A set of rules (called routes) that determine where network traffic from subnets or gateways is directed. Each route specifies a destination (IP range) and a target (gateway, network interface, or connection). Available as AWS VPC Route Tables, Azure Route Tables (UDR), GCP VPC Routes, and OCI VCN Route Tables. Like a road sign system that tells cars which highway exit to take based on their destination.
A VPC route table sends internet-bound traffic (0.0.0.0/0) to an Internet Gateway for public subnets, while a separate route table sends the same traffic to a NAT Gateway for private subnets.
All four clouds use route tables/routes to control where IP traffic goes (next hop) for a subnet/VPC/VCN. AWS and OCI commonly associate route tables to subnets; Azure associates route tables to subnets (UDR) and uses system routes by default; GCP uses VPC routes (including default routes) that apply across the VPC based on priority and tags.