Private Networks between Dedibox and Scaleway cloud products

Private Networks between Dedibox and Scaleway cloud products

Network connectivity is crucial for deploying infrastructure on the Internet, impacting both performance and security. Achieving low latency and secure data transfer over public networks is essential for successful operations.

The Internet was initially designed for academic data sharing, with minimal focus on security. As it evolved into the global network we rely on today, new challenges arose, including exposure to Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks and other threats. Despite advancements in security technologies, the Internet remains a public network where risks persist.

Scaleway offers solutions to protect your infrastructure, including DDoS protection and the ability to create private networks compliant with RFC 1918. These isolated networks provide an added layer of security, fully separated from public networks.

Private Network Types on the Scaleway Platform

Scaleway’s ecosystem supports a variety of public cloud services, enabling comprehensive infrastructure building within the cloud. Dedibox offers high-performance dedicated servers for demanding workloads. Both product categories provide distinct private network options:

RPN Feature on Scaleway Dedibox

Scaleway Dedibox supports the Real Private Network (RPN) feature, a physical network within a data center that utilizes a secondary network interface on Dedibox servers, enabling direct server-to-server communication.

Scaleway offers two RPN variants:

• RPNv1: Basic service with a static private IP and up to 1 Gbps network speed.
• RPNv2: Advanced service with VLAN support and up to 25 Gbps bandwidth, ideal for latency-sensitive applications.

For instance, with six dedicated servers, you can create multiple RPN groups:

  RPN-group-1 = server 1 and 2  # Servers 1 and 2 can communicate
  RPN-group-2 = server 1, 6, 3  # Servers 1, 6, and 3 can communicate
  RPN-group-3 = server 1, 4, 5  # Servers 1, 4, and 5 can communicate

Servers from different Dedibox accounts can also join an RPN with permission. The RPNv2 feature supports high bandwidth and real VLANs, making it suitable for tasks like large databases or load balancing.

Building Private Networks on Scaleway

Scaleway offers the Private Networks feature for all Instances, enabling secure, isolated communication within an Availability Zone, independent of the Internet. These Private Networks function as layer 2 Ethernet networks.

Instances connected to a Private Network automatically gain a virtual network interface, facilitating seamless internal communication without requiring a reboot. Multiple Private Networks can be assigned to each Instance, allowing for flexible and complex network configurations.

Private Networks are also foundational for creating a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).

Interconnecting services with Virtual Private Networks

To link Scaleway Dedibox servers and Scaleway Instances, you can configure a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel over the public Internet, masking IP addresses and securing data transfers. This enables the creation of hybrid infrastructures across Scaleway products, even across different availability zones.

For example, a Dedibox server could serve as a load balancer, routing traffic via a VPN to virtual Instances. These Instances, in turn, can securely interact with a database on an Elastic Metal server. Techniques such as WireGuard VPN or a GRE Tunnel can be employed for these setups.

Conclusion

Scaleway provides a range of options for secure networking between Dedibox servers, Scaleway Instances, or both. Explore our documentation to learn more about Dedibox RPNs, Scaleway Private Networks, and VPN solutions.