You can deploy an app connector in Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide secure access to private applications in your cloud environment. The app connector establishes a connection between your cloud environment and Cato, and once connected, you assign it in the CMA and associate it with the relevant app connector group.
Note: You must have Socket v26.0.23570 or higher installed to work with App Connectors. If you don’t have access to this Socket version, please contact Support and ask that they provide it to your account.
You can also use the Cato Terraform module to create and manage the AWS app connector.
Understanding the App Connector in AWS Workflow
The following is a high-level workflow for deploying an app connector in AWS:
You create the App Connector object in the CMA
Deploy the Cato App Connector from AWS Marketplace
Assign apps to the connector
Create an App Connector
When you create an App Connector, you can choose the behavior for connecting to a preferred PoP in the Cato Cloud:
Disabled - the App Connector automatically connects to the best available PoP (default)
Enabled - Select the PoPs to which the connector attempts to connect to
When Preferred PoP is enabled, you can restrict an App Connector to only connect to the Preferred PoP Locations that you configure. In this case, the connector doesn't connect to a non-preferred PoP location despite any connectivity or performance issues that it is experiencing. When you use this option, you must define a primary and secondary PoP location for the App Connector.
Once the App Connector is created in the CMA, copy the serial number, as you will need to provide it when deploying the App Connector in your cloud environment.
To create an App Connector in the CMA:
From the navigation menu, click Access > App Connector, and then click New.
Enter the information in the General section, such as Connector Name and Country.
Under Type, click Virtual.
In the Connector Group section, select an existing App Connector group from the list or enter a name to create a new group.
Under Preferred PoPs, select the behavior
Disabled - the App Connector tries to connect to the best available PoP
Enabled - Select the Primary and Secondary PoP locations that the connector tries to connect to
Enabled and Only connect to the preferred PoPs - Only connect to the Primary or Secondary PoP location
Click Apply.
Deploy the App Connector in Amazon Web Services
Use the automated Cato wizard in the Amazon Marketplace to create the virtual resources for the app connector and deploy it to AWS. The app connector image is publicly available in the Marketplace.
Note: For improved security, deploy your App Connector with IMDSv2
To deploy an app connector in AWS
From the AWS Marketplace, search for Cato Networks App Connector, and click Launch.
Under Network Configuration, determine if you want to deploy the App Connector in a new or existing VPC.
If you select an existing account, in the Existing VPC dropdown, click on the relevant virtual network.
Select the subnets for the following interfaces (minimum subnet address space of /28):
MGMT subnet – Management communication between the app connector and the AWS API
WAN subnet - External WAN traffic for the app connector (Internet and Cato Cloud)
LAN subnet - Internal AWS resources and traffic that are connected to the app connector
Under Security Configuration:
In the Existing Internal Security Group field, define the security group that controls traffic from your internal network
Under Instance Configuration:
Select the Instance Type on which the app connector should run
In the MyKeyPair field, select the key pair that you created to encrypt this connection
In the Serial Number field, paste the value that you copied earlier from the CMA.
Click Submit.
After you deploy the App Connector, reboot it to initiate the connection to the CMA.
You can see your app connectors in the Access > App Connectors page.
Assign Apps to the Connector
You assign apps to your connectors either from the Private Apps page or from App Connectors page, using the Assign App link.