When designing a network in Azure, there are several best practices to keep in mind to ensure the network is secure, resilient, and efficient. In this article, we will discuss the most common Azure networking related services and best practices that we generally use daily in any cloud project.
Implement Hub and Spoke topology
A hub and spoke topology is a common design pattern for Azure networks. In this design, a central hub network is used to connect to multiple spoke networks. This helps to centralize network management, reduce complexity, and improve security.
![Azure Network Design Services And Best Practices]()
The architecture of the Hub-Spoke network reference has been taken from Microsoft documentation.
Virtual Networks
We can use virtual networks to isolate your resources and provide a secure network environment. Azure virtual networks provide a way to create private networks in the cloud that are isolated from the internet and other networks.
Network Security Groups (NSGs)
NSGs are used to control network traffic flow in and out of your virtual network. NSGs allow you to define rules for inbound and outbound traffic and rules for communication between subnets.
Azure Load Balancer
We can use Azure Load Balancer to distribute traffic evenly across your virtual machines (VMs). This helps to improve the availability and scalability of our applications.
Azure Application Gateway
We can use Azure Application Gateway to route traffic to different backend services based on URL path or host headers. This can help to improve the scalability and availability of your web applications.
Azure ExpressRoute
We can use Azure ExpressRoute to establish a dedicated, private connection between your on-premises infrastructure and your Azure resources. This can help improve your network's reliability, security, and performance.
Azure Traffic Manager
We can use Azure Traffic Manager to distribute traffic across multiple endpoints based on performance, geography, or other criteria. This can help to improve the availability and performance of your applications.
Azure Firewall
We can use Azure Firewall to secure your virtual network by filtering inbound and outbound traffic based on predefined rules. This can help to protect our network from attacks and unauthorized access.
Azure Private Link
We can use Azure Private Link to access Azure services privately and securely over a private endpoint. This can help to improve security by eliminating the need for public IP addresses and reducing the attack surface of your network.
Azure VPN Gateway
We can use Azure VPN Gateway to create a secure, encrypted connection between your on-premises infrastructure and Azure. This allows us to extend our network to Azure over the public Internet.
Monitor and analyze network traffic
We can use Azure Network Watcher to monitor and analyze network traffic flowing through your VNet. This can help us to identify and troubleshoot issues.
Enable network security features
Enable security features like Azure DDoS Protection and Azure Firewall to protect your resources from network-based attacks.
Azure Bastion
We can use Azure Bastion to provide secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to your virtual machines over the public Internet.
These are widely used Azure Services while designing secure and reliable networks in Azure.
Happy Learning!