> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://datum-4926dda5-docs-compute-and-vpc-guides.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Galactic VPC

> Galactic VPC gives your project private IPv6 networks that span every Datum location your workloads run in.

Galactic VPC is Datum's private networking for your workloads. You create a *network* in your project, attach [Compute](/compute/overview) workloads to it, and each Instance receives a private IPv6 address on that network. One network spans every location that your workloads run in, so you don't create a separate network for each region.

<Note>
  Galactic VPC is in preview, and the `networking.datumapis.com/v1alpha` API can change.
</Note>

Galactic VPC runs on Datum's global IPv6 backbone. Datum plans the addresses, carries the traffic, and keeps each network separate from every other network.

## How it works

A network belongs to a project, not to a location. The following list describes how a network relates to your projects, locations, workloads, and Instances:

* **Networks belong to a project:** You create networks with the `Network` resource. You don't create a network for each location. When a workload runs Instances in a location, Datum gives the network address space in that location and assigns each Instance an address from it.
* **One network for each workload:** All of a workload's Instances, in every placement, attach to the same network. You choose the network when you create the workload.
* **Many workloads on one network:** Several workloads can name the same network. For example, a frontend workload and a backend workload can share a network.
* **Addresses are private IPv6:** Each network gets its own private IPv6 prefix from the unique local address range. Each Instance gets an address from that prefix. The addresses aren't reachable from the internet. For more information, see [Network addressing and traffic](/galactic-vpc/addressing-and-traffic).
* **Networks are isolated:** Each network is separate from every other network, including other networks in the same project and other customers' networks.
* **Public traffic arrives through Datum's ALB:** To serve a workload on the internet, attach Datum's [Application Load Balancer](/alb/overview) to it. The ALB forwards each request to an Instance over the private network. For more information, see [Publish a workload](/compute/publish-workloads).

## The default network

You don't need to create a network before your first deploy. When you run `datumctl compute deploy` without `--network`, the command attaches the workload to a network named `default`. If the network doesn't exist, the command offers to create it. In scripts, pass `--yes` to create it without a prompt.

Datum doesn't create the `default` network when it creates a project. If you apply a workload with `datumctl apply`, the network must already exist. `datumctl compute deploy -f` offers to create a missing network, as the flag-based deploy does.

## Features

Galactic VPC provides the following features:

* **One network across locations:** A network is a single project-wide resource. Every workload that names it, in any location, attaches to the same network, and each Instance gets a private IPv6 address on it.
* **Automatic addressing:** Datum assigns address space to each network and an address to each Instance. You don't plan subnets.
* **Stable addresses when you need them:** Instances keep their addresses when Datum replaces them, and a workload can keep addresses reserved when it scales down.
* **Declarative:** Networks are Kubernetes-style resources that you manage with `datumctl`, manifests, or GitOps tooling.

To learn what Datum is working on next, see [Planned capabilities](/galactic-vpc/limitations-and-roadmap#planned-capabilities).

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create and manage networks" icon="network-wired" href="/galactic-vpc/networks">
    Create a network, attach a workload, and delete a network.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Addressing and traffic" icon="route" href="/galactic-vpc/addressing-and-traffic">
    Learn how Instances get addresses and which traffic a network carries.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Limitations and roadmap" icon="list-check" href="/galactic-vpc/limitations-and-roadmap">
    Review networking limitations and planned capabilities.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Compute quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/compute/quickstart">
    Deploy a workload that attaches to the `default` network.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>