What is Cloud NAT?
Cloud NAT enables VM instances without external IP addresses to access the internet for outbound connections. The service is fully software-defined and requires no dedicated NAT gateways or proxy VMs. Cloud NAT is highly available and scales automatically.
Core Features
- Outbound internet access for private VMs and GKE nodes
- Automatic scaling of NAT capacity
- Configurable NAT IP addresses for stable egress IPs
- Logging for network diagnostics and compliance
- Integration with Private Google Access
Typical Use Cases
Private GKE Clusters: Kubernetes nodes in private clusters require Cloud NAT to pull container images from external registries or call external APIs.
Security Hardening: Organizations remove public IP addresses from VMs and use Cloud NAT for controlled outbound access. This significantly reduces the attack surface.
Stable Egress IPs: For integration with services that require IP whitelisting, fixed NAT IP addresses can be configured.
Benefits
- No NAT VMs to manage
- Automatic scaling without manual intervention
- No additional VMs means lower costs
- Highly available without single point of failure
Integration with innFactory
As a certified Google Cloud Partner, innFactory supports you with Cloud NAT: network architecture, security design, and configuration for your VPC environments.
Available Tiers & Options
Standard
- Fully managed
- Scalable
- Integrated with GCP
- Pricing varies by usage
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cloud NAT?
Cloud NAT is a managed NAT service that enables private VM instances without external IP addresses to access the internet for outbound connections. The service is software-defined and requires no proxy VMs.
When do I need Cloud NAT?
Cloud NAT is needed when private instances must access external APIs, software updates, or other internet resources, but should not have public IP addresses for security reasons.
How does Cloud NAT scale?
Cloud NAT automatically scales based on the number of VMs and data volume. You can configure the number of NAT IP addresses or enable automatic allocation.
Is Cloud NAT secure?
Yes, Cloud NAT only allows outbound connections. Inbound traffic from outside is not possible, which reduces the attack surface. The service integrates with VPC Firewall Rules.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Google Cloud (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Google Cloud.
