Private Networks (VPC) allow the creation of private and isolated networks, facilitating secure communication between servers within the same Private Network (VPC) to improve network traffic management, security, and efficiency.
What are Private Networks (VPC) used for?
Private Networks (VPC) are mainly used for:
- Security: Separating traffic from different departments or services into distinct networks to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.
- Efficiency: Reducing the amount of broadcast traffic in a network, which improves overall performance.
- Flexibility and Management: Facilitating the management of large networks by segmenting them into smaller, more manageable parts.
For example, a company can use Private Networks (VPC) to separate the traffic of database servers or web servers that need to make requests to an internal API (without having to go out to the Internet).
How Private Networks (VPC) work in Clouding
If you activate the private network on Clouding servers, you will have access to a network where you can interconnect servers through a Private Network (VPC) without Internet access. This can be useful if, for example, you need to connect a database server to a web server or if you want to have different shared directories, and depending on which Private Network (VPC) you have configured, you will have access to a specific directory.
In the My Private Networks (VPC) section, you can manage the different Private Networks (VPC) you have, as well as create new Private Networks (VPC), delete them, or mark a Private Network (VPC) as default.
When creating a Private Network (VPC), you can choose a name to identify it and a description to add more information about the use or purpose of the Private Network (VPC). Additionally, you can select the IP range you want, including a network mask that will allow you to segment networks into groups of a certain number of IPs.
For example, if you need to create 4 subnets from the 192.168.0.0 network, you should add a /26 mask so that each subnet has 62 available IPs, and you should do it as follows:
You have all the information on how to add a Private Network (VPC) to your Clouding account in the following tutorial: How to add a Private Network (VPC).
When you have created the Private Networks (VPC) to your liking, you can assign them to the different servers you have in Clouding without any limit on the number of Private Networks (VPC) per server.
We have a detailed tutorial explaining how to add a Private Network (VPC) to a server in Clouding: How to assign a Private Network (VPC) to a server.
Note that, by default, machines in Clouding have 4 network cards: one for the public IP of your server and the other 3 for Private Networks (VPC). If you need to connect more than 3 Private Networks (VPC) to a Linux server, you will need to manually add the Private Network (VPC) configuration so that the DHCP assigns an IP.
To do this, we have prepared a tutorial that provides all the details of this procedure: How to configure Clouding Private Networks (VPC) on Linux servers.
Private Networks (VPC) and Firewall Profiles
On Clouding servers, you can configure different Firewall profiles to secure the access ports on the machines. Currently, this is possible for the different available networks:
- Public IP: In this network, you can assign the Firewall profiles you need. But you must keep in mind that the rules you set must be related to access to the Public IP. Although you can assign rules for internal networks, we recommend that you do this by creating a specific Private Network (VPC) to keep it more organized.
- Private Networks (VPC): Just as with the Public IP, it is possible to assign more than one Firewall profile per Private Network (VPC). Therefore, you can have different Private Networks (VPC) with multiple assigned Firewall profiles.
Billing for Private Networks (VPC)
The cost of each Private Network (VPC) in Clouding is approximately €1 + VAT per month, regardless of the number of times it is assigned to one or more servers. This means that if you have a Private Network (VPC) assigned to 10, 20, or even more servers, the cost will remain the same: €1 + VAT monthly.
To provide greater clarity:
- Multiple assignments at no additional cost: You can assign the same Private Network (VPC) to multiple servers, and the total cost will still be only €1 + VAT per month. No matter how many servers use that Private Network (VPC), the cost will not increase.
- Single billing: The fee is fixed and unique for each Private Network (VPC), making cost and budget management easier without worrying about additional charges when scaling the infrastructure.
- Resource optimization: This pricing structure allows for effective resource optimization, as you can maximize the use of each Private Network (VPC) without incurring additional expenses.
This billing model simplifies the use of Private Networks (VPC) in your Clouding infrastructure, allowing you to assign and manage virtual networks efficiently and economically. You have more information about billing at: Hourly Billing.
API Update
With the introduction of Private Networks (VPC) in Clouding, some endpoints of our public API have been affected, and some important aspects have been updated. If you are currently using our API to manage servers, please review the changes made to see if your scripts or programs are affected.
For more information, you have the following article that provides all the details in this regard: CHANGELOG 17/06/2024: Update for Private Networks (VPC).
We hope this tutorial has helped you. If you have more questions, write to us at soporte@clouding.io Our Technical Support team will help you with whatever you need! 😉