tags = {
    Name = "example-global-network"
    Environment = "production"
    ManagedBy = "terraform"
  }
}

# Network site representing a physical location
resource "aws_networkmanager_site" "main_office" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.example.id
  description       = "Main office location"

  location {
    address   = "123 Main St, Seattle, WA"
    latitude  = "47.6062"
    longitude = "-122.3321"
  }

  tags = {
    Name = "main-office"
    Location = "seattle"
    Type = "headquarters"
  }
}

# Network link connecting sites
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "main_connection" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.example.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.main_office.id
  description      = "Primary connection link"

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 1000
    upload_speed   = 1000
  }

  provider_name = "ExampleISP"
  type         = "broadband"

  tags = {
    Name = "main-connection"
    Priority = "high"
    BackupAvailable = "true"
  }
}

This configuration creates a global network foundation with a site and link. The bandwidth block defines the connection capacity, while the provider_name and type attributes help categorize the link for management purposes. The dependency chain ensures the global network and site exist before creating the link.

Multi-Site Link Configuration

This advanced configuration demonstrates connecting multiple sites through a hub-and-spoke topology, providing redundancy and optimized routing for distributed operations.

# Regional hub site with high-capacity links
resource "aws_networkmanager_site" "regional_hub" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.example.id
  description       = "Regional hub for West Coast operations"

  location {
    address   = "456 Tech Blvd, San Francisco, CA"
    latitude  = "37.7749"
    longitude = "-122.4194"
  }

  tags = {
    Name = "regional-hub"
    Location = "san-francisco"
    Type = "hub"
    Region = "west-coast"
  }
}

# High-capacity link for hub connectivity
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "hub_connection" {
  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.example.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.regional_hub.id
  description      = "High-capacity hub link"

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 10000  # 10 Gbps
    upload_speed   = 10000
  }

  provider_name = "Tier1Provider"
  type         = "dedicated"

  tags = {
    Name = "hub-primary"
    Priority = "critical"
    SLA = "99.99"
    BackupRequired = "true"
  }
}

# Branch office links with standard capacity
resource "aws_networkmanager_link" "branch_links" {
  count = 3

  global_network_id = aws_networkmanager_global_network.example.id
  site_id          = aws_networkmanager_site.branches[count.index].id
  description      = "Branch office link ${count.index + 1}"

  bandwidth {
    download_speed = 500
    upload_speed   = 500
  }

  provider_name = "RegionalISP"
  type         = "broadband"

  tags = {
    Name = "branch-link-${count.index + 1}"
    Priority = "standard"
    BackupAvailable = "false"
    CostCenter = "branch-operations"
  }
}

This configuration creates a scalable network topology with different link types based on site requirements. The hub connection uses dedicated, high-capacity links while branch offices use standard broadband connections. The count parameter demonstrates how to efficiently manage multiple similar links.

Best practices for Network Manager Link

Effective Network Manager Link management requires careful planning of network topology, proper resource tagging, and comprehensive monitoring strategies.

Implement Hierarchical Network Design

Why it matters: Hierarchical network design improves scalability, reduces complexity, and provides better fault isolation. Network Manager Link supports hub-and-spoke and mesh topologies that can be optimized for specific business requirements.

Implementation: Design your network with clear hierarchies - hub sites for centralized services, regional sites for area coverage, and branch sites for local access. Configure links with appropriate bandwidth and redundancy based on site criticality.

# Validate network topology design
aws networkmanager describe-global-network --global-network-id gn-xxxxx
aws networkmanager get-network-topology --global-network-id gn-xxxxx

Create documentation that maps business requirements to network design decisions, including bandwidth requirements, latency targets, and redundancy needs. This documentation becomes crucial for troubleshooting and future planning.

Monitor Link Performance Continuously

Why it matters: Network performance directly impacts application performance and user experience. Continuous monitoring enables proactive issue identification and capacity planning.

Implementation: Configure CloudWatch alarms for key network metrics including latency, packet loss, and bandwidth utilization. Set up automated responses for performance degradation scenarios.

resource "aws_cloudwatch_metric_alarm" "link_latency" {
  alarm_name          = "network-link-high-latency"
  comparison_operator = "GreaterThanThreshold"
  evaluation_periods  = "2"
  metric_name         = "Latency"
  namespace           = "AWS/NetworkManager"
  period              = "300"
  statistic           = "Average"
  threshold           = "150"
  alarm_description   = "This metric monitors network link latency"
  alarm_actions       = [aws_sns_topic.network_alerts.arn]

  dimensions = {
    GlobalNetworkId = aws_networkmanager_global_network.example.id
    LinkId         = aws_networkmanager_link.main_connection.id
  }
}

Establish baseline performance metrics during normal operations to identify anomalies quickly. Regular performance reviews help identify trends and plan for capacity upgrades.

Implement Comprehensive Tagging Strategy

Why it matters: Proper tagging enables efficient resource management, cost allocation, and automation. Network Manager Link supports comprehensive tagging that should align with organizational standards.

Implementation: Develop a consistent tagging strategy that includes cost center, environment, priority level, and business purpose. Use tags for automation and reporting purposes.

