Azure Route Server
Author: Ronald Fung
Creation Date: 30 May 2023
Next Modified Date: 30 May 2024
A. Introduction
Azure Route Server simplifies dynamic routing between your network virtual appliance (NVA) and your virtual network. It allows you to exchange routing information directly through Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing protocol between any NVA that supports the BGP routing protocol and the Azure Software Defined Network (SDN) in the Azure Virtual Network (VNet) without the need to manually configure or maintain route tables. Azure Route Server is a fully managed service and is configured with high availability.
Important
Azure Route Servers created before November 1, 2021, that don’t have a public IP address associated, are deployed with the public preview offering. The public preview offering is not backed by General Availability SLA and support. To deploy Azure Route Server with the General Availability offering, and to achieve General Availability SLA and support, please delete and recreate your Route Server.
How does it work?
The following diagram illustrates how Azure Route Server works with an SDWAN NVA and a security NVA in a virtual network. Once you’ve established the BGP peering, Azure Route Server will receive an on-premises route (10.250.0.0/16) from the SDWAN appliance and a default route (0.0.0.0/0) from the firewall. These routes are then automatically configured on the VMs in the virtual network. As a result, all traffic destined to the on-premises network will be sent to the SDWAN appliance, while all Internet-bound traffic will be sent to the firewall. In the opposite direction, Azure Route Server will send the virtual network address (10.1.0.0/16) to both NVAs. The SDWAN appliance can propagate it further to the on-premises network.
Diagram showing Azure Route Server configured in a virtual network.
Key benefits
Azure Route Server simplifies configuration, management, and deployment of your NVA in your virtual network.
You no longer need to manually update the routing table on your NVA whenever your virtual network addresses are updated.
You no longer need to update User-Defined Routes manually whenever your NVA announces new routes or withdraw old ones.
You can peer multiple instances of your NVA with Azure Route Server. You can configure the BGP attributes in your NVA and, depending on your design (for example, active-active for performance or active-passive for resiliency), let Azure Route Server know which NVA instance is active or which one is passive.
The interface between NVA and Azure Route Server is based on a common standard protocol. As long as your NVA supports BGP, you can peer it with Azure Route Server. For more information, see Route Server supported routing protocols.
You can deploy Azure Route Server in any of your new or existing virtual network.
B. How is it used at Seagen
As a biopharma research company using Microsoft Azure, Seagen could use Azure Route Server to simplify the management of their virtual network routes and improve network performance. Azure Route Server is a cloud-based service that allows users to centrally manage the routing of their virtual network traffic. Here are some ways Seagen could use Azure Route Server:
Centralized routing management: Azure Route Server allows Seagen to manage all the virtual network routes in a central location, making it easier to configure and troubleshoot routing issues.
Improved network performance: Azure Route Server can improve network performance by providing faster and more efficient routing of virtual network traffic. This can help Seagen reduce latency and improve application performance.
Simplified routing configuration: Azure Route Server simplifies routing configuration by providing a single point of control for virtual network routes. This can help Seagen reduce the complexity of their network configuration and reduce administrative overhead.
Route filtering and prioritization: Azure Route Server allows Seagen to filter and prioritize routes based on their specific needs. This can help Seagen optimize network traffic and ensure that critical applications receive the necessary bandwidth.
Integration with Azure services: Azure Route Server integrates with other Azure services, such as Azure Virtual WAN and Azure Firewall, to provide a comprehensive solution for network management and security.
Overall, Azure Route Server provides a powerful tool for managing virtual network routes in a scalable and efficient manner. Its ability to centralize routing management, improve network performance, and simplify routing configuration makes it a valuable tool for organizations that require a flexible and scalable platform for their virtual network resources. It is recommended to carefully plan and test the use of Azure Route Server in a test environment before deploying it in a production environment to minimize the risk of issues during production use.
C. Features
Azure Route Server is a cloud-based service that allows users to centrally manage the routing of their virtual network traffic. Some of the key features of Azure Route Server include:
Centralized routing management: Azure Route Server allows users to manage all the virtual network routes in a central location, making it easier to configure and troubleshoot routing issues.
Simplified routing configuration: Azure Route Server simplifies routing configuration by providing a single point of control for virtual network routes. This can help reduce the complexity of network configuration and reduce administrative overhead.
Route filtering and prioritization: Azure Route Server allows users to filter and prioritize routes based on their specific needs. This can help optimize network traffic and ensure that critical applications receive the necessary bandwidth.
