Private cloud vs public cloud, virtual private cloud vs public cloud, virtual private cloud vs private cloud. Choosing the best type of cloud infrastructure hosting for your organization can be complex .
In many cases, virtual private cloud (VPC) solutions offer a happy middle ground between public and private cloud computing environments: leveraging the scale and flexibility of shared public cloud infrastructure, while offering the control that comes with an isolated virtual network.
It’s no surprise then that the VPC market was valued at over $55 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach in excess of $346 billion by 2032.
In this blog we discuss the essential VPC basics including what a virtual private cloud is, how it works, and its various benefits.
A virtual private cloud is a type of private cloud hosting solution isolated within a shared public cloud infrastructure. Data stored on a VPC is logically isolated from all other tenants on the public cloud through a private IP subnet or virtual local area network (VLAN).
Both public cloud and virtual private cloud products are multi-tenanted solutions that involve a process of virtualization. The key difference is that public cloud is a shared cloud infrastructure, whereas VPC isolates computing resources from other tenants using the public cloud environment.
A VPC isolates your computing resources from other customers on the public cloud by using the following technologies:
A range of IP addresses that aren’t visible or accessible via the public internet. They are a logical partition of an IP network, used to subdivide large networks into smaller private ones.
A way of grouping devices regardless of their location, so they appear to be on the same local area network. Like subnets, VLANs can be used to logically partition a network, but at layer 2 rather than layer 3 in the OSI model.
A virtual private network over the top of a public network. VPNs use encryption to scramble data in transit across publicly shared internet infrastructure, so it isn’t visible to anyone.
A VPC will typically have a dedicated subnet and VLAN that can’t be accessed within the public cloud by other tenants. You can then connect via the VPN so data being transferred in and out of your VPC is spared from the public internet.
If you’re looking for public cloud scalability with private cloud security then a VPC could be a great option. Some key benefits of virtual private cloud include:
VPC solutions usually offer instant scalability allowing you to dynamically scale your resources up and down as needed. A good VPC provider will be able to offer short-term contracts and the flexibility to scale down when demand subsides. Doing this in a virtual environment is typically easier as virtual machines (VMs) are quick to provision and are portable across physical hosts running the same hypervisor.
Depending on how your solution is designed, you can plan for fault tolerance within your infrastructure. This means that if a server goes down, your VMs can be easily (often automatically) moved to another physical host. Advanced solutions can even provide disaster recovery across geographically diverse data centers.
Since a VPC is a logically isolated network, you won’t be sharing compute resources or space with other tenants. VPC is more like a private cloud or a bare metal server in this regard, so you’ll retain control over the security and performance of your data.
Depending on your setup, VPCs can be a cost-effective part of your infrastructure, as they typically require less hardware. However, they can be tricky to set up so the cost savings might not be as favourable as public cloud if you’re a smaller business without the expertise required.
VPCs come with many benefits, but whether a VPC is right for your business depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Questions to ask yourself include:
If so, then virtual private clouds can give you improved resource utilization and solid availability. By deploying workloads to cloud resources on a needs basis, a virtual private cloud is reactive to the fluctuating demands of growing businesses.
VPCs deliver the flexibility of a public cloud, so if your requirements are unpredictable, your VPC server can be adjusted accordingly and sized to meet your changing needs.
Then virtual private cloud servers win over the public cloud. With a VPC, your data and applications are safe from other tenants. Although the physical infrastructure is shared, thanks to the logically isolated network, your VPC is yours and yours alone.
A VPC may well be the best ‘bang for your buck’. As a multi-tenanted solution, the cost of physical infrastructure is split between all tenants which helps to keep costs down. Plus, you have the flexibility to scale up and down, with short-term contracts allowing you to only pay for what you need.
For businesses looking for the scalability of public cloud hosting but with the security of private cloud, VPC solutions offer the happy medium. And because VPCs can be added to hybrid cloud deployments fairly easily, it’s unsurprising that these solutions continue to grow in popularity.
