Internet outbound problem

Based on the symptoms you've described, it sounds like your EC2 instance is experiencing connectivity issues to the internet. Since you mentioned that Amazon Q confirmed your rules are correctly set up, and turning off the firewall didn't resolve the issue, we need to look at other potential causes.

Here are some steps to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:

1. Verify that your EC2 instance has a public IP address assigned. Without a public IP, the instance won't be able to communicate with the internet, even if other settings are correct.

2. Check your VPC and subnet settings. Ensure that the subnet where your instance resides is associated with a route table that has a route to an Internet Gateway (IGW) for destination 0.0.0.0/0.

3. Confirm that both DNS hostnames and DNS resolution are enabled for your VPC. This is crucial for proper name resolution.

4. Review your Network Access Control List (NACL) settings. Even if your security group allows traffic, a restrictive NACL could block it.

5. Examine the network interface attached to your instance for any misconfigurations.

6. If you're using a custom DNS server, try switching to a public DNS server like 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) to rule out DNS-related issues.

7. Check if there are any VPC peering connections or Transit Gateway configurations that might be interfering with your internet connectivity.

8. Verify that there are no organization-level policies or AWS Firewall Manager rules blocking outbound traffic.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, you may want to use AWS's VPC Reachability Analyzer to diagnose the problem further or consider contacting AWS Support for more in-depth troubleshooting, as there could be an underlying infrastructure issue.
Sources
Internet Connectivity Issue: EC2 Instance Cannot Access the Internet | AWS re:Post
EC2 Instances in the us-east-1 and us-east-2 region can ping outside but not able to curl/wget/telnet | AWS re:Post
My EC2 Linux Instance on AWS can't connect to internet | AWS re:Post

Since you're unable to reach any website and ping to 8.8.8.8 is timing out, let's go through a systematic checklist to identify and resolve the problem.

Key Points to Check:

VPC and Subnet Configuration:

• Ensure your instance is in a public subnet (for direct internet access)
• Verify the subnet has a route table with a route to an Internet Gateway (0.0.0.0/0 → IGW)
• Confirm the Internet Gateway is actually attached to your VPC
• For private subnets, verify NAT Gateway/NAT Instance configuration

Security Group Settings:

• Verify outbound rules allow all traffic (0.0.0.0/0), at first
• The default security group usually allows all outbound traffic
• Then close the permissions according to your demand

Network ACL Configuration:

• Check both inbound and outbound rules
• Ensure you have allowed ephemeral ports (1024-65535) for return traffic
• Verify there are no DENY rules blocking your traffic

Internet Access Configuration:

For Public Subnet:

• Confirm your instance has a public IP address (either Elastic IP or auto-assigned public IP)
• Verify Internet Gateway is properly attached and configured
• Check route table has route to IGW (0.0.0.0/0 → IGW)

For Private Subnet:

• Verify NAT Gateway/NAT Instance is running and in a public subnet
• Check route table has route to NAT (0.0.0.0/0 → NAT)
• Ensure NAT Gateway has an Elastic IP assigned
• Confirm NAT Instance has Source/Destination check disabled

Instance Route Table:

• Check if the instance's network interface is associated with the correct route table
• Verify appropriate routes exist (IGW or NAT Gateway)

Troubleshooting Steps:

Check for private IP (if in private subnet):

curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/local-ipv4

Check for public IP (if in public subnet):

curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/public-ipv4

Check your route table configuration:

ip route

Verify DNS resolution is working:

nslookup amazon.com

Test NAT Gateway connectivity (if in private subnet):

traceroute 8.8.8.8

Common Solutions:

For Public Subnet Access:

• Enable auto-assign public IP for the subnet
• Or assign an Elastic IP to the instance
• Ensure Internet Gateway is attached to VPC
• Update route table to route through IGW

For Private Subnet Access:

• Create NAT Gateway in a public subnet
• Allocate Elastic IP to NAT Gateway
• Update private subnet route table (0.0.0.0/0 → NAT)
• Ensure NAT Gateway is in "Available" state

Useful Documentation:

• Troubleshooting EC2 Instance Connectivity
• VPC Internet Gateway
• NAT Gateways
• VPC Route Tables
• Security Groups
• Network ACLs
• Example: VPC with servers in private subnets and NAT

Let me know the results, and I'll help you further diagnose the issue.