In cloud environments, an internet gateway is a resource that allows instances in a private network to connect to the internet. It provides both incoming and outgoing internet access to resources in a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), acting as a bridge between the private network and the internet.

Here’s an overview of its key features and considerations:

Key features of an internet gateway:

Network Address Translation (NAT): It provides NAT, enabling resources with private IP addresses to access the internet without exposing their private IPs directly.

Route configuration: The internet gateway must be associated with a specific route table in the VPC. For instances to access the internet, the route table must direct traffic for IP addresses outside the VPC to the internet gateway.

Bidirectional connectivity: While typically used for outgoing traffic, it also supports incoming requests if allowed by resources such as load balancers or specific instance rules.

No public IP address, no internet access: For an instance to access the internet, it requires both a public IP address (or an elastic IP) and an associated internet gateway in the VPC.

Creating an internet gateway

To create an internet gateway:

Go to Network > Internet Gateways.

On the top toolbar, click Create.

In the Create Internet Gateway dialog box, enter the following:

• Name – the name of the internet gateway.
• Description – an optional description of the internet gateway.
• VPC – the VPC associated with this internet gateway.

Internet Gateway Operations

After creating the internet gateway, it will appear in the list of internet gateways in the Networking > Internet Gateways view. The following operations can be performed by selecting the internet gateway from the list and clicking the corresponding icon on the top toolbar.

Edit – modify the name of the internet gateway.
Detach – detach the internet gateway from the VPC.
Delete – delete the internet gateway.