What type of access do subnets provide to instances in OCI when configured as public?

When subnets in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) are configured as public, they provide access to the internet. This means that instances within these public subnets can send and receive traffic directly from the internet, facilitating communication with external systems and services. Public subnets achieve this by leveraging internet gateways, which enable outbound and inbound internet connectivity.

The configuration of a public subnet typically includes a route table that has routes defined for internet traffic, allowing instances to use their public IP addresses or Elastic IPs to communicate with the internet directly. This capability is an important aspect when launching applications or services that need to be reachable from the outside world, such as web servers or API endpoints.

In contrast, private subnets do not have this direct internet access, as they are designed for use cases where instances should not be directly exposed to the internet, thereby enhancing security for sensitive workloads.