Cloud Networking and Next Steps

Cloud computing has transformed how networks are designed and managed. Instead of buying physical hardware, you provision virtual network infrastructure using software-defined networking (SDN). This lesson explores cloud networking concepts, compares major providers, and outlines your next steps for advancing in computer networking.

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What is Cloud Networking?

Cloud networking is the practice of building and managing network infrastructure in a cloud environment. All the networking concepts you have learned — IP addressing, subnetting, routing, firewalls, load balancing — still apply, but they are implemented as virtual resources managed through APIs and web consoles.

Key Differences from Traditional Networking

Aspect	Traditional	Cloud
Provisioning	Buy and rack hardware (weeks)	Create via API or console (seconds)
Scaling	Buy more hardware	Click a button or auto-scale
Cost	Capital expenditure (CapEx)	Operational expenditure (OpEx), pay-as-you-go
Management	Physical access, CLI, SNMP	Web console, CLI, Infrastructure as Code
Redundancy	Design and build yourself	Built into the platform (multi-AZ, multi-region)

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Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)