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In this short walkthrough you’ll create a custom VPC in AWS, inspect its core settings, and then delete it. This is an introductory demo — later guides will cover VPC subnets, routing, Internet Gateways, NATs, endpoints, and security in detail.
VPCs are region-specific. When you create an AWS account, AWS also creates a default VPC in each region so you can immediately launch resources. If you want to use a custom VPC instead, create it in the specific region where your resources will run.
Overview of the workflow:
  1. Choose a region.
  2. Open the VPC console and review existing VPCs.
  3. Create a new VPC (VPC-only).
  4. Inspect key VPC settings.
  5. Delete the VPC when finished.
  6. Choose a region
  • Sign in to the AWS Management Console and set the region where you want the VPC to exist (for example, US East (N. Virginia) / us-east-1). VPCs are regional resources and all resources you place into the VPC should typically be in the same region.
  1. Open the VPC console and review existing VPCs
  • In the console search bar type “VPC” and open the VPC service page. This page summarizes networking resources in the selected region.
  • Click Your VPCs in the left navigation to list VPCs in the region. A new account usually shows exactly one default VPC, which includes default subnets, default route table entries (including the local route), a default security group, and default network ACLs so you can launch instances quickly.
A screenshot of the Amazon Web Services VPC Management Console showing "Resources by Region" panels (VPCs, Subnets, Route Tables, Security Groups, etc.) and a left-hand navigation menu. The top has "Create VPC" and "Launch EC2 Instances" buttons and the right column shows Service Health and AWS Network Manager info.
  1. Create a custom VPC (VPC only)
  • Click Create VPC. You’ll see two main creation patterns:
    • Create VPC only — minimal: creates just the VPC object and default settings, letting you add subnets and components later.
    • Quick create (guided) — provisions a VPC plus commonly used resources (subnets across AZs, route tables, Internet Gateway, NAT Gateway, etc.) in one workflow.
For this demo we select Create VPC (VPC only).
  1. Enter VPC details
  • Fill in the fields and tags, then click Create VPC:
    • Name tag: a descriptive name such as demo-vpc
    • IPv4 CIDR block: choose the IPv4 address range. Example: 10.0.0.0/16 (up to 65,536 addresses)
    • IPv6 CIDR block: optional — leave blank or select Amazon-provided IPv6 if you need IPv6
    • Tenancy: leave default unless you require dedicated tenancy (cost and use implications)
  • Add any additional tags you need (for billing, environment, or automation).
  1. Creation and quick inspection
  • VPC creation is usually fast. After it completes you’ll see a success banner and can open the VPC details to inspect settings and metadata.
A screenshot of the Amazon Web Services VPC Management Console showing a created VPC named "demo-vpc" (VPC ID vpc-0edeacf8053a6ec01) listed as Available with IPv4 CIDR 10.0.0.0/16. The left sidebar shows VPC navigation items (Subnets, Route tables, Internet gateways) and a green success banner at the top.
Key items to review on the VPC details page
  • VPC ID: unique identifier (for example vpc-0123abcd)
  • State: should show Available after creation
  • DNS resolution and DNS hostnames: control whether instances receive DNS hostnames and whether DNS resolution is enabled
  • Route table: a main route table is created automatically; this controls routing inside and outside the VPC (local routes and any route to an Internet Gateway)
  • Subnets: a VPC-only creation starts with no custom subnets — add subnets per AZ as needed or use quick create to provision them automatically
  • Network ACLs and Security Groups: a default network ACL and default security group are created. Network ACLs operate at subnet level; security groups operate at the instance level
  • IPv6 pool and IPv6 CIDR block (if chosen): shows the assigned IPv6 block and scope (Amazon-provided blocks are often a /56)
  • Tags: shows any Name or custom tags you added for identification and automation
Quick reference: common CIDR choices
  1. Delete the VPC when finished
  • To remove the VPC, go to Your VPCs, select the VPC, choose Actions → Delete VPC, and confirm.
  • AWS may require that you delete or detach certain resources before deletion succeeds (for example: running EC2 instances, network interfaces, VPC endpoints, NAT gateways, Elastic IPs, or load balancers). Remove or terminate those resources first if prompted.
Before deleting a VPC, ensure all dependent resources (EC2 instances, NAT gateways, endpoints, load balancers, network interfaces, Elastic IPs, etc.) are stopped and removed. Otherwise AWS will block deletion until dependencies are cleared.
Further reading and references That concludes this short demo on creating, inspecting, and deleting a custom VPC in AWS. Explore subsequent lessons for detailed walkthroughs on subnets, routing, Internet Gateways, NAT, endpoints, and security groups.

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