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Irfan Satrio
Irfan Satrio

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Quick Start: Build a Ready-to-Use AWS VPC in Minutes

#aws #beginners #networking

In this hands-on guide, you’ll build a ready-to-use AWS networking environment in just a few minutes. You will create a fully functional VPC with public and private subnets, internet access, routing, and security controls, then launch an EC2 instance to verify that everything works as expected. This is one of the fastest ways to get a working VPC layout, especially if you're just starting to explore AWS networking and want something reliable to build on.

Step 1: Create the VPC

  1. Open the VPC Console.
  2. Select Create VPC.
  3. Choose VPC and more.
  4. Set:
    • Name: my-quickstart-vpc
    • Number of AZs: 2 or 3 (default is fine)
    • Customize subnets: optional
    • Leave other defaults as-is
  5. Create the VPC.

AWS will automatically provision all required networking components.

Step 2: Review Your Subnets

After creation, go to Subnets.
You’ll see:

  • Public subnets (routed to the IGW)
  • Private subnets (routed through the S3 Gateway Endpoint)
  • Subnets distributed across two Availability Zones (for example, us-east-1a and us-east-1b)

This gives you a practical multi-AZ layout without manual planning.

Step 3: Check the Internet-Enabled Path

Open Internet Gateways.
You should see the IGW attached to your new VPC.
This is what gives public subnets outbound internet access.

Step 4: Launch an EC2 Instance

  1. Go to the EC2 Console → Launch instance.
  2. Configure:
    • AMI: Amazon Linux 2
    • Instance type: t3.micro (free tier eligible)
    • Key pair: Create a new key pair named "hands-on-key" (RSA, .pem)
    • Network: my-quickstart-vpc
    • Subnet: choose one of the public subnets
    • Auto-assign public IP: Enabled
    • Security Group: use the default SG or create one allowing SSH
  3. Launch the instance.

Step 5: Connect and Test Connectivity

Connect to the instance using SSH:

ssh -i hands-on-key.pem ec2-user@<public-ip>
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A successful connection confirms that:

  • The instance has a public IP
  • The route table is correctly configured
  • Port 22 is allowed by the Security Group
  • Outbound internet access

From inside the instance:

curl https://www.google.com
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A successful response confirms outbound internet connectivity.

Troubleshooting

  • No public IP
    Ensure the selected subnet is public and auto-assign is enabled.

  • SSH blocked
    Check your SG inbound rule for port 22.

  • curl fails
    Make sure the public route points to the IGW.

Tips for Using This VPC Setup

  • Use clear and consistent naming for VPCs, subnets, and route tables.
  • Place internet-facing resources in public subnets only.
  • Keep backend workloads in private subnets to reduce exposure.
  • Treat this VPC as a baseline that can be extended as your architecture grows.

Conclusion

You now have a functional multi-AZ VPC with clearly separated public and private subnets and internet connectivity through an Internet Gateway. This setup illustrates how AWS networking components work together to manage traffic flow and resource isolation, and it provides a solid foundation for future architectural extensions.

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