AWS Academy Cloud Foundations - Module 5:
Networking and Content Delivery
1. Networking Basics
• IP addressing: IPv4 (32-bit), IPv6 (128-bit) • CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) defines IP
ranges like /16 or /28 • OSI Model: Layers for network communication
2. Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)
• Logically isolated section of AWS Cloud. • You control IP range, subnets, route tables, gateways,
and security. • VPC = Region level; Subnet = Availability Zone level. • CIDR block defines private IP
range (cannot change later). • Elastic IP – static public IP; Elastic Network Interface – virtual
network card. • Route tables: define traffic flow inside VPC. Key Point: Local route always exists for
internal VPC communication.
3. VPC Networking
• Internet Gateway (IGW): Connects VPC to internet (public subnets). • NAT Gateway: Allows
private subnets to access the internet. • VPC Peering: Connects VPCs (no overlapping IPs, no
transitive peering). • Site-to-Site VPN: Connect on-prem network securely over internet. • AWS
Direct Connect: Dedicated physical connection to AWS. • VPC Endpoints: Interface (PrivateLink),
Gateway (S3/DynamoDB). • AWS Transit Gateway: Central hub for multiple VPCs.
4. VPC Security
• Security Groups (SG): Act at instance level, stateful, allow rules only. - Default: inbound denied,
outbound allowed. • Network ACLs (NACL): Act at subnet level, stateless, allow & deny rules. -
Rules checked in order (lowest number first). Comparison: SG – instance level, stateful, allow only.
NACL – subnet level, stateless, allow & deny.
5. Amazon Route 53
• DNS service that translates domain names to IP addresses. • Supports IPv4/IPv6, health checks,
domain registration. • Routing policies: Simple, Weighted, Latency, Geolocation, Geoproximity,
Failover, Multi-value. • Enables high availability and performance via failover & routing control.
6. Amazon CloudFront
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) caching content globally. • Reduces latency; delivers content
from nearest edge location. • Edge locations – serve popular content; Regional edge caches – less
popular content. • Benefits: Fast, secure, global, and cost-effective. • Pricing: based on data
transfer, requests, invalidation, SSL.
Summary (Exam Focus)
• VPC – Virtual network in AWS. • Subnets – Public/Private division. • Security Groups & NACLs –
Firewalls. • Route 53 – DNS service. • CloudFront – CDN for faster global delivery. • Connectivity:
IGW, NAT, VPN, Direct Connect, Endpoints, Transit Gateway.