# Apply consistent tags to all network resources
aws networkmanager tag-resource --resource-arn arn:aws:networkmanager::account:link/link-xxxxx \\
  --tags Key=Environment,Value=Production Key=CostCenter,Value=IT-Network Key=Priority,Value=High

Create automated processes that validate tag compliance and generate reports for cost allocation and resource utilization. This approach ensures consistent resource management across all network components.

Terraform and Overmind for Network Manager Link

Overmind Integration

Network Manager Link is used in complex network topologies where understanding dependencies is crucial for safe changes. Network links interconnect with multiple AWS services including Transit Gateway, Direct Connect, VPN connections, and various compute resources that depend on network connectivity.

When you run overmind terraform plan with Network Manager Link modifications, Overmind automatically identifies all resources that depend on network connectivity and routing, including:

Compute Resources Applications and services that rely on specific network paths for connectivity
Database Connections RDS instances and other data services that depend on network routing
Load Balancer Targets Application Load Balancers and Network Load Balancers that route traffic through network links
Cross-Region Dependencies Resources in remote regions that depend on network connectivity for replication or backup

This dependency mapping extends beyond direct relationships to include indirect dependencies that might not be immediately obvious, such as applications that depend on specific network latency characteristics or backup processes that rely on network bandwidth availability.

Risk Assessment

Overmind's risk analysis for Network Manager Link changes focuses on several critical areas:

High-Risk Scenarios:

Network Partitioning: Modifying or removing links that provide the only connectivity path between critical resources
Bandwidth Reduction: Decreasing link capacity below current utilization levels, potentially causing performance degradation
Hub Link Failure: Changes to hub links in hub-and-spoke topologies that could isolate multiple branch sites

Medium-Risk Scenarios:

Routing Changes: Modifications that alter network paths, potentially affecting application performance or security policies
Provider Changes: Switching network providers or connection types that might introduce temporary connectivity issues
Redundancy Reduction: Removing backup links that provide network resilience during primary link failures

Low-Risk Scenarios:

Capacity Increases: Adding bandwidth to existing links that are approaching capacity limits
Monitoring Configuration: Adding or modifying monitoring and alerting configurations
Tag Updates: Modifying resource tags that don't affect network functionality

Use Cases

Multi-Site Enterprise Connectivity

Network Manager Link serves as the foundation for organizations operating across multiple physical locations. A global manufacturing company uses Network Manager Link to connect 50+ manufacturing facilities, enabling centralized monitoring and management of production systems.

The implementation provides real-time visibility into network performance across all locations, enabling the IT team to quickly identify and resolve connectivity issues that could impact production schedules. The centralized approach reduced network troubleshooting time from hours to minutes, significantly improving operational efficiency.

Hybrid Cloud Architecture

Organizations implementing hybrid cloud architectures rely on Network Manager Link to maintain consistent connectivity between on-premises infrastructure and AWS resources. A financial services company uses the service to connect their data centers with AWS regions, ensuring secure and reliable connectivity for their trading applications.

The implementation enables the organization to maintain low-latency connections for time-sensitive applications while providing redundancy for business continuity. The centralized visibility helps ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for network security and monitoring.

Disaster Recovery Networks

Network Manager Link plays a crucial role in disaster recovery implementations where organizations need to maintain connectivity between primary and backup sites. A healthcare organization uses the service to connect their primary data center with AWS-based disaster recovery infrastructure.

The implementation provides automated failover capabilities and ensures that network connectivity is maintained during disaster recovery scenarios. The service's monitoring capabilities help validate that recovery time objectives are met during both planned and unplanned outages.

Limitations

Regional Availability

Network Manager Link is available in select AWS regions, which may limit implementation options for organizations with global infrastructure requirements. Organizations should verify service availability in their target regions before designing network architectures.

Integration Complexity

While Network Manager Link integrates with many AWS services, complex network topologies may require additional configuration and coordination with other networking services. Organizations should plan for integration complexity when designing large-scale network architectures.

Performance Monitoring

Although Network Manager Link provides basic performance monitoring, advanced network analytics may require integration with third-party monitoring tools. Organizations with sophisticated monitoring requirements should evaluate whether the built-in capabilities meet their needs.

Conclusions

Network Manager Link is a comprehensive solution for organizations requiring centralized network management across distributed infrastructure. It supports complex network topologies while providing the visibility and control needed for enterprise-scale deployments. For organizations operating multi-site infrastructures or hybrid cloud environments, this service offers the foundational capabilities needed for efficient network management.

The service's integration with the broader AWS ecosystem makes it particularly valuable for organizations already invested in AWS infrastructure. However, you will most likely integrate your own network monitoring and management tools with Network Manager Link as well. The complexity of network changes and their potential impact on dependent resources makes careful planning and risk assessment crucial for successful implementations.

Understanding the full scope of network dependencies and their potential impacts requires tools that can map relationships across your entire infrastructure. Overmind's comprehensive dependency analysis helps ensure that network changes don't have unintended consequences on the applications and services that depend on network connectivity.