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Connector for Public Cloud IaaS Providers

Abstract

Learn how to deploy CloudConnexa Network Connectors on public cloud IaaS providers — covers supported platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), tunnel protocol options (OpenVPN or IPsec), and the VM configuration steps needed to enable IP forwarding and routing.

Overview

CloudConnexa uses Connectors to securely connect private infrastructure hosted with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud (GCP) to your WPC.

Connectors provide private network access between CloudConnexa users and your cloud-hosted resources — enabling secure remote access to applications running in AWS, Azure, or GCP without exposing them to the public internet.

Tip

Ready to deploy a Connector? Start with the IaaS Connector Tutorials for step-by-step deployment guides.

Connector types

CloudConnexa supports two types of Connectors.

cloudconnexa-connector-types.png

Network Connector

A Network Connector connects to an entire private network or cloud virtual network (VPC/VNet) to CloudConnexa.

It acts as a router between CloudConnexa and your network and can:

  • Provide access to private applications and IP services.

  • Provide outbound access from your network to CloudConnexa.

  • Optionally act as an internet gateway.

A Network Connector supports:

  • OpenVPN tunnels

  • IPsec tunnels

Host Connector

A Host Connector connects a single server to CloudConnexa rather than an entire network.

Typical examples include:

  • FTP servers.

  • Remote desktop servers.

  • NAS devices.

  • Application servers.

A Host Connector:

  • Provides access only to services running on that host.

  • Doesn't perform routing.

  • Supports OpenVPN tunnels only.

Network Connector requirements

When deployed as a virtual machine (VM) in an IaaS environment, a Network Connector must be able to route traffic between CloudConnexa and your cloud network.

Depending on the platform, CloudConnexa configures or enables:

  • IP forwarding

  • Network Address Translation (NAT)

  • routing

These capabilities allow the Connector VM to forward traffic between CloudConnexa and your private network.

Important

IP forwarding and NAT are required for Network Connectors because the Connector functions as a router. Host Connectors don't require these settings.

See also

Tutorial: Connecting Networks to CloudConnexa Using Connectors explains IP forwarding, NAT, static routes, and routing requirements in more detail.

Deployment options

Provider

How you deploy

CloudConnexa handles

Guides

AWS

Generate a CloudFormation template from the Deploy Network Connector step, then launch it in AWS.

Launches the EC2 instance, installs the Connector software, retrieves the Connector profile, configures routing, and establishes the outbound connection.

Azure

Download the Azure Resource Manager template and deploy it from the Azure portal.

The ARM template creates and configures the VM and supporting network resources, installs the Connector software, and connects it to CloudConnexa.

GCP

Deploy the Connector through Google Cloud using the provided configuration/instructions.

Provides the Connector configuration needed to complete deployment in Google Cloud.

IPsec deployments

If your environment uses a hardware firewall or VPN gateway instead of an OpenVPN Connector, CloudConnexa also supports IPsec Network Connectors.

Deployment guides include:

In this section:
See also: