JHB -> MEA (Overwatch 15.185.58.194) = 124ms
DBN -> MEA = 152ms
Noticing a lot of other ISP's are also having MEA issues from Durban. when it should technically be the lowest latency. If its just an Amazon hiccup then let's hope it doesn't turn into Google re-announcing its routes every 10 hours :/
Amazon doesn’t have a routing core in KZN, just L2 paths between mtunzini and JHB (which explains the higher latency in KZN. This means ISPs need to pick up AWS traffic using their NLD or transit capacity from Amazon’s nearest core- JHB.
Unfortunately AWS currently controls their entire local routing table themselves (including what they advertise and how they route return traffic), they also favour peering traffic.. And for a cloud provider, stability and speed outweighs latency when it comes to routing decisions. We’ve seen this with all the major providers when something goes wrong or capacity is somewhat constrained.
AWS also tends to take much longer to restore paths after an outage (WACS had a blip or two around the new year) which means they usually leave traffic on longer, less preferred routes for a while after an outage before switching back.
