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AWS Networking Fundamentals for On-Premises Engineers: What You Need to Know Before Creating Your First VPC

Clearly understand the four key differences between physical equipment–centric on-premises networks and AWS cloud networks, and first establish the overall coordinate system of AWS network architecture, from Region to AZ to VPC to Subnet. Although this lesson covers concepts only without hands-on practice, it also provides practical checklists and common mistakes to build a solid foundation for the rest of the 12-lesson course.

1 learners are taking this course

Level Basic

Course period Unlimited

Network
Network
networking
networking
router
router
system-design
system-design
aws-vpc
aws-vpc
Network
Network
networking
networking
router
router
system-design
system-design
aws-vpc
aws-vpc

What you will gain after the course

  • Four Key Differences Between On-Premises and AWS Networks and the Impact of the Absence of L2 on Design

  • AWS network hierarchy consisting of Region, AZ, VPC, and Subnet, and the role of each layer

  • Principles of Public/Private Separation Based on Route Tables and AZ-Distributed Availability Design Approach


With on-premises experience
Cloud network design



You’re familiar with servers, so why do you get lost in front of virtual networks?
I did too.
I’ve spent over 20 years operating servers, migrating data centers to AWS, and troubleshooting outages involving hundreds of instances and large-scale payment services.

In this course, in an environment where the equipment is invisible,
we’ll organize the relationships among regions, Availability Zones, virtual networks, and subnets, along with routing principles from a practical perspective.
Before creating your first virtual network, establish design principles you can rely on.



What you can take away from this course

Transform your on-premises mindset into an AWS network design perspective.

Shift your perspective from a network where equipment is deployed to one where services are designed. Get a clear overview of how physical equipment, Layer 2, and routing-centered thinking differ in AWS.

We map out the relationships among Regions, Availability Zones, VPCs, and subnets like coordinates. Using route tables as the basis, we distinguish between public and private networks and understand why distributing resources across Availability Zones leads to better fault tolerance.

It captures the decision-making criteria I encountered while operating data centers and large-scale payment services for over 20 years. By covering everything from migration checklists to common mistakes, it makes clear what to check first in your next network design.

After the course, you will be able to explain the structure and risk points in your first virtual private cloud design on your own.
I will clearly convey the criteria you can use to make decisions right away in the field.


I learned the essence of networking through outages in the early morning hours.

For over 20 years, I have operated Linux servers and infrastructure while migrating environments from data centers to AWS.

I managed hundreds of instances for a large-scale payment service and traced the causes of incidents every dawn.

Through that process, I confirmed that understanding the network’s structure and flow is more important than the names of the equipment.

It is difficult to properly design regions, availability zones, virtual private clouds, and subnets using only the familiar on-premises equipment perspective.

So I organized the network reference framework you must establish before creating your first virtual private cloud.

The principles of separating public and private networks, distributing across availability zones, and the role of route tables all come together at a glance. Instead of wandering around looking for devices, you can make decisions by following the flow. Use the practical checklist to verify any conditions you may have missed before migration. Now, start by drawing the structure of your first virtual private cloud step by step.



Course Structure

Designing Your First Virtual Network

Section 1

Learning Materials Guide

Check the materials needed for the course, then learn the basic direction and how to use them for studying network concepts.

Section 2

AWS Networking Full Roadmap

Introduces the overall structure and learning objectives of the AWS network covered in the course. It presents a learning flow progressing from regions and availability zones to virtual private clouds and subnets.

Section 3

Comparison of On-Premises and AWS Network Structures

Starting with the familiar structure of on-premises networks, we compare it with the logical structure of AWS networks. This lays the foundation for shifting from a physical equipment–centered mindset to a software-defined networking perspective.

Section 4

Key Differences in AWS Networking

It explains the differences of having no physical equipment to manage directly, an Ethernet layer that is virtually nonexistent, and routing decisions made at the subnet level. It covers how these differences affect network design and operations.

Section 5

Understanding Security Boundaries, Regions, and Availability Zones

We examine the roles of security groups and firewalls connected to instances, and summarize four differences that distinguish them from on-premises environments. Through the concepts of Regions and Availability Zones, we understand the geographic and logical scope of AWS infrastructure.

Section 6

Availability Design and Networking Services Map

Explains how distributing across Availability Zones directly leads to fault response and availability design. Identifies the scope of responsibility for network security under the shared responsibility model and organizes the roles and relationships of key AWS networking services.

Section 7

Migration Network Checklist

We examine, through practical examples, the addressing, routing, security, and Availability Zone considerations to check when beginning a migration from on-premises to AWS. Finally, we summarize the key concepts and common mistakes.

Section 8

Hands-On Application and Preparation for Virtual Private Cloud Design

Directly review and apply the network structures and design principles you have learned. Prepare the basic concepts and learning direction for the next step: virtual private cloud design.




Who This Course Is Recommended For

Recommended for the following learners

Infrastructure engineers looking to apply their on-premises equipment experience to AWS VPC design

Cloud learners who still struggle with route and Availability Zone design after practicing with VPCs




Notes Before Taking the Course


Practice Environment

  • The supported operating systems are Windows, Mac, and Linux.

  • A web browser and a PDF reader are required.
    At least 8 GB of memory is recommended.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Notes

  • Experience operating on-premises networks is required.
    We cover the basic concepts of routers and subnets.

  • This course focuses on concepts rather than hands-on practice.
    You will understand virtual private clouds and route tables.

Learning materials

  • We provide lecture slides and network architecture materials.
    We summarize the relationship between regions and availability zones.

  • We use the previous environment checklist and real-world cases.
    We check the criteria for separating public and private networks.


Recommended for
these people

Who is this course right for?

  • An infrastructure engineer with experience operating on-premises networks, preparing to transition to the AWS cloud

  • Learners who followed a VPC hands-on lab but found the concepts falling apart at the Transit Gateway stage

  • Practitioners who need to shift their perspective from a physical hardware-centric mindset to software-defined networking.

Need to know before starting?

  • Experience operating network equipment such as switches and routers in on-premises environments

  • Understanding basic networking concepts such as the OSI 7-layer model, IP addressing, and subnet masks

  • Experience designing L2/L3 networks, including VLANs, broadcast domains, gateway redundancy, and more

Hello
This is jjangkbg7719

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Hello, I'm Frank.

I am an infrastructure engineer who has been wrestling with servers for over 20 years. Starting with Linux server operations, I am now in charge of the cloud infrastructure for a large-scale payment service. My daily life involves migrating from data centers to AWS, managing hundreds of instances, and tracing the causes of failures in the early hours of the morning.

The reason I created this course is simple.

I often received questions like these from those around me: "I managed to connect to the server, but I don't know what to do next." "There are so many instance types; which one should I choose?" These are the exact same points where I got stuck at first. However, when I looked for resources, I found that most of them were written for people who already knew what they were doing.

So I decided to create the course I wish I had when I first started learning.

My lectures are based on three principles.

First, I help you understand rather than memorize. Instead of just listing commands, I explain why we use them in the first place.

Second, I boldly omit unnecessary content. I do not increase the volume by including information that is useless to beginners right now.

Third, I also talk about what doesn't work. Instead of just listing the pros, I clearly point out cases where it might not be a good fit. For someone who has to make decisions in the field, that is more important.

If you feel a sense of "Ah, I should start from here" after listening to the lecture, then my goal has been achieved.

Please feel free to leave any questions you may have at any time.

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21 lectures ∙ (22min)

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