Azure Configure VPN with Virtual Network Gateway for Enhanced Security

To enhance security, you can configure a VPN with a Virtual Network Gateway in Azure. This setup creates a secure and private connection between your on-premises network and Azure.

Azure offers two types of Virtual Network Gateways: VPN and ExpressRoute. You can choose the one that best fits your needs, depending on your network requirements.

To create a Virtual Network Gateway, you need to specify the VPN type, location, and SKU. The location determines the region where the gateway will be created, while the SKU affects the performance and pricing of the gateway.

With a Virtual Network Gateway, you can establish site-to-site VPN connections, allowing secure communication between your on-premises network and Azure resources.

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To configure a VPN on Azure, you'll need a FortiGate with an Internet-facing IP address. This will serve as the foundation for your VPN setup.

You'll also need a valid Microsoft Azure account. This will provide you with the necessary tools and resources to configure and manage your VPN.

To get started with Azure VPN, you'll need to configure your VPN gateway for point-to-site VPN connections that specify Microsoft Entra ID authentication.

Here's a quick rundown of the prerequisites:

To configure an Azure VPN, you'll first need to create a virtual network. This involves logging in to Azure, clicking New, and searching for Virtual network. Select the Resource Manager deployment model and click Create. On the Create virtual network pane, enter your virtual network settings and click Create.

You'll also need to configure the DNS server, which involves opening the virtual network you just created, clicking DNS servers, and entering the IP address of the DNS server.

To connect your Azure VPN to your on-premises network, you'll need to create a local network gateway. In the Azure portal, search for Local network gateway and click Create. Specify the IP address of your on-premises VPN device and the IP address prefixes that will be routed through the VPN gateway.

Here's a summary of the steps involved in creating a local network gateway:

To create a Virtual Network Gateway, you can follow these steps. In the Azure portal, navigate to the Marketplace and type 'Virtual Network Gateway'. Select the entry and click Create to open the Create virtual network gateway page.

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On the Basics tab, fill in the values for your virtual network gateway. Note that Cisco Meraki Security Appliances (MX) and Teleworker Gateways (Z-Series) use policy-based routing to communicate with Non-Meraki VPN peers, and Azure VPN type: Route-based only supports IKEv2, while Azure VPN type: Policy-based only supports IKEv1.

Here's a step-by-step guide to creating a Virtual Network Gateway:

The Virtual Network Gateway will be created, and you'll receive a notification when the provisioning is done.

To establish an IPSec tunnel to Azure, you'll need to make configurations on both the Azure Portal and the Meraki Dashboard. This involves creating a new tunnel on each platform.

First, create a local network gateway in Azure by following these steps: From the Azure portal menu, select Create a resource, then in the Search the marketplace field, type Local network gateway, and press Enter to search. Click Local network gateway, then click the Create button to open the Create local network gateway page.

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On the Create local network gateway page, specify the values for your local network gateway, including the site name and IP address of the on-premises VPN device. You can also specify the IP address prefixes that will be routed through the VPN gateway to the VPN device.

To bring the tunnel up, send traffic from a client in a VPN-enabled VLAN behind the MX to a subnet behind the Azure gateway. A simple ping will suffice to get the tunnel established.

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To configure your Azure VPN Client, you'll need to download the client and extract the client profile configuration files. This involves downloading the VPN client profile configuration package from the Azure P2S gateway, which contains the necessary settings to configure the VPN client.

You can extract the zip file to get the AzureVPN folder, which contains the azurevpnconfig_aad.xml file or the azurevpnconfig.xml file. Make sure your VPN gateway is configured to use the OpenVPN tunnel type and Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID) authentication is selected.

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To modify your profile configuration, you might need to add the custom application ID and the Microsoft application ID to the .xml file. This can be done by opening the file using a text editor like Notepad and adding the necessary values.

Step-by-Step Client Configuration Process:

To get started with configuring your client, you'll need to download the Azure VPN Client. This can be done by visiting the official Azure website and downloading the latest version of the install files.

You can find the download links on the Azure website, and it's essential to install the client on each computer that needs to be connected to the VPN.

To ensure the client has the necessary permissions, follow the steps outlined in the Windows background apps section. This will allow the client to run in the background without any issues.

Once installed, you can verify the client version by opening the Azure VPN Client and clicking on the ... button at the bottom. From there, click on the ? Help option to see the client version number.

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Here are the steps to download the Azure VPN Client in a concise format:

To configure the Azure VPN Client, you'll need to download the latest version of the install files and install it on each computer. This will ensure you have the most up-to-date features and security patches.

You'll also need to verify that the Azure VPN Client has permission to run in the background, as this is a crucial step for the client to function properly. For steps on how to do this, see Windows background apps.

To configure your Azure VPN Client profile, you'll need to extract the client profile configuration files from the VPN client profile configuration package. This package is specific to the configured VPN gateway and contains the necessary settings to configure the VPN client.

The package will contain a zip file, which you'll need to extract to reveal the AzureVPN folder. Within this folder, you'll find the azurevpnconfig_aad.xml file or the azurevpnconfig.xml file, depending on your P2S configuration.

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To import the client profile configuration settings, you'll need to select the Import option on the client page. Then, browse to the AzureVPN folder and select the client profile configuration file (azurevpnconfig_aad.xml or azurevpnconfig.xml) to import it.

If your P2S configuration uses a custom audience and your registered app is associated with Microsoft-registered App ID, you might need to modify your profile configuration .xml file to include both the custom application ID and the Microsoft application ID.

Here are the steps to modify the Azure VPN Client configuration .xml file:

You can also configure the Azure VPN Client with optional configuration settings such as additional DNS servers, custom DNS, forced tunneling, custom routes, and other settings. For more information, see Azure VPN Client - optional settings.

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