A company has workloads that run in a VPC. The workloads access Amazon S3 by using an S3 gateway endpoint. The company also has on-premises workloads…

This solution is the most operationally efficient because it uses the correct, purpose-built AWS services for each connectivity requirement while minimizing management overhead and disruption. An S3 interface endpoint (AWS PrivateLink) is specifically designed to allow private access from on-premises networks over VPN or Direct Connect. By configuring on-premises DNS to resolve S3 hostnames to the interface endpoint's private IPs, on-premises workloads can connect privately.

Crucially, this approach leaves the existing S3 gateway endpoint in place for the VPC workloads. This is optimal because gateway endpoints have no data processing or hourly charges, making them more cost-effective for in-VPC traffic. This hybrid approach avoids the operational burden of managing a proxy fleet and does not require re-architecting existing VPC connectivity.

A. Deploying and managing a proxy fleet of EC2 instances and an ALB introduces significant, unnecessary operational overhead for patching, scaling, and monitoring compared to using a managed interface endpoint.

B. This option is inefficient. It unnecessarily deletes the cost-effective gateway endpoint and introduces both an interface endpoint and a proxy fleet, which is redundant and operationally complex.

D. Setting up a new Direct Connect connection is a major, costly project and is not required when a VPN already exists. A public VIF also does not provide private endpoint connectivity within the VPC.

1. AWS VPC User Guide - VPC Endpoints for Amazon S3: This document clarifies the distinct use cases for gateway and interface endpoints. It states, "You can use an interface endpoint to access Amazon S3 from on-premises through AWS Direct Connect or AWS VPN." It also confirms the coexistence of both endpoint types. (See section: "Accessing Amazon S3 from on-premises").

2. AWS VPC FAQs - Q. Can I use both a gateway endpoint and an interface endpoint for the same service in the same VPC?: "Yes... If you have an existing gateway endpoint for Amazon S3, you can create an interface endpoint for Amazon S3 in the same VPC... Traffic from your on-premises applications that is destined for Amazon S3 over a VPN or AWS Direct Connect connection can use the interface endpoint. Traffic from applications in your VPC destined for Amazon S3 can use the gateway endpoint."

3. AWS Documentation - Access an AWS service using an interface endpoint: This guide details the required DNS configuration for on-premises access. "To use private DNS from your on-premises network, you must integrate your on-premises DNS resolver with Amazon Route 53 Resolver." This supports the DNS configuration step mentioned in the correct answer. (See section: "On-premises").

4. AWS Blog - Simplifying Amazon S3 Connectivity with AWS PrivateLink: This article explicitly describes the architecture in the correct answer. "You can now use AWS PrivateLink to access Amazon S3, which means you can access S3 objects from your on-premises environment over a private connection (AWS Direct Connect or AWS VPN)." (See section: "Accessing S3 from on-premises").