A VPC endpoint enables you to privately connect your VPC to supported AWS services and VPC endpoint services powered by PrivateLink without requiring an internet gateway, NAT device, VPN connection, or AWS Direct Connect connection. Instances in your VPC do not require public IP addresses to communicate with resources in the service. Traffic between your VPC and other service does not leave the Amazon Network.
Endpoints are virtual devices. They are horizontally scaled, redundant, and highly available VPC components that allow communication between instances in your VPC and services without imposing availability risks or bandwidth constraints on your network traffic.
There are two types of VPC endpoints
- Interface Endpoints - it is an elastic network interface with a private IP address that serves as an entry point for traffic destined to a supported service. These services include some AWS services, services hosted by other AWS customers and Partners in their own VPCs (referred to as endpoint services), and supported AWS Marketplace Partner services. The owner of the service is the service provider, and you, as the principal creating the interface endpoint, are the service consumer.
- Gateway Endpoints - S3 and Dynamo DB.