AWS to Test European Sovereign Cloud’s Independent Operation
Summary
AWS plans an Oct. 24 exercise disconnecting its European Sovereign Cloud from the global backbone and disabling its operational-data transfer system to demonstrate independent EU operation; brief routing disruptions are possible.
Key points
- AWS says the several-hour exercise will disconnect the European Sovereign Cloud from the AWS Global Network backbone, routing operational traffic over the public internet.
- AWS says service availability will not be affected, though customers may experience brief connectivity disruptions as routes change at the beginning or end.
- An EU-resident team operating within the EU will use the cloud’s hardware and software resources and disable the system used for controlled operational-data transfers.
- AWS says customer content and customer-created metadata remain in the EU, and that the cloud has no critical dependencies on infrastructure outside the EU.
- The exercise is intended to generate technical and operational evidence aligned with the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework and Germany’s BSI C3A framework; AWS says it will share results afterward.
- AWS says the global backbone provides encryption and DDoS defenses, while the cloud can operate independently with appropriate security controls.
Article Details
- Event Type
- AWS announced a planned operational-independence exercise for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, temporarily disconnecting it from the AWS Global Network backbone and disabling its dedicated system for controlled operational-data transfers.
- Impact
- AWS says service availability will not be affected in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud or other AWS Regions, and AWS Direct Connect private connectivity will remain unaffected. Customers may experience brief connectivity disruptions while traffic moves to a different route at the start and end of the exercise.
Vendors
Products
AWS Direct ConnectThe exercise will not affect service availability within the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, other AWS Regions, or private connectivity through AWS Direct Connect.AWS European Sovereign CloudOn Saturday, October 24, 2026, we will conduct an exercise demonstrating that the AWS European Sovereign Cloud can operate without depending on any infrastructure outside of the European Union (EU).AWS Global NetworkFor several hours, the AWS European Sovereign Cloud will operate without a connection to the AWS Global Network backbone.