A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a virtual network infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enables customers to launch AWS resources in a logically isolated section of the AWS cloud. It allows customers to define their own virtual network topology, including IP address ranges, subnets, route tables, and network gateways.
Key aspects of VPCs include:
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Isolation: Each VPC is logically isolated from other VPCs within the same AWS account and from other AWS customers' networks. This isolation provides security and privacy for the resources deployed within the VPC.
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Custom Networking: Customers have full control over the networking configuration of their VPC, including IP address ranges, subnets, routing, and network access control lists (ACLs). This allows customers to design and implement network architectures that meet their specific requirements.
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Connectivity Options: VPCs can be connected to each other, to on-premises data centers, and to other external networks using various connectivity options provided by AWS, such as AWS Direct Connect, VPN connections, and VPC peering.
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Integration with AWS Services: Resources deployed within a VPC, such as EC2 instances, RDS databases, and Lambda functions, can securely communicate with each other and with other AWS services using private IP addresses.
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Scalability and Elasticity: VPCs are highly scalable and elastic, allowing customers to easily scale their network infrastructure to accommodate changes in workload demand. Customers can also use features like Auto Scaling and Elastic Load Balancing to automatically scale and distribute traffic across their VPC resources.
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Security: VPCs include built-in security features such as security groups and network ACLs, which allow customers to control inbound and outbound traffic to and from their resources. Additionally, customers can use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to manage user access to their VPC resources.
In relation to the AWS Global Infrastructure, VPCs are foundational components that allow customers to deploy and manage their resources in a flexible, scalable, and secure manner across AWS Regions and Availability Zones. Customers can create VPCs in any AWS Region and deploy their resources within those VPCs, leveraging the global reach and high availability of the AWS infrastructure.
