Learning objectives

1. Build a custom AWS VPC.
2. Manually configure subnets, routing table, NAT Gateway, Internet Gateway, Network ACL (NACL), Security Groups, and IP addresses.
3. Proficient with the setup and use of Bastion host.

Task 1: Build a custom VPC

Before you start your assignment, remove all other pre-created settings in the standard Sandbox environment as it may affect your assignment. (Refer to the appendix on the settings to delete).

In this task, you will build a VPC from scratch, manually, without using the VPC wizard. Your final VPC will be look like this:

1. Create a new VPC comprising the following.
a. Name : Practical Assignment VPC
b. CIDR : 10.0.0.0/16
c. Tenancy : default

2. Create a public subnet.
a. Name : BastionSubnet
b. CIDR : 10.0.16.0/20
c. Availability Zone : us-east-1a or any AZ1

3. Create a route table.
a. Name : BastionRT
b. VPC : Practical Assignment VPC

4. Create an Internet Gateway
a. Name : PA-IGW

5. Create a Network ACL.
a. Name : BastionNACL
b. VPC : Practical Assignment VPC

6. Create a Security Group
a. Name : BastionSG
b. VPC : Practical Assignment VPC

7. Configure the BastionSubnet (public) of your VPC.
a. Associate it with BastionRT and BastionNACL.
b. Ensure that all traffic destined for the internet gets routed to internet gateway, PA-IGW.

8. Show your tutor your work. Capture a screen shot of your VPC and all it’s setting (to demonstrate that you understand what you are setting) in your report, labelling it task 1. Make sure that your login account is visible in your screen capture.

9. In your own words, write a brief description of what you have setup for Task 1.

Task 2 : Launch a Bastion Host EC2 instance

A bastion host is simply a server that can be used as a dedicated proxy to access the private servers of a network. You will learn how to use a bastion host to access EC2 instances in a private subnet later. First let’s create an EC2 instance that will serve as the bastion host.

1. Create a new EC2 instance and launch it into BastionSubnet.
a. AMI : Amazon Linux 2 (HVM), SSD Volume Type
b. Instance type : General Purpose – t3.micro
c. Instance details (selected):
i. Network : Practical Assignment VPC
ii. Subnet : BastionSubnet
iii. Auto-assign Public IP : Enable
d. Storage : use default selected
e. Tags : optional
f. Configure Security Group : Select existing security group – BastionSG

2. Show your tutor your work. Capture a screen shot of your EC2 instance and all it’s settings in your report,
labelling it task 2.

3. In your own words, explain what you just did in Task 2