Get Hands on with Cloud Networking!

Build a complete VPC architecture with projects that are perfect for your AWS portfolio.

Introduction

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Welcome to the AWS Networking Series! 🌐

Over the next 9 projects, you'll go from having zero experience in networking to building a complete virtual private cloud (VPC), which forms the backbone of secure and scalable cloud applications. You'll gain practical networking skills that are in high demand across the tech and cloud industry.

By the end of this series, you'll have:

  • Built a secure VPC architecture from scratch
  • Connected resources across different network environments
  • Implemented network security and monitoring
  • Created 9 pieces of portfolio-worthy documentation that showcase your cloud networking skills!

What can I expect?

Don't worry if you're new to AWS or networking - we've designed this series to be beginner-friendly:

  • 🤝 Step-by-step instructions (no prior cloud or networking experience required)
  • 🎥 Live demos of every project on YouTube.
  • 📖 Clear explanations of networking fundamentals as we go.
  • 📝 Line-by-line explanations of any code (no coding experience required).
  • 🔍 Troubleshooting tips to help you solve common AWS networking errors.
  • 🔥 A supportive community to answer your questions and help you out.

How do I start?

You'll build your networking architecture through these 9 connected projects, each one taking 1-2 hours to complete:

Is this going to cost money?

Good news! This networking series is completely FREE to complete:

  • ✅ All the project guides in this series are free.
  • ✅ An AWS account is free to set up.
  • ✅ VPCs (+ all the VPC resources we create in this series) are free to create and use.

Bottom line is you can complete this entire challenge without spending 👏 anything 👏 so you can focus on building awesome stuff!

If you're up for a bit of a challenge, quiz yourself on the key concepts up ahead in this project.

What are cloud networks, and why do they matter?

Great question! To say thanks for joining this networking series, you've unlocked a bonus section (and bonus documentation) on cloud networking fundamentals.

Pick the explanation style that matches your preference:

This project is part of a series:

  1. Part 1: Build a Virtual Private Cloud
  2. Part 2: VPC Traffic Flow and Security
  3. Part 3: Creating a Private Subnet
  4. Part 4: Launching VPC Resources
  5. Part 5: Testing VPC Connectivity
  6. Part 6: VPC Peering
  7. Part 7: VPC Monitoring with Flow Logs
  8. Part 8: Access S3 from a VPC
  9. Part 9: VPC Endpoints

First things first

Why are you learning about AWS networking? Everyone has different reasons for learning, and remembering your personal why is a great source of motivation! Some reasons we're heard from your fellow students are...

  • "I have no clue what networking really means, and I'm curious why people say it's important."
  • "I want to add AWS networking experience to my resume - so many job descriptions ask for VPC knowledge."
  • "I'm working on a project that needs a private cloud network, and I want to set it up correctly."
  • Hear more from your fellow students in our community!

What's a Network?

A computer network is a system that connects computers and devices together, helping them communicate and share information.

Imagine you're sending a birthday card to a friend. You need:

  1. An envelope to hold your card
  2. Your friend's address (i.e. the destination location)
  3. A postal system to deliver it

This is exactly how computer networks work! Let's explore how:

💌 The Envelope

When you send information over a network, it's like sending a birthday card that's too big for one envelope. Instead, you:

  • Split it into 10 smaller pieces
  • Put each piece in its own envelope
  • Number them (1 of 10, 2 of 10, etc.)
  • Include instructions for reassembling

This is exactly how data works in networking! Your data (like a website, email, or video) gets split into small data packets that travel across the network and get reassembled at the destination.

For example, when you stream a Netflix movie, the video isn't sent as one giant file. Instead, it's broken into thousands of small packets that are sent one after another. Your device receives these packets and reassembles them into the video you watch.

📍 The Address

When sending that birthday card, you need your friend's address. In computer networking, that address is called an IP address.

An IP address looks like this: 192.168.1.5 or 10.0.0.25

👏 Every 👏 device on a network (like your phone, laptop, or a website's server) has its own unique IP address, so data knows where to go.

In fact, you can find your own IP address! Check it out here: https://whatismyipaddress.com/

Public IP addresses are public, which lets you access apps or files over the internet. For example, when you type www.netflix.com in your browser, your computer first needs to find Netflix's public IP address (something like 52.54.0.172). Once it knows this address, it can send your request directly to Netflix's servers, and Netflix can send video data back to your IP address.

🚒 The Postal System

The movement of data packets between IP addresses is called network traffic.

Extra for Experts: How does network traffic work?

  • Data packets travel through cables, wifi signals, cellular networks, and more
  • Networks use special devices like routers and switches to direct traffic
  • Traffic follows specific paths called routes to reach destinations
  • Just like real traffic, network traffic can become congested when too many data packets are moving at once

Major companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Google invest in managing their network traffic so that:

  • ✔️ Your data arrives quickly
  • ✔️ Services don't crash during busy periods
  • ✔️ Important traffic gets priority
  • ✔️ Malicious traffic (like hacking attempts) is blocked

For example, when millions of people log into Netflix on a Friday night, there's a surge 📈 of network traffic as everyone streams videos. Netflix needs to ensure their network can handle all this traffic without slowing down.

To recap it all...

A computer network is a collection of devices that can exchange data packets. These data packets travel between devices using IP addresses as destinations. As the packets move through the network, they create network traffic. When you:

  • Check your email
  • Watch a Netflix show
  • Post on social media
  • Print a document
  • Share a photo with family

...you're using computer networks!

💡 Wait... is this how the Internet works?

