Unwanted AWS Interface Deletion Issue

Cannot Delete Interface

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Question

You're trying to do some housekeeping and delete some unwanted interfaces.

You try to delete an interface manually that has the following information. { "Status": "in-use", ... "Description": "VPC Endpoint Interface vpce-08233123488812123", "NetworkInterfaceId": "eni-c8fbc27e", "VpcId": "vpc-1a2b3c4d", "PrivateIpAddresses": [ { "PrivateDnsName": "ip-20-0-2-227.ec2.internal", "Primary": true, "PrivateIpAddress": "20.0.2.227" } ], "RequesterManaged": true, ... } But you are not able to delete the interface.

What is the reason that you cannot delete the interface?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

Answer - A.

The AWS Documentation mentions the following.

A requester-managed network interface is a network interface that an AWS service creates in your VPC.

This network interface can represent an instance for another service, such as an Amazon RDS instance, or it can enable you to access another service or resource, such as an AWS PrivateLink service or an Amazon ECS task.

You cannot modify or detach a requester-managed network interface.

If you delete the resource that the network interface represents, the AWS service detaches and deletes the network interface for you.

Options B, C and D are invalid because it's not because of these attributes as to why the network interface can't be deleted.

For more information on requester managed interfaces, one can visit the below URL.

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/requester-managed-eni.html

The reason you cannot delete the interface is most likely due to the fact that it is in-use, as indicated by the "Status" field. An interface that is in-use cannot be deleted until it is detached from its associated resources.

However, the other answer options are also worth discussing:

A. It's because it is a requester managed interface. Requester managed interfaces are interfaces that are created by services or resources outside of the VPC, such as a VPC endpoint service. These interfaces can be deleted if they are not in-use, so while it is a factor to consider, it is not the only reason that you cannot delete the interface.

B. It's because it has a private DNS name attached. Private DNS names are used to resolve the IP addresses of instances within a VPC. While they can be associated with network interfaces, they are not a factor in determining whether an interface can be deleted.

C. It's because it has a private IP address attached. Private IP addresses are assigned to network interfaces in a VPC. While they can be associated with network interfaces, they are not a factor in determining whether an interface can be deleted.

D. It's because it's attached to a VPC. All network interfaces in AWS are associated with a VPC, so this is not a factor that would prevent you from deleting the interface.

In summary, the most likely reason that you cannot delete the interface is because it is in-use, but it is always important to consider all factors when troubleshooting AWS resources.