Posted On: Nov 15, 2021

AWS Step Functions’ Synchronous Express Workflows now supports AWS PrivateLink allowing you to start a Synchronous Express Workflow from your Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) without traversing the public internet.

AWS Step Functions is a low-code, visual workflow service that developers can use to help build distributed applications, automate IT and business processes, and build data and machine learning pipelines using AWS services. For high-throughput and short duration workloads Express Workflows are ideal while Synchronous Express Workflows also allow developers to quickly receive the workflow response without needing to poll additional services or build a custom solution. AWS PrivateLink provides private connectivity between VPCs, AWS services, and your on-premises networks, without exposing your traffic to the public internet.

Now, with AWS PrivateLink support you can start Synchronous Express Workflows while traffic remains within the AWS network which can reduce the risk of DDoS attacks or man-in-the-middle attacks (MITM). PrivateLink makes it easier to connect services across different accounts and VPCs to help simplify your network architecture. Synchronous Express Workflows allows you to coordinate AWS services with more than 200 AWS services and 9,000 API Actions supported. You will need to create a new VPC endpoint to connect to Synchronous Express Workflows, but no code changes are required for your SDK configurations if Private DNS resolution is enabled in VPC and VPCe.

Synchronous Express Workflow support for AWS PrivateLink is generally available in all commercial regions where Synchronous Express Workflows is available. For a complete list of regions and service offerings, see AWS Regions.

To learn more, visit the Amazon VPC endpoints page in the AWS Step Functions Developer Guide, or see our documentation on Express Workflows.