Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a cloud infrastructure service that supplies an isolated section of the cloud in which you can create your own virtual server or server farm just as if it were inside your own private data centre, with complete access to all the features and services available from the public cloud including computing power, storage, load balancing, elasticity, and many more. In this guide, we will tell you how VPC works and how it helps you reduce costs and save time.
The need for private cloud
The term cloud describes computing resources that are accessible via a network connection. A virtual private cloud (VPC) is simply a type of cloud infrastructure designed to meet a particular organization’s needs by creating separate networks for different departments or projects. For example, one VPC might be established for your organization’s marketing team, another for IT staff and so on. This segregation creates an environment where information can be shared only with relevant personnel, reducing security risks and costs associated with data breaches
What is VPN (Virtual Private Network)?
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, such as the Internet. It enables a computer to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if it were directly connected to the private network, while benefiting from the functionality, security and management policies of the private network. A VPN is created by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections, encryption, or a combination of both.
Different types of VPNs
There are four basic types of VPN connections: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol/Internet Protocol Security (L2TP/IPSec), Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP), and Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2). Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks, which you should consider when choosing a VPN protocol. PPTP is less secure than other options because data isn’t encrypted or authenticated. L2TP/IPSec is more secure than PPTP but requires more processing power to encrypt data. SSTP provides a strong encryption algorithm, but has limited support on non-Windows operating systems. IKEv2 uses IPSec for encryption, but can also be used without IPSec if your network supports it.
How Does VPC Work?
Every VPC includes at least one virtual private gateway. These gateways create a point of connection for your VPC to AWS’s network, allowing resources in your VPC to connect with other parts of AWS, including Internet-based services like Amazon S3 or Amazon EC2, which are necessary for communication with other applications outside of AWS. This way, you don’t have to use a VPN connection from each region you want to access as a resource in your VPC.
Advantages of VPC
There are multiple benefits to using a VPC instead of a physical server. A few examples are: reduced hardware expenses, high availability, rapid deployment, added security, simplified management and compliance controls. For example, your VPC can be set up so that when one EC2 instance goes down, it doesn’t take all of your instances with it or prevent you from accessing your data.
Use Cases of VPC
When would you use a virtual private cloud over an on-premises data centre or another public cloud provider like AWS, Azure, Google, or Alibaba? Here are a few of its most popular use cases: – Multi-tenant architecture. You can quickly scale up or down your infrastructure to accommodate for spikes in workloads by simply adjusting VM instances. – On-premises data centre optimization.
Conclusion
VPC is a powerful tool that can improve network security, mitigate risk and reduce operating costs. There are several companies which help you set up VPC for your infrastructure for a fee. The most notable ones are Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, IBM Softlayer, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) etc. They have their own API’s through which you can create custom setups of VPC as per your needs