Azure Virtual WAN

  • Author: Ronald Fung

  • Creation Date: 2 June 2023

  • Next Modified Date: 2 June 2024

A. Introduction

Azure Virtual WAN is a networking service that brings many networking, security, and routing functionalities together to provide a single operational interface. Some of the main features include:

  • Branch connectivity (via connectivity automation from Virtual WAN Partner devices such as SD-WAN or VPN CPE).

  • Site-to-site VPN connectivity.

  • Remote user VPN connectivity (point-to-site).

  • Private connectivity (ExpressRoute).

  • Intra-cloud connectivity (transitive connectivity for virtual networks).

  • VPN ExpressRoute inter-connectivity.

  • Routing, Azure Firewall, and encryption for private connectivity.

You don’t have to have all of these use cases to start using Virtual WAN. You can get started with just one use case, and then adjust your network as it evolves.

The Virtual WAN architecture is a hub and spoke architecture with scale and performance built in for branches (VPN/SD-WAN devices), users (Azure VPN/OpenVPN/IKEv2 clients), ExpressRoute circuits, and virtual networks. It enables a global transit network architecture, where the cloud hosted network ‘hub’ enables transitive connectivity between endpoints that may be distributed across different types of ‘spokes’.

Azure regions serve as hubs that you can choose to connect to. All hubs are connected in full mesh in a Standard Virtual WAN making it easy for the user to use the Microsoft backbone for any-to-any (any spoke) connectivity.

For spoke connectivity with SD-WAN/VPN devices, users can either manually set it up in Azure Virtual WAN, or use the Virtual WAN CPE (SD-WAN/VPN) partner solution to set up connectivity to Azure. We have a list of partners that support connectivity automation (ability to export the device info into Azure, download the Azure configuration and establish connectivity) with Azure Virtual WAN. For more information, see the Virtual WAN partners and locations article.

Private Link

Virtual WAN offers the following advantages:

  • Integrated connectivity solutions in hub and spoke: Automate site-to-site configuration and connectivity between on-premises sites and an Azure hub.

  • Automated spoke setup and configuration: Connect your virtual networks and workloads to the Azure hub seamlessly.

  • Intuitive troubleshooting: You can see the end-to-end flow within Azure, and then use this information to take required actions.

B. How is it used at Seagen

As a biopharma research company using Microsoft Azure, you can use Azure Virtual WAN to connect and manage your virtual networks and cloud resources across multiple regions and locations. Here are some ways you can use Azure Virtual WAN:

  1. Connect remote sites: Azure Virtual WAN allows you to connect your remote sites to your virtual network in Azure, enabling you to extend your network to your remote locations and manage your cloud resources more effectively.

  2. Optimize network traffic: Azure Virtual WAN enables you to optimize network traffic between your virtual networks and cloud resources, ensuring high performance and low latency.

  3. Improve security: Azure Virtual WAN provides advanced security features, such as encryption and network segmentation, that help you to secure your network traffic and protect your cloud resources from cyber threats.

  4. Simplify management: Azure Virtual WAN enables you to simplify network management by centralizing your network policies and configurations, making it easier to manage your virtual networks and cloud resources across multiple locations and regions.

  5. Scale your network: Azure Virtual WAN enables you to scale your network by adding more virtual networks and cloud resources to your virtual WAN, ensuring that your network can grow with your business needs.

  6. Monitor network activity: Azure Virtual WAN provides monitoring and logging features that allow you to track network activity and diagnose issues in real-time, enabling you to quickly identify and resolve network issues.

Overall, Azure Virtual WAN offers a powerful and flexible way to connect and manage your virtual networks and cloud resources in Microsoft Azure. By leveraging Azure Virtual WAN, you can effectively manage your network traffic, improve security and compliance, and optimize network performance, all while taking advantage of the scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency of the Azure platform. This can help you to optimize your biopharma research efforts and make data-driven decisions that support your business goals.

C. Features

Azure Virtual WAN is a service provided by Microsoft Azure that enables customers to connect and manage their virtual networks and cloud resources across multiple regions and locations. Here are the key features of Azure Virtual WAN:

  1. Global connectivity: Azure Virtual WAN provides global connectivity for your virtual networks and cloud resources, enabling you to connect and manage your resources across multiple regions and locations.

  2. Automated network provisioning: Azure Virtual WAN enables you to automate network provisioning and configuration, making it easier to manage your virtual networks and cloud resources at scale.

