Optimize VPN Connection Pricing

Afraid I completely disagree with the AI reposts answer. The answer will not reduce your Client VPN costs.

Just ensure you are correct with your numbers. That you will have 100 concurrent active users on the VPN. TGW will not reduce this cost or will using private VPC Endpoints.

Not sure why it even added about NAT Gateways into the mix either.

Public IPs are not required for your VPN Calculations.

What I would do if your sure that you are going to have 100 concurrent users, is look at alternative solutions which utilise an EC2 as a Client VPN Gateway such as OpenVPN CloudConnexa or anyother market place offerings and compare those costs with AWS Client VPN. Each option has its pros and cons.

To optimize the pricing for your VPN setup, there are several strategies you can consider:

1. Use AWS Transit Gateway: Instead of setting up individual Site-to-Site VPN connections for each office, you can use AWS Transit Gateway. This allows you to connect multiple VPCs and on-premises networks through a single gateway, potentially reducing the number of VPN connections needed and simplifying your network architecture.

2. Implement Accelerated Site-to-Site VPN: If you're experiencing performance issues or need to optimize your VPN connections, consider using Accelerated Site-to-Site VPN. This uses AWS Global Accelerator to route traffic from your on-premises network to the closest AWS edge location, which can improve performance and reduce latency.

3. Optimize Client VPN usage: The high cost you're seeing for Client VPN is likely due to the per-hour, per-connection charging model. To reduce costs:

   • Implement auto-disconnect for idle sessions
   • Use split-tunnel VPN configuration to route only necessary traffic through the VPN
   • Consider setting up a bastion host or jump server for administrative access instead of direct VPN access to all subnets

4. Use VPC endpoints: For accessing AWS services from your VPC, use VPC endpoints where possible. This can reduce data transfer costs by keeping traffic within the AWS network instead of going over the internet.

5. NAT Gateway optimization: Ensure your NAT gateways are in the same Availability Zones as the resources that use them most frequently. This can help reduce cross-AZ data transfer charges.

6. Monitor and analyze usage: Use AWS Cost & Usage Report, VPC Flow Logs, and Amazon CloudWatch to monitor your data transfer and VPN usage. This can help you identify areas where you can optimize further.

7. Consider Direct Connect for high-volume traffic: If you have consistent, high-volume traffic between your on-premises locations and AWS, AWS Direct Connect might be more cost-effective in the long run compared to VPN connections.

By implementing these optimizations, you should be able to significantly reduce your VPN-related costs while maintaining the necessary connectivity for your architecture.

Sources
AWS VPN | Pricing | Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS Accelerated Site-to-Site VPN – AWS Transit Gateway, Single AWS Region - Hybrid Connectivity
Getting started with hybrid connectivity using Site-to-Site VPN - Hybrid Networking Lens
COST08-BP02 Select components to optimize data transfer cost - AWS Well-Architected Framework
Cost optimization pillar - Hybrid Networking Lens