Standard Operating Procedure: VPC Peering on AWS

Objective:

This SOP outlines the steps to establish VPC peering connections between two Amazon Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) within the AWS environment.

Prerequisites:

1. Access to the AWS Management Console.
2. Permissions to create and manage VPC peering connections.
3. Two VPCs already created within the AWS account.

Procedure:

1. Log in to the AWS Management Console

   Open your web browser and navigate to the AWS Management Console. Log in with your credentials.

2. Navigate to the VPC Dashboard

   From the AWS Management Console, go to the “Services” menu and select “VPC” under the “Networking & Content Delivery” section.

3. Choose VPC Peering Connections

   In the VPC Dashboard, select “Peering Connections” from the left-hand menu.

4. Create a VPC Peering Connection

   Click on the “Create Peering Connection” button. Provide a name for the peering connection. Select the local VPC (the VPC from which you’re initiating the peering) and the peer VPC (the VPC you want to peer with). Review the settings and click “Create Peering Connection”.

5. Accept Peering Connection

   After creating the peering connection, navigate to the “Peering Connections” tab. Select the newly created peering connection. Click “Actions” and then “Accept Request” to accept the peering connection request.

6. Update Route Tables

   Go to the “Route Tables” section in the VPC Dashboard. Select the route table associated with each VPC involved in the peering connection. Edit the route tables to add routes for the peered VPC CIDR block, pointing to the peering connection.

7. Test Connectivity

   Verify connectivity between instances in the peered VPCs by pinging or accessing resources across VPCs.

8. Clean Up (Optional)

   If necessary, delete the VPC peering connection when it’s no longer needed to avoid incurring unnecessary charges.

9. Documentation

   Document the VPC peering connection details including VPC IDs, CIDR blocks, and any relevant configurations for future reference.

Conclusion:

Establishing VPC peering connections on AWS facilitates communication between resources in different VPCs securely. Following this SOP ensures the proper configuration and management of VPC peering connections within the AWS environment.

Note: The SOP provides a general guideline for setting up VPC peering on AWS. Ensure to adapt the steps according to your specific requirements and AWS environment. Additionally, screenshots can be captured during each step for visual reference.