Answer: Contact an AWS Direct Connect Partner to order a 200 Mbps hosted connection for an existing AWS account.

## Explanation **Correct Answer: D** **Why Option D is correct:** 1. **Cost Optimization**: The company's current 1 Gbps Direct Connect connection has less than 10% utilization (less than 100 Mbps). A 200 Mbps hosted connection would be more appropriately sized for their actual needs, significantly reducing costs while still providing sufficient capacity. 2. **Hosted Connection via Partner**: AWS Direct Connect Partners offer hosted connections that can be provisioned at various speeds (50 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 400 Mbps, 500 Mbps, 1 Gbps, 2 Gbps, 5 Gbps, and 10 Gbps). This allows for right-sizing the connection based on actual usage patterns. 3. **Security**: Using a hosted connection for an existing AWS account maintains the same security posture without sharing the connection with other accounts. **Why other options are incorrect:** - **Option A**: Setting up a new 1 Gbps connection and sharing it with another account doesn't reduce costs - it maintains the same expensive 1 Gbps capacity while adding complexity of sharing. - **Option B**: Direct Connect connections cannot be ordered directly through the AWS Management Console at 200 Mbps. Standard Direct Connect connections are available at 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps speeds only. Hosted connections (available through partners) offer more granular speed options. - **Option C**: Ordering a 1 Gbps connection through a partner and sharing it maintains the same high cost and doesn't address the underutilization issue. **Key AWS Direct Connect Concepts:** - **Standard Direct Connect**: Available at 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps speeds, ordered directly from AWS - **Hosted Connections**: Available through AWS Direct Connect Partners at various speeds (50 Mbps to 10 Gbps) - **Connection Sharing**: Allows multiple AWS accounts to use the same physical connection, but doesn't reduce the base cost of the connection itself - **Right-sizing**: Critical for cost optimization - match connection capacity to actual usage patterns **Best Practice**: When utilization is consistently low (less than 10% in this case), consider downsizing to a hosted connection through a partner to optimize costs while maintaining security and performance requirements.

Author: LeetQuiz Editorial Team