Network Haul Roads
Boston was the site of one of the largest construction projects in human history — bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The “Big Dig” was a federally funded project that rerouted active traffic from the congested, elevated highway that ran north to south through downtown Boston to newly built under ground and sea tunnels. The new system of north/south and east/west tunnels runs beneath the city and harbor to improve the commutes for those working in the city, for those needing to get to jobs on the other side of the city, and to make it easier for all to get to and from Logan International Airport on the other side of Boston Harbor in East Boston. The resulting tunnel system and Rose Kennedy Greenway reconnected neighborhoods that had been divided by the expressway. The Big Dig improved the quality of life for those who live in the city.
Witnessing the project firsthand was so fascinating. Similar to how the former hills of Boston were stripped to provide fill for the Back and South Bays, to construct the tunnels, excavated soil was hauled to elevate Spectacle Island, a former spit resembling a pair of spectacles, and to fill nearby Quincy Quarries. Granite Links golf course is a direct beneficiary of the project.
Project construction engineers were challenged to limit the impact to traffic flows through the city, on the surface roads and neighborhood streets, and in the shipping channels of the harbor. Haul roads to support the constant movement of heavy construction equipment and removal of excavated soil were built. Temporary docks were constructed to support the movement of barges from the city to Spectacle Island.
Several years later, the network team at Houghton Mifflin was tasked with a redesign of our Global Wide Area Network (WAN) to accommodate newly acquired businesses in the US and Europe. We were also tasked with optimizing content creation and delivery workflows across globe. Part of our solution was inspired by the construction engineers of the Big Dig — we embraced the use of haul roads.
Our network haul roads were employed to ensure the general purpose WAN which connected business users to critical business systems — latency sensitive order management, call center, and monitoring systems — were not adversely impacted by the heavy content payloads moving across our network. The primary goal was to ensure that the data our customers and business users needed was in position to be consumed when and where they needed it. We intentionally built separate network trunks to move the heavy payloads around the globe. Later, temporary haul roads were used to support data center migrations and consolidation projects.
Jump forward a few years later, when AWS introduced their PrivateLink service. To me, PrivateLink is a form of a network haul road. The Elastic Network Interface (ENI) created in your subnet provides access to the haul road. To help me to explain, I reached out to Pi, my augmented personal intelligence companion.
Pi agreed.
How are an AWS PrivateLink and a construction haul road similar concepts?
Get Tom Dow’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
While AWS PrivateLink and a construction haul road might seem unrelated at first glance, they actually share some similarities in terms of purpose and function:
- Both are designed to connect two points in a secure and efficient manner: Just as a construction haul road provides a dedicated route for heavy equipment and materials to be transported between a construction site and a staging area, AWS PrivateLink establishes a private connection between your VPC and AWS services or other VPCs.
- Both bypass public routes for increased safety and efficiency: A construction haul road allows heavy vehicles to avoid public roads, reducing traffic congestion and potential accidents. Similarly, AWS PrivateLink enables data transfer between your VPC and AWS services without traversing the public internet, enhancing security and reducing potential exposure to threats.
- Both are temporary and can be easily removed or modified: A construction haul road is typically built for a specific project and can be dismantled once the project is completed. Likewise, AWS PrivateLink connections can be easily created, modified, or deleted based on your changing needs.
In summary, both a construction haul road and AWS PrivateLink serve as dedicated, secure, and adaptable connectors that streamline the movement of resources between two points.
How do PrivateLink route tables and haul road signs provide similar value?
Just like haul road signs guide drivers along the correct route to their destination on a construction site, PrivateLink route tables direct network traffic between your VPC and AWS services. Here are some specific similarities between the two:
- Guidance and direction: Both haul road signs and PrivateLink route tables provide clear directions to ensure smooth and efficient navigation. Just as haul road signs indicate the correct path for drivers, route tables determine the most efficient routes for network packets to travel between your VPC and AWS services.
- Safety and security: Haul road signs help prevent accidents and ensure the safety of drivers and workers on the construction site. Similarly, PrivateLink route tables help maintain the security of your network by keeping traffic within the AWS network and avoiding exposure to the public internet.
- Optimization: Both haul road signs and PrivateLink route tables help optimize the flow of traffic, whether it’s vehicles or network packets. Properly configured route tables can help minimize latency and improve overall network performance, just as well-placed haul road signs can help prevent congestion and ensure efficient movement of construction vehicles.
In summary, both haul road signs and PrivateLink route tables play crucial roles in directing traffic safely and efficiently in their respective domains.
On completion of the Big Dig, haul roads were opened to general commuter traffic further improving the flow of traffic within the city. Then, poorly conceived HOV lanes were added along the routes to and from the city causing new sources of traffic congestion.
I’m looking for the inspiration to solve that problem. I expect removal is the best solution but need to ask questions of a traffic engineer to better understand the intended purpose and benefit.
