A municipal architect marks one VPC subnet "public" and another "private" for a citizen portal. What primarily distinguishes the public subnet for inbound internet access patterns?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
"Public" here is really about the route table, not a fancy name tag. If the subnet can send internet-bound traffic to an internet gateway, inbound public patterns can work with public IPs or load balancers in that subnet. Private subnets skip that IGW route and stay tucked away—often using NAT when they need outbound only.
Full Explanation
In Amazon VPC design, a public subnet is commonly defined by a route table entry that directs internet-bound traffic to an internet gateway. That routing, combined with appropriate addressing and security controls, supports inbound public access patterns such as bastion hosts or load balancers facing the internet. Private subnets omit that IGW route for general internet ingress and often use NAT for outbound-only needs. Subnet size, load balancer placement myths, or disabling security groups do not define public versus private.