The private network

A private network is a subnet only your machines are on. Traffic between them never touches the public internet, and never leaves our network.

What people use it for

• A database on its own machine. The application server reaches it over the private

address, and the database has no public listener at all.

• A cache or queue — Redis, a search index, a worker pool — shared by several application

servers.

• Staging that can reach production data without opening production to the world.

Why it matters beyond speed

A service with no public address cannot be scanned, brute-forced or accidentally exposed by a misconfigured firewall rule. That is a larger security win than any password policy.

Setting one up

Private network → New network, then attach the servers. Each attached machine gets a stable private address that is shown on its own screen; use that address in your application's configuration instead of the public one.

⭐ Attaching a server does not change its public address, and nothing that already worked stops working. The private address is an addition.

⛔ A private network is not a backup of your firewall. Anything you leave listening on the public interface is still public — the private address is a second door, not a lock on the first.