  3. Advanced security features: Azure Virtual WAN provides advanced security features, such as encryption and network segmentation, that help you to secure your network traffic and protect your cloud resources from cyber threats.

  4. Network traffic optimization: Azure Virtual WAN enables you to optimize network traffic between your virtual networks and cloud resources, ensuring high performance and low latency.

  5. Centralized network management: Azure Virtual WAN enables you to centralize your network policies and configurations, making it easier to manage your virtual networks and cloud resources across multiple locations and regions.

  6. Scalability: Azure Virtual WAN enables you to scale your network by adding more virtual networks and cloud resources to your virtual WAN, ensuring that your network can grow with your business needs.

  7. Monitoring and diagnostics: Azure Virtual WAN provides monitoring and logging features that allow you to track network activity and diagnose issues in real-time, enabling you to quickly identify and resolve network issues.

Overall, Azure Virtual WAN offers a powerful and flexible way to connect and manage your virtual networks and cloud resources in Microsoft Azure. By leveraging Azure Virtual WAN, you can effectively manage your network traffic, improve security and compliance, and optimize network performance, all while taking advantage of the scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency of the Azure platform. This can help you to optimize your biopharma research efforts and make data-driven decisions that support your business goals.

D. Where Implemented

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E. How it is tested

Testing Azure Virtual WAN involves verifying that your virtual networks and cloud resources are effectively connected and secured across multiple regions and locations. Here are some steps you can take to test Azure Virtual WAN:

  1. Verify configuration: Verify that Azure Virtual WAN is properly configured and integrated with your Azure account and virtual networks.

  2. Test connectivity: Test Azure Virtual WAN by verifying that your virtual networks and cloud resources are effectively connected across multiple regions and locations, and that network traffic is properly optimized and secured.

  3. Test security: Test Azure Virtual WAN by verifying that your network traffic and security policies are properly configured and that your virtual networks and cloud resources are effectively secured across multiple regions and locations.

  4. Test scalability: Test Azure Virtual WAN by verifying that you can effectively scale your network by adding more virtual networks and cloud resources to your virtual WAN, ensuring that your network can grow with your business needs.

  5. Test monitoring: Test Azure Virtual WAN by verifying that you can effectively monitor and log network activity and diagnose issues in real-time across multiple regions and locations, enabling you to quickly identify and resolve network issues.

Overall, testing Azure Virtual WAN involves verifying that your virtual networks and cloud resources are effectively connected and secured across multiple regions and locations. By taking these steps, you can ensure that you are effectively using Azure Virtual WAN to manage and secure your cloud-based applications and services, optimize your biopharma research efforts, and make data-driven decisions that support your business goals.

F. 2023 Roadmap

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G. 2024 Roadmap

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H. Known Issues

As with any software or service, there may be known issues or limitations with Azure Virtual WAN that users should be aware of. Here are some of the known issues with Azure Virtual WAN:

  1. Limited availability: Azure Virtual WAN may not be available in all regions or for all virtual network sizes, which may impact its ability to effectively serve all customers.

  2. Complexity: Configuring and managing Azure Virtual WAN can be complex, requiring careful attention to network topology, routing tables, security policies, and other network settings.

  3. Limited flexibility: While Azure Virtual WAN provides flexibility and scalability for changing business needs, customers may still experience some limitations in terms of modifying their network policies or network topology.

  4. Limited customization: Azure Virtual WAN may not support all custom configurations or images, which may impact its ability to support certain workloads or applications.

  5. Cost optimization: Optimizing costs in Azure Virtual WAN can be complex, requiring careful management of network traffic, routing tables, and security policies.

  6. Security and compliance: Azure Virtual WAN provides advanced security and compliance features, but users must ensure that their virtual networks and other cloud resources are properly secured and compliant with relevant regulations and policies.

Overall, while Azure Virtual WAN offers a powerful and flexible way to connect and manage your virtual networks and cloud resources in Microsoft Azure, users must be aware of these known issues and take steps to mitigate their impact. This may include carefully monitoring availability, complexity, flexibility, customization, cost optimization, security and compliance, and other factors that impact the performance, availability, and scalability of their cloud-based applications and services. By taking these steps, users can ensure that they are effectively using Azure Virtual WAN to manage and secure their cloud-based applications and services and make data-driven decisions that support their biopharma research efforts.

[x] Reviewed by Enterprise Architecture

[x] Reviewed by Application Development

[x] Reviewed by Data Architecture