PoC VPC Private Subnet Proxy Deployment

The machines wait in silence, inside a sealed VPC, cut off from the open internet. Your code needs to reach out, but security demands isolation. This is where a private subnet proxy deployment proves its value.

A PoC VPC private subnet proxy deployment is a controlled test to move traffic from private instances to the outside world without exposing them directly. In AWS, this usually means launching instances inside private subnets, configuring route tables, and enabling a proxy—often through a bastion or NAT instance, a managed NAT Gateway, or a containerized proxy running in a public subnet.

The goal is simple: keep workloads locked inside, while letting them fetch updates, call APIs, or push telemetry. The traffic path is predictable, auditable, and easy to restrict. For security-sensitive deployments, this is not optional—it’s a requirement.

Steps to run a PoC VPC private subnet proxy deployment:

1. Create the VPC – Define a CIDR range. Split into public and private subnets across multiple Availability Zones for redundancy.
2. Configure Internet Access for the Proxy – In the public subnet, deploy the proxy host or NAT Gateway with an Elastic IP.
3. Update Route Tables – Point private subnet routes for outbound internet traffic to the proxy resource in the public subnet. Ensure no direct internet gateway route is attached to the private subnets.
4. Harden Security Groups and NACLs – Only allow outbound traffic from the proxy to approved destinations. Deny inbound traffic except for controlled administrative ports.
5. Deploy Proxy Software – If using a custom proxy server, install and configure tools like Squid, Envoy, or HAProxy. Tune logging and connection limits for production-like testing.
6. Run Connectivity Tests – From private subnet workloads, confirm they can reach required endpoints through the proxy. Measure latency, throughput, and error rates.
7. Audit and Monitor – Enable VPC Flow Logs and proxy metrics. Track patterns before moving to production.

Best practices for a private subnet proxy in a VPC include disabling unused ports, enforcing TLS end-to-end, and using IAM roles for resource access. Keep configuration scripts under version control for fast replication.

A focused proof of concept reduces unknowns in cost, performance, and maintenance before scaling up. Once validated, you can integrate the private subnet proxy into your production CI/CD and workload architecture with minimal changes.

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