**Course Title:** Cloud Platforms: Foundations and Applications **Section Title:** Networking in the Cloud **Topic:** Set up a VPC with subnets, and configure a load balancer for a web application.(Lab topic) **Introduction** In this lab, you will learn how to set up a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) with subnets and configure a load balancer for a web application. This hands-on experience will help you understand the fundamental concepts of cloud networking and prepare you for real-world scenarios. By the end of this lab, you will be able to create a VPC, configure subnets, and set up a load balancer using cloud providers like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. **Prerequisites** * Familiarity with cloud computing concepts * Basic understanding of networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, subnets, routing) * Cloud provider account (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) **Step 1: Create a VPC** A VPC is a virtual network that provides a secure and isolated environment for your cloud resources. To create a VPC, follow these steps: 1. Log in to your cloud provider's management console (e.g., AWS Management Console, Azure Portal, or Google Cloud Console). 2. Navigate to the VPC dashboard and click "Create VPC." 3. Choose a VPC name, select an IPv4 CIDR block (e.g., 10.0.0.0/16), and click "Create VPC." **Step 2: Configure Subnets** Subnets are subsets of a VPC's IP address range that can be used to further segment and secure your cloud resources. To configure subnets, follow these steps: 1. Navigate to the VPC dashboard and click on the "Subnets" tab. 2. Click "Create subnet." 3. Choose a subnet name, select a VPC, and select a subnet IPv4 CIDR block (e.g., 10.0.1.0/24). 4. Select a availability zone (e.g., us-east-1a) and click "Create subnet." 5. Repeat the process to create multiple subnets. **Step 3: Launch EC2 Instances** To launch EC2 instances (virtual machines) in your VPC, follow these steps: 1. Navigate to the EC2 dashboard and click on the "Instances" tab. 2. Click "Launch instance." 3. Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) or create a custom AMI. 4. Choose an instance type (e.g., t2.micro) and configure the instance details. 5. Select a VPC and subnet, and click "Launch instance." 6. Repeat the process to launch multiple EC2 instances. **Step 4: Configure Security Groups** Security groups are virtual firewalls that control inbound and outbound traffic to your EC2 instances. To configure security groups, follow these steps: 1. Navigate to the VPC dashboard and click on the "Security Groups" tab. 2. Click "Create security group." 3. Choose a security group name, select a VPC, and select a security group type (e.g., "Web Server"). 4. Configure the security group rules (e.g., allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic). 5. Associate the security group with your EC2 instances. **Step 5: Configure Load Balancer** Load balancers distribute traffic across multiple EC2 instances to improve availability and scalability. To configure a load balancer, follow these steps: 1. Navigate to the EC2 dashboard and click on the "Load Balancers" tab. 2. Click "Create load balancer." 3. Choose a load balancer type (e.g., Application Load Balancer). 4. Configure the load balancer settings (e.g., select a VPC, subnet, and security group). 5. Add your EC2 instances to the load balancer. 6. Configure the load balancer rules (e.g., set up routing for HTTP and HTTPS traffic). **Verification and Testing** To verify and test your setup, follow these steps: 1. Verify that your EC2 instances are launched and reachable via the load balancer. 2. Test your web application by accessing the load balancer's URL. **Additional Resources** * For more information on VPC and subnet setup, refer to the AWS documentation: <https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/getting-started-ipv4.html> * For more information on security group configuration, refer to the AWS documentation: <https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/VPC_SecurityGroups.html> * For more information on load balancer setup, refer to the AWS documentation: <https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/classic/introduction.html> **What to Do Next** Now that you have set up a VPC with subnets and configured a load balancer for a web application, you can explore more advanced cloud networking topics, such as: * Understanding cloud security fundamentals (next topic) * Configuring network security and access control * Managing cloud resources using infrastructure as code (IaC) tools Feel free to ask for help or leave a comment if you have any questions or need further clarification on this topic.