Concepts

STACKIT Virtual Network enables you to connect your resources to each other and reach the public internet. It is a software defined network (SDN) on a subnet basis. Every Virtual Network has a gateway to the public internet.

Implementation and implications

STACKIT Virtual Network is a software defined network (SDN) with a defined subnet prefix and optionally defined DNS servers. The size of the subnet can be configured between effectively 6 (29 bit mask) and over 16 million (8 bit mask) possible hosts. Every subnet is routed to the public internet. Technically this is done by source NAT (SNAT) in combination with masquerading. When creating the first network in a public project, STACKIT automatically creates and assigns a public IP for all Virtual Networks. It supports outbound internet access but does not allow traffic initiated from the public internet to reach your resources. For projects that are part of an SNA the routing can be controlled using Routing tables.

The public IP address on the network level should not be mistaken with STACKIT Public IP Address.

The expenses for the first Virtual Network in a project are caused by the bound public IP address. Due to this fact additional Virtual Networks are free of charge.

If you want a resource to be reachable from the public internet, you can order a STACKIT Public IP Address and attach it to the VM’s network interface (NIC) or bind it otherwise to your resource .e.g. load balancer. Details about STACKIT’s Public IP Address can be found in Concepts of STACKIT Public IP Address. To learn more about protecting your resources, read Concepts of Security Groups.

Dedicated customer connection

STACKIT will offer different ways of connecting your on-premises or colocation environments to your STACKIT Cloud environment in the future. These will include direct connections in STACKIT datacenters and 3rd party datacenters, MPLS connections through partners as well as a managed VPN offering. All these services will be made available in and will require SNAs. More information will be shortly available.