Yes! The Internet is actually just the world's largest computer network - it's a "network of networks" connecting billions of devices globally. It works on these same principles but on a massive scale, and with additional systems like DNS (which turns website names into IP addresses), internet protocols (like HTTPS/TCP) and internet governance that help manage all this complexity.

What's a Cloud Network?

Before cloud computing, companies had to build their own physical networks.

This would be like every company having to build their own private mail system with:

  • 💸 Their own delivery trucks and sorting facilities (expensive hardware)
  • 💸 Buildings to house all this equipment (data centers)
  • 💸 Postal workers to sort and deliver mail (IT specialists)
  • 💸 Enough trucks to handle the extra work if lots of people wanted to send mail at the same time
  • 💸 Replacements for trucks and equipment every few years (hardware refreshes)

Enter cloud networking! ☁️🌐

Cloud networking is like creating a shared postal system that everyone could use:

  • Let AWS worry about purchasing the physical network hardware and setting up data centers
  • Pay only for the data transfer you actually use, not for idle equipment
  • Have cloud network engineers that can focus more on connecting your resources, and less on maintaining any physical infrastructure

What does "virtual" actually mean?

The physical hardware (servers, cables, routers) still exists, but it's:

  1. Owned and managed by AWS, not you
  2. Shared efficiently among many customers
  3. Accessed through software rather than physically

It's like using the postal service instead of running your own delivery company. The trucks and sorting centers still physically exist, but you don't own them - you just use the service when needed and pay for what you use.

What's a VPC?

If AWS is like a massive global postal service with trucks, facilities, and delivery networks already built, then a VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) is like your own private section of the AWS network, where you control the flow of network traffic in and out of the AWS resources inside. Every AWS account comes with a default VPC, and you can create more.

When companies like Netflix or Airbnb build applications on AWS, they start by carefully designing their VPC because it determines:

  • Who can access their applications
  • How secure their customer data will be
  • How their different services communicate with each other
  • Whether their applications can connect to the internet
  • How traffic flows between different parts of their system

That's where cloud networking skills become important!

Cloud networking professionals are responsible for making sure a company's cloud networking setup is secure, efficient, and reliable. Some of their key skills are:

Network Design

You'll practice these skills in

Tasks related to Network Design include...

  • Draw up plans for how the network should be structured
  • Decide which IP address ranges to use in different parts of the network
  • Create separate environments for different purposes (like keeping testing separate from production)
  • Determine which resources need internet access and which should be kept private

For example, a network designer at Netflix might create separate network areas for their customer billing system (where it's important that information is private secure) and their content delivery (where it's important that videos are delivered quickly).

Security

You'll practice these skills in

Tasks related to Network Security include...

  • Create rules that control who can access specific resources
  • Set up security boundaries between different parts of the network
  • Add multiple layers of protection

For example, a network security specialist at a bank would make sure that only some apps and employees (with authorization) can access customer financial data - this information is never available directly from the internet.

Connectivity

You'll practice these skills in

Tasks related to Network Connectivity include...

  • Configure internet access for resources that need it
  • Connect different VPCs together
  • Design networks that continue working even if some parts fail

For example, a network connectivity specialist at Amazon might set up special connections between their order processing system and their warehouse management system, so that orders flow to the right fulfillment center.

Monitoring

You'll practice these skills in

Tasks related to Network Monitoring include...

  • Review logs to find potential problems or security concerns
  • Make adjustments to improve network speed and reliability
  • Find ways to reduce network costs

For example, a network monitoring specialist at Airbnb might notice that network traffic to hosts in Japan is slower than other regions and make adjustments to improve the experience for Japanese users.

Ready for the first project?

Ready for the first project?

Now that you understand the basics, it's time for the exciting part - building your very own virtual private cloud!

These hands-on projects will help you build confidence working with AWS networking and give you valuable skills to showcase in your career.

Off we gooo! As a reminder, here are the nine epic projects in this series:

Well done on making it to the end of this series intro!

As a little bonus, here's a quick glossary for key words you'll encounter in the projects:

  • VPC: Virtual Private Cloud - your own isolated section of AWS
  • Subnet: A subdivision of your VPC with its own IP address range
  • CIDR Block: A method for specifying IP address ranges (e.g., 10.0.0.0/16)
  • Internet Gateway: Allows resources to connect to the internet
  • Route Table: Rules that determine where network traffic is directed
  • Security Group: Virtual firewall for individual resources
  • Network ACL: Controls traffic entering and exiting subnets
  • Public Subnet: A subnet with a route to the internet
  • Private Subnet: A subnet without direct internet access
  • VPC Peering: Connection between two VPCs
  • Flow Logs: Records of the traffic in your VPC

Share Your Progress!

This series will help you build your AWS skills, your portfolio, and your personal brand! To make the most of it, share your progress on LinkedIn or GitHub.

It's so easy to share your documentation - all you have to do is:

  • Download your documentation as a PDF.
  • Select the LinkedIn icon to open a pre-populated post, all ready to go!
  • Select the X at the bottom of the post - it's blocking you from uploading documentation.
  • Click on the plus icon at the bottom of the panel.
  • Then select the page icon, which helps you Add a document.
  • Voilà! Upload your document and give it a nice title like I'm challenging myself to get hands on with AWS networking!
  • Select Done and Post to share your progress!

p.s. Does it say "Still tasks to complete!" at the bottom of the screen?

This means you still have screenshots left to upload, or questions left to answer!

  1. Press Ctrl+F (Windows) or Command+F (Mac) on your keyboard.
  2. Search for the text Return to later.
  3. Jump straight to your incomplete tasks!
  4. 🙋‍♀️ Still stuck? Ask the community!