Azure Virtual Networks (VNet) Overview
Azure Virtual Network (VNet) is the foundational building block for your private network in Azure. It enables Azure resources, such as Virtual Machines, to securely communicate with each other, with the internet, and with your on-premises environments. VNet is a logical representation of your own network in the cloud.
Key Concepts
- IP Addressing: Define your own private IP address space for your VNet.
- Subnets: Divide your VNet into smaller segments (subnets) to organize resources and manage traffic flow.
- Network Security Groups (NSGs): Control inbound and outbound traffic to and from network interfaces, VMs, and subnets.
- Route Tables: Customize traffic routing within your VNet and to external destinations.
- Peering: Connect two or more VNets together securely, allowing resources in different VNets to communicate as if they were on the same network.
- Gateways: Enable connectivity to on-premises networks (VPN Gateway) or other Azure VNets (VNet-to-VNet).
Core Benefits of Azure Virtual Networks
- Isolation and Segmentation: Create secure and isolated network environments for your applications.
- Global Reach: Deploy VNets across multiple Azure regions for high availability and disaster recovery.
- Hybrid Connectivity: Seamlessly extend your on-premises network to Azure using VPN Gateway or ExpressRoute.
- Enhanced Security: Leverage built-in security features like NSGs, Azure Firewall, and DDoS protection.
- Scalability: Easily scale your network resources as your application needs grow.
- Customization: Define your own IP address schemes, subnets, and routing rules.
Common Use Cases
- Hosting multi-tier applications with distinct subnets for web servers, application servers, and databases.
- Creating secure boundaries for sensitive workloads.
- Connecting on-premises data centers to Azure for hybrid cloud deployments.
- Building disaster recovery solutions by replicating resources across different regions.
- Implementing network segmentation for compliance and security policies.
Azure Virtual Network provides a robust and flexible platform to build and manage your cloud networking infrastructure, ensuring security, scalability, and connectivity for all your Azure workloads.
Get Started with Virtual Networks