Improved network performance: Azure Route Server can improve network performance by providing faster and more efficient routing of virtual network traffic. This can help reduce latency and improve application performance.
Integration with Azure services: Azure Route Server integrates with other Azure services, such as Azure Virtual WAN and Azure Firewall, to provide a comprehensive solution for network management and security.
Scalability: Azure Route Server is scalable and can handle large numbers of virtual network routes. This can help ensure that the network can scale to meet the needs of the organization.
High availability: Azure Route Server is designed for high availability, with redundant components and automatic failover capabilities. This can help ensure that the network remains available and performs well even in the event of a component failure.
Security: Azure Route Server provides security features such as authentication and authorization to help ensure that only authorized users can access and modify virtual network routes.
Overall, Azure Route Server provides a powerful tool for managing virtual network routes in a scalable and efficient manner. Its ability to centralize routing management, improve network performance, and simplify routing configuration makes it a valuable tool for organizations that require a flexible and scalable platform for their virtual network resources. It is recommended to carefully plan and test the use of Azure Route Server in a test environment before deploying it in a production environment to minimize the risk of issues during production use.
D. Where Implemented
E. How it is tested
Testing Azure Route Server involves several steps that include:
Creating a test environment: The first step is to create a test environment that is separate from the production environment. This ensures that any issues or bugs discovered during testing do not affect the live system.
Defining a routing plan: The next step is to define a routing plan that includes the virtual network routes that need to be configured, the source and target networks, and any dependencies or constraints. This can help ensure that all the virtual network routes are configured correctly.
Testing routing configuration: Once the routing plan is defined, the next step is to test routing configuration. This involves verifying that Azure Route Server can route virtual network traffic correctly and that the routes are configured correctly.
Testing route filtering and prioritization: After routing configuration is tested, the next step is to test route filtering and prioritization. This involves verifying that Azure Route Server can filter and prioritize routes based on specific needs, such as ensuring that critical applications receive the necessary bandwidth.
Testing integration with Azure services: After Azure Route Server has been tested, it must be integrated with other systems and applications to ensure that it works seamlessly with other components.
User acceptance testing: Finally, Azure Route Server must undergo user acceptance testing to ensure that it meets the requirements of the end-users.
Overall, testing Azure Route Server involves a comprehensive testing approach that covers all the functionalities of the solution and ensures that it meets the requirements of the end-users. Testing should include both functional and non-functional testing, such as performance testing, security testing, and scalability testing. It is also important to test the integration of Azure Route Server with other systems and applications to ensure that it works seamlessly with other components. It is recommended to test Azure Route Server in a test environment before deploying it in a production environment to minimize the risk of issues during production use.
F. 2023 Roadmap
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G. 2024 Roadmap
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H. Known Issues
Like all software products, Azure Route Server may have some known issues. Here are some of the known issues of Azure Route Server:
Limited routing protocol support: Azure Route Server currently supports only Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) as a routing protocol. This can limit the ability of users to use other routing protocols for their virtual network resources.
Dependency issues: Azure Route Server may have issues with dependencies between resources, such as when routing traffic between virtual networks with different address spaces. This can impact the ability of users to route virtual network traffic correctly and can cause issues with resource availability.
Routing errors: Azure Route Server may experience routing errors due to issues with the source or target environment, such as network connectivity or resource conflicts. This can impact the ability of users to route virtual network traffic correctly and can cause downtime or data loss.
Customization issues: Azure Route Server allows users to customize routing policies to optimize network traffic. However, customization can introduce issues, such as syntax errors or security vulnerabilities.
Integration issues: Azure Route Server may have integration issues when integrating with other systems and applications. This can impact the ability of users to use Azure Route Server in their existing workflows.
Performance issues: Azure Route Server may have performance issues when routing large volumes of virtual network traffic. This can impact the ability of users to route virtual network traffic effectively and efficiently.
Overall, while Azure Route Server is a powerful solution for managing virtual network routes, users must be aware of these known issues and take steps to mitigate their impact. This may include addressing dependency issues, ensuring routing validation, monitoring performance and integration issues, and providing training and support to users to effectively use and manage Azure Route Server. It is recommended to carefully plan and test the use of Azure Route Server in a test environment before deploying it in a production environment to minimize the risk of issues during production use.
[x] Reviewed by Enterprise Architecture
[x] Reviewed by Application Development
[x] Reviewed by Data Architecture