Resilient public safety connectivity models in AWS

This article presents three resilient connectivity models for justice and public safety agencies running mission-critical workloads on AWS, from standard to public safety architectures.

• Standard architecture combines AWS Direct Connect with Site-to-Site VPN backup for cost-effective resiliency suitable for non-critical workloads.
• Critical architecture uses two Direct Connect connections in different PoPs with VPN backup for high-availability workloads that don't impact life safety.
• Public safety architecture deploys four Direct Connect circuits across two geographically diverse PoPs with different carriers for emergency communications and 911 systems.
• Common failure modes include power failures, ISP outages, fiber cuts, and gray failures requiring regular testing and monitoring.
• Amazon CloudWatch Network Monitor helps detect partial degradation and abnormal network behavior before complete failures occur.

Agencies must match workload resiliency with resilient connectivity to AWS through appropriate architecture selection, regular failure testing, and proactive monitoring.