NAT gateway
A NAT gateway is a network component that enables private-network resources to initiate outbound connections through address translation without accepting unsolicited inbound connections.
Amazon Web Services in Action, Third Edition: An in-depth guide to AWS
A NAT gateway is a managed network gateway that enables resources in a private network to initiate connections to external networks through address translation.
- How it is used
- Provides outbound internet access for private-subnet resources while keeping those resources unreachable directly from the internet.
- How deep it goes
- Explains placement, routing, network ACLs, cost, throughput, and availability-zone limits, but does not detail high-availability design.
- Examples
- Uses a three-subnet web application, CloudFormation resources, HTTP/HTTPS ACL rules, and a private backend default route.
- What you can do after
- Configure a private backend’s outbound internet path with AWS VPC routing and CloudFormation.
Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu
A NAT gateway is a network component that provides outbound internet access for resources in private subnets without allowing unsolicited inbound internet connections.
- How it is used
- Provides private subnets with outbound internet access while preserving their lack of direct public exposure.
- How deep it goes
- Explains subnet placement, routing, IP assignment, and Terraform dependency handling, but does not detail packet translation internals.
- Examples
- Uses Terraform modules that divide CIDR blocks into public, private, and optionally isolated subnets.
- What you can do after
- Configure a Terraform-managed cloud network with private-subnet internet access and explicit gateway creation dependencies.
Related concepts
- network address translationimplements · Network address translation is a networking technique that rewrites IP addresses and often transport-layer ports as traffic crosses a gateway or network boundary.
- subnetworkpart of · A subnetwork is a logical subdivision of an IP network with its own address range, routing scope, and network configuration.
- private subnetused by · A private subnet is a subnet whose resources lack direct connectivity or reachability to the public internet.
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