The AWS Default VPC is a pre-configured virtual private cloud (VPC) that is automatically created in each AWS region in each account. It is designed to make it easier for users to get started with AWS services by providing a default networking environment.
The Default VPC is created with certain default settings and resources, such as subnets, security groups, route tables, and an internet gateway. It allows instances launched within the VPC to communicate with each other and access the internet by default. This eliminates the need for users to manually set up a VPC from scratch when they are starting with AWS.
However, there might be situations where you would want to delete the Default VPC.
1. Security and Compliance: If your organization has specific security or compliance requirements that cannot be met by the default settings of the Default VPC, you may choose to delete it and create a custom VPC with your desired configurations.
2. Resource Management: If you prefer to have more control over your network architecture and resource allocation, deleting the Default VPC allows you to start with a clean slate and build a customized VPC that aligns with your specific needs.
Considerations before deletion of default VPCs
It’s important to note that once you delete the Default VPC, you cannot recover it but you can create a new default VPC. Deleting a default VPC can affect running instances and services, so it’s crucial to have a thorough understanding of the environment and any dependencies before executing such operations.
There is no additional cost for the Default VPC itself. The Default VPC is free of charge and there are no associated costs for its existence. However, it’s worth noting that certain resources created within the Default VPC, such as EC2 instances, storage volumes, and data transfer, do have associated costs. These costs are separate from the Default VPC itself and are based on the usage of those resources.
AWS CLI Bash Script
Default VPCs are created in each AWS region within an account. Manually deleting each VPC through the AWS Management Console consumes more time. The script below checks if a default VPC exists in each region (you can modify regions) and asks for your confirmation before deleting the VPC and its components (subnets, Internet gateway, etc.).
Check out the script from Github.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Based on https://gist.github.com/jokeru/e4a25bbd95080cfd00edf1fa67b06996?permalink_comment_id=4606793#gistcomment-4606793
# Added a prompt to select the next action.
GREEN=$'\e\033[0;32m'
BLUE=$'\e\033[1;34m'
RED=$'\e\033[0;31m'
YELLOW=$'\e\033[0;33m'
NC=$'\e\033[0m' # No Color
INDENT=' '
#Regions to delete
REGIONS='us-west-1
us-west-2
us-east-1
us-east-2
ap-south-1
ap-northeast-1
ap-northeast-2
ap-northeast-3
ap-southeast-1
ap-southeast-2
ca-central-1
eu-west-1
eu-west-2
eu-west-3
sa-east-1'
skipRegion=0
echo "Using profile $AWS_PROFILE"
echo
for region in $REGIONS; do
export AWS_REGION=$region
echo "* Region ${YELLOW} $region ${NC}"
# get default vpc
vpc=$(aws ec2 describe-vpcs --filter Name=isDefault,Values=true --output text --query 'Vpcs[0].VpcId')
if [ "${vpc}" = "None" ]; then
echo "${INDENT}No default vpc found"
continue
fi
echo "${INDENT}Default vpc found: ${BLUE} ${vpc} ${NC}"
################## Confirm next action ####################
PS3="${RED}Select action and press enter: ${NC}"
echo
options=("delete" "skip this region" "exit script")
select opt in "${options[@]}"
do
case $opt in
"delete")
break;;
"skip this region")
skipRegion=1
break;;
"exit script")
exit 1;;
*) echo "invalid option";;
esac
done
# Skip this region if it was selected
if [ $skipRegion -eq 1 ];then
skipRegion=0
continue
fi
# get internet gateway
igw=$(aws ec2 describe-internet-gateways --filter Name=attachment.vpc-id,Values=${vpc} --output text --query 'InternetGateways[0].InternetGatewayId')
if [ "${igw}" != "None" ]; then
echo "${INDENT}Detaching and deleting internet gateway ${igw}"
aws ec2 detach-internet-gateway --internet-gateway-id ${igw} --vpc-id ${vpc}
aws ec2 delete-internet-gateway --internet-gateway-id ${igw}
fi
# get subnets
subnets=$(aws ec2 describe-subnets --filters Name=vpc-id,Values=${vpc} --output text --query 'Subnets[].SubnetId')
if [ "${subnets}" != "None" ]; then
for subnet in ${subnets}; do
echo "${INDENT}Deleting subnet ${subnet}"
aws ec2 delete-subnet --subnet-id ${subnet}
done
fi
# delete default vpc
echo "${INDENT}Deleting vpc ${vpc}"
aws ec2 delete-vpc --vpc-id ${vpc}
echo
done
