VPC

An Amazon Virtual Private Cloud is a logically isolated network inside an AWS Region, with address ranges, subnets, route tables and gateways you define. It is where almost everything else in AWS is placed.

Start with VPC fundamentals — what a VPC contains, how subnets map to Availability Zones, the default VPC, and what cross-zone traffic costs.

Then, depending on what you need:

Getting traffic in and out

• NAT and internet gateways — the four gateway types and which one a subnet needs
• NAT gateway — sizing, cost and the alternatives to it
• VPC endpoints — reaching AWS services without a gateway at all

Routing

• Route tables and routers — how a subnet’s route table is chosen and what can be a target
• VPC routing and BGP — route resolution and dynamic routing

Controlling traffic

• Controlling traffic flow in a VPC — security groups, network ACLs and route tables, and which does what
• Security groups
• Network ACLs
• VPC security — exposing an application to other VPCs without exposing the network

Name resolution

• VPC DNS resolver

For joining VPCs to each other or to an on-premises network, see the connectivity pages.