What is a primary function of an Internet Gateway in AWS?

The primary function of an Internet Gateway in AWS is to enable internet access for resources within a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). An Internet Gateway acts as a bridge between the VPC and the internet, allowing instances that are assigned public IP addresses to send and receive traffic from the internet. This allows for services hosted on these instances, such as web applications, to be accessible to users over the internet.

In this context, the Internet Gateway serves as a crucial component in facilitating outgoing and incoming internet traffic while also handling the necessary routing updates to ensure that packets are properly directed to and from the internet. It ensures that the instances can establish connections to external entities, providing the necessary functionality for public-facing services.

In contrast, functions like providing VPN access, facilitating private connectivity, or managing IAM roles pertain to different aspects of AWS networking and security but do not relate to the core purpose of an Internet Gateway.