How to manage routing

Routing is used to manage and control the flow of traffic within a VPC. It tells the VPC where to send traffic trying to get to a specific destination IP address. Notably, it allows traffic to be automatically routed between resources attached to different Private Networks within the VPC, using their private IP addresses.

Currently, only auto-created routes are available, which are fully managed by Scaleway. Two types of managed route exist:

• Local subnet route: Generated when you create a Private Network in a VPC. Allows traffic to be routed between different Private Networks in the VPC.
• Default route to internet: Generated when you attach a Public Gateway to a Private Network in the VPC, and set it to advertise a default route. Allows traffic to be routed to addresses outside the VPC (i.e. the public internet) via the gateway.

The creation of custom routes will be possible in the future.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Scaleway account logged into the console

How to activate routing on a VPC

You must create a new VPC in order to activate routing. It is not yet possible to activate routing on pre-existing VPCs.

1. Click VPC in the Network section of the side menu. The list of your VPCs displays.

2. Click + Create VPC. The VPC creation wizard displays.

   

3. Choose a region for your VPC, and enter a name and optional tags.

4. Under Configure options, slide the toggle to activate routing.

   Important

   Routing cannot be deactivated after the creation of the VPC.

5. Click Create VPC to finish.

   The VPC is created.

How to access and read the route table

Once you have created a new VPC and activated routing on it, a Routing tab is created for that VPC. This is where your VPC’s route table can be found. The route table shows all the existing routes for the VPC.

1. Click VPC in the Network section of the side menu. The list of your VPCs displays.

2. Click the VPC on which you have activated routing.

3. Click the Routing tab.

   If you have not yet created any Private Networks in the VPC, the route table will be empty. Routes are automatically generated and added to the route table when you either:

   • Create a Private Network in the VPC (this generates a local subnet route, which allows the VPC to automatically route traffic between Private Networks), or
   • Attach a Public Gateway to a Private Network and set it to advertise a default route. This generates a default route to the internet.

   When your route table starts to populate, it will look something like this:

   

   For help with understanding the route table and how to read it, refer to our documentation about route tables. Note that it is not currently possible to create your own custom routes, but this feature will be coming soon.

   As all routes are currently managed by Scaleway, you do not need to take any action with your route table. If and when you delete Private Networks from the VPC, or delete a Public Gateway advertising the default route, these routes will be automatically deleted from your route table.

How to view VPC routes in IPV6

Scaleway VPC routing supports both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. Managed routes to Private Networks are simultaneously generated for both IPV4 and IPV6, and both are added to the route table. Use the toggle above the route table to switch from the default view of IPV4 routes, to a view of IPV6 routes.

Routing limitations

The following limitations apply to VPC routing during this public beta phase:

• Managed Databases are not currently compatible with routing. The VPC cannot automatically route between Managed Databases on different Private Networks, or (for example) between a Managed Database on one Private Network and an Instance on a different Private Network.
• DNS resolution is not yet available. VPC routing currently works with IP addressing only.
• We are aware of some instabilities with IPv6 routing, and are working to stabilize this.