AWS VPC Setup: Public & Private Subnets with IGW, NAT, and EC2

Setting up a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is foundational when deploying resources in AWS securely. This guide walks you through creating: A VPC Public & Private Subnets Internet Gateway NAT Gateway Route Tables Optional EC2 Instances ✅ 1. Create a VPC Go to VPC Dashboard > Your VPCs > Create VPC Choose VPC only Name: MyVPC IPv4 CIDR block: 10.0.0.0/16 Leave other fields as default Click Create VPC ✅ 2. Create Subnets Navigate to Subnets > Create Subnet ➤ Public Subnet: Name: PublicSubnet VPC: MyVPC AZ: ap-south-1a CIDR block: 10.0.1.0/24 ➤ Private Subnet: Name: PrivateSubnet VPC: MyVPC AZ: ap-south-1b CIDR block: 10.0.2.0/24 ✅ 3. Create and Attach Internet Gateway Go to Internet Gateways > Create Internet Gateway Name: MyIGW Click Attach to VPC and select MyVPC ✅ 4. Create a Public Route Table Go to Route Tables > Create Route Table Name: PublicRT VPC: MyVPC Select PublicRT > Routes > Edit Routes Add route: Destination: 0.0.0.0/0 Target: Internet Gateway → MyIGW Go to Subnet Associations > Edit Subnet Associations Select: PublicSubnet ✅ 5. Allocate Elastic IP (EIP) Go to Elastic IPs > Allocate Elastic IP Note the allocation ID ✅ 6. Create NAT Gateway Go to NAT Gateways > Create NAT Gateway Name: MyNATGW Subnet: PublicSubnet Elastic IP: select the one you just allocated ⏳ Wait a few minutes for the NAT Gateway to become active. ✅ 7. Create a Private Route Table Go to Route Tables > Create Route Table Name: PrivateRT VPC: MyVPC Select PrivateRT > Routes > Edit Routes Add route: Destination: 0.0.0.0/0 Target: NAT Gateway → MyNATGW Go to Subnet Associations Attach PrivateSubnet ✅ 8. Launch EC2 Instances (Optional) ➤ Public EC2: AMI: Amazon Linux 2 Network: MyVPC, Subnet: PublicSubnet Auto-assign Public IP: Enabled Security Group: Allow SSH (port 22) from your IP ➤ Private EC2: Same AMI Subnet: PrivateSubnet Auto-assign Public IP: Disabled ✅ SSH Connection Established Use your terminal to SSH into the public instance, and from there connect to the private one using its private IP. ⚠️ Troubleshooting Tip If you're unable to connect: Check your Security Group's inbound rules: Type: SSH Protocol: TCP Port: 22 Source: My IP or 0.0.0.0/0 (for open access - use carefully!)

Apr 21, 2025 - 10:36

Setting up a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is foundational when deploying resources in AWS securely. This guide walks you through creating:

Navigate to Subnets > Create Subnet

Go to Route Tables > Create Route Table
- Name: PublicRT
- VPC: MyVPC
Select PublicRT > Routes > Edit Routes
- Add route:
  - Destination: 0.0.0.0/0
  - Target: Internet Gateway → MyIGW

Go to Subnet Associations > Edit Subnet Associations
- Select: PublicSubnet

Go to NAT Gateways > Create NAT Gateway
- Name: MyNATGW
- Subnet: PublicSubnet
- Elastic IP: select the one you just allocated

⏳ Wait a few minutes for the NAT Gateway to become active.

Go to Route Tables > Create Route Table
- Name: PrivateRT
- VPC: MyVPC
Select PrivateRT > Routes > Edit Routes
- Add route:
  - Destination: 0.0.0.0/0
  - Target: NAT Gateway → MyNATGW

Use your terminal to SSH into the public instance, and from there connect to the private one using its private IP.

If you're unable to connect:

Check your Security Group's inbound rules:
- Type: SSH
- Protocol: TCP
- Port: 22
- Source: My IP or 0.0.0.0/0 (for open access - use carefully!)