Azure Virtual WAN - Private Link

Azure Virtual WAN provides a highly scalable and resilient networking backbone to connect your Azure networks and on-premises sites. Integrating with Azure Private Link allows you to securely and privately access Azure platform-as-a-service (PaaS) services from your Virtual WAN, eliminating the need for public internet exposure.

What is Azure Private Link?

Azure Private Link provides private connectivity from a virtual network to Azure PaaS services, or to your own services hosted on Azure. It works by putting your service within your own Virtual Network and then connecting your Virtual WAN to it. This means that traffic between your Virtual WAN and the PaaS service stays entirely within the Microsoft Azure network, never traversing the public internet.

Key Benefits of Private Link with Virtual WAN

• Enhanced Security: Traffic bypasses the public internet, significantly reducing exposure to threats.
• Simplified Network Architecture: Removes the need for complex network security configurations like Network Security Groups (NSGs) or firewalls for accessing PaaS services.
• Improved Performance: Optimized routing within the Azure network can lead to lower latency and higher throughput.
• Consistent Experience: Access PaaS services using private IP addresses, just like any other resource within your virtual network.

Common Scenarios

Private Link integrates seamlessly with Virtual WAN for various use cases:

• Connecting branch offices to Azure SQL Database privately.
• Accessing Azure Storage accounts from your on-premises network via Virtual WAN without public endpoints.
• Enabling secure connections to Azure Key Vault for secrets management.
• Providing private access to Azure App Service instances.

How it Works

The integration typically involves the following steps:

1. Deploy PaaS Service: Deploy your desired Azure PaaS service (e.g., Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database).
2. Create Private Endpoint: Create an Azure Private Endpoint for the PaaS service in a subnet within a virtual network that is connected to your Virtual WAN hub.
3. Configure DNS: Ensure correct DNS resolution for the PaaS service's private endpoint. Azure Private DNS Zone is often used for this.
4. Route Traffic: Configure User Defined Routes (UDRs) in your Virtual WAN hub's effective route tables to direct traffic destined for the PaaS service's private IP address to the Private Link endpoint.

Example Configuration Snippet (Conceptual)

This is a conceptual representation of a UDR configuration for directing traffic to a Private Link endpoint:

{
  "name": "RouteToPrivateLink",
  "properties": {
    "addressPrefixes": [
      "10.1.0.0/16"  // Example IP range for the Private Link endpoint of the PaaS service
    ],
    "nextHopType": "VirtualAppliance", // Or "VnetLocal" depending on scenario
    "nextHopIpAddress": "10.0.0.4"    // Example IP of the Private Link Service's ENI/IP
  }
}
            

Refer to the specific guides for detailed configuration steps for different PaaS services and network setups.

Further Reading

• Private Link Overview
• Private Link Scenarios
• Private Link Configuration Guide