Private Endpoint Connections

Private Endpoint connections enable you to access your Azure PaaS services (like Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, Azure Key Vault, and Azure Machine Learning) privately from within your Azure Virtual Network. This enhances security by keeping your service traffic within the Azure backbone network, avoiding exposure to the public internet.

What are Private Endpoints?

A private endpoint is a network interface that connects your virtual network to an Azure service using a private IP address from your virtual network. This makes any service accessible from your virtual network as if it were directly on your network.

How Private Endpoint Connections Work

When you create a private endpoint for a service, a Network Interface (NIC) is created in your virtual network. This NIC is assigned a private IP address. Azure DNS resolves the service's FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) to this private IP address. This ensures that all traffic destined for the service from within your virtual network is routed directly to the private endpoint, bypassing public endpoints.

Benefits of Using Private Endpoints

Enhanced Security: Traffic stays within the Azure backbone network, reducing exposure to public internet threats.
Simplified Network Architecture: No need to manage complex public IP address mappings or firewall rules for public endpoints.
Compliance: Helps meet strict data exfiltration and compliance requirements.
Connect from On-premises: Can be accessed from on-premises networks via VPN or ExpressRoute.

Creating a Private Endpoint

You can create a private endpoint using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, or ARM templates.

Using Azure CLI:

Azure CLI

az network private-endpoint create \
  --name MyPrivateEndpoint \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --vnet-name MyVNet \
  --subnet MySubnet \
  --prod my_resource_provider \
  --group-ids my_service_group_id \
  --connection-name MyConnection \
  --location eastus

Note: Replace `MyResourceGroup`, `MyVNet`, `MySubnet`, `my_resource_provider`, `my_service_group_id`, `MyConnection`, and `eastus` with your specific values.

`--prod` refers to the resource provider (e.g., `Microsoft.Storage` for Storage Accounts).
`--group-ids` specifies the group ID for the service (e.g., `storage` for Storage Accounts).
`--connection-name` is the name of the private endpoint connection.

Managing Private Endpoint Connections

Once a private endpoint is created, you can manage its status and approve or reject connection requests from the service provider's side. This is often done through the Private Link Center in the Azure portal.

Connection States:

Pending: The connection request has been created but not yet approved by the service owner.
Approved: The connection request has been accepted by the service owner.
Rejected: The connection request has been denied by the service owner.
Disconnected: The connection has been removed by the service owner or the private endpoint.

Tip: For services that do not support private endpoints directly, you might need to use Azure Private Link service, which allows you to create your own private link service that consumers can connect to via private endpoints.

Considerations

Private endpoints are associated with a specific virtual network and subnet.
DNS configuration is crucial for successful resolution. Ensure your DNS is configured to resolve the service's FQDN to the private IP address.
Private endpoints consume private IP addresses from your subnet.

Important: Removing a private endpoint will disconnect all access to the service from your virtual network. Ensure you have proper change management processes in place.

For more detailed information, refer to the official Azure Private Endpoint documentation.