# Direct Connect

* Direct Connect **links your internal network to an Direct Connect location over a standard Ethernet fiber-optic cable**.
  * **One end of the cable is connected to your router, the other to an Direct Connect router**.<br>
* You can **create virtual interfaces directly to public AWS services** (for example, to Amazon S3) or to VPC, **bypassing internet service providers in your network path**.<br>
* It **does not encrypt your traffic that is in transit**.

## Direct Connect gateways <a href="#direct-connect-gateways-intro" id="direct-connect-gateways-intro"></a>

* Use Direct Connect gateway **to connect your VPCs** in multiple regions.<br>

* You **associate** a Direct Connect gateway with either of the following gateways:

  * A **transit gateway when you have multiple VPCs in the same Region**.
  * A **virtual private gateway**.

* A Direct Connect gateway is a **globally available resource**.<br>

* You can **create the Direct Connect gateway in any Region and access it from all other Regions**.