What is cloud networking and VPC?

Cloud networking provides virtual network infrastructure in cloud environments. VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) is a logically isolated section of a cloud provider's network where you control the virtual network environment: IP address ranges, subnets, routing tables, and network gateways. AWS VPC example: create a VPC with CIDR 10.0.0.0/16, divide into public subnets (10.0.1.0/24 — internet-accessible) and private subnets (10.0.2.0/24 — internal only). An Internet Gateway connects the VPC to the Internet; a NAT Gateway allows private subnet instances to access the Internet without being directly reachable. Security Groups act as stateful firewalls at the instance level; NACLs (Network Access Control Lists) are stateless firewalls at the subnet level. VPC Peering connects two VPCs; Transit Gateway connects multiple VPCs and on-premises networks. Direct Connect/ExpressRoute provides dedicated private connectivity from on-premises to the cloud.