Azure Forced Tunneling Configuration and Best Practices

Forced tunneling is a feature in Azure that allows you to route all internet-bound traffic through a proxy server or VPN for security and compliance purposes.

To enable Azure forced tunneling, you need to create a route table in your Azure virtual network that specifies the proxy server or VPN as the next hop for all internet-bound traffic.

This allows you to ensure that all traffic from your virtual network goes through the proxy server or VPN, even if it's not necessary for the specific destination.

Azure forced tunneling can be configured in a hub-and-spoke topology, where the hub is the virtual network and the spokes are the individual subnets.

The route table is used to define the routing policy for the virtual network, and it's essential to configure it correctly to ensure that all traffic is routed as intended.

By using Azure forced tunneling, you can improve the security and compliance of your virtual network, but it's crucial to follow best practices to avoid any potential issues.

Azure Firewall Configuration is a crucial step in implementing Azure Forced Tunneling. You can configure Azure Firewall to include routes to any on-premises firewall or NVA to process traffic before it's passed to the Internet.

To enable forced tunneling, navigate to the Azure portal and select the virtual network where you want to configure it. Then, select the subnet you want to configure for forced tunneling. In the subnet configuration pane, select "Route table" from the left-hand menu and click the "+Add" button to create a new route table.

You can create a default route on the AzureFirewallSubnet with your VPN gateway as the next hop to get to your on-premises device. Or, you can enable Propagate gateway routes to get the appropriate routes to the on-premises network.

If you configure forced tunneling, Internet-bound traffic is SNATed to one of the firewall private IP addresses in AzureFirewallSubnet, hiding the source from your on-premises firewall. However, if your organization uses a public IP address range for private networks, Azure Firewall SNATs the traffic to one of the firewall private IP addresses in AzureFirewallSubnet.

Here are the steps to configure forced tunnelling:

For specific destinations, you can add User Defined Routes (UDR) to the AzureFirewallSubnet with next hop type “Internet”. This will take precedence over the default route. You can also use Virtual Network (VNet) service endpoints on the AzureFirewallSubnet to extend your virtual network private address space and identity to the Azure PaaS services over a direct connection.

Azure Firewall Manager is a powerful tool for managing network security in Azure. It's designed to help you configure and manage your firewall rules, routing methods, and network traffic.

You can use Azure Firewall Manager to configure different routing methods, including user-defined routes and forced tunneling. However, it's worth noting that forced tunneling can increase latency and reduce network performance, so it's best to avoid it if possible.

User-defined routes, on the other hand, allow you to customize routing tables and define specific paths for traffic. This is useful when you have specific routing requirements that are not met by the default routing provided by Azure.

To get the most out of Azure Firewall Manager, it's essential to understand your network requirements and select the right routing method for your needs. This will help you avoid common mistakes and ensure that your network is secure.

Here are some key best practices to keep in mind when using Azure Firewall Manager:

To configure forced tunnelling in Azure, you need to start by navigating to the virtual network where you want to configure it and selecting the "Subnets" option from the left-hand menu.

Select the subnet you want to configure for forced tunnelling, which is a crucial step in the process.

In the subnet configuration pane, select "Route table" from the left-hand menu, as this is where you'll create a new route table for forced tunnelling.

Click the "+Add" button to create a new route table, which will allow you to specify the IP address of the VPN gateway you want to use for forced tunnelling.

To create the new route table, enter a name for it and specify the IP address of the VPN gateway you want to use for forced tunnelling, and then click the "OK" button.

Once you've created the new route table, select it from the "Route table" dropdown menu in the subnet configuration pane, and then click the "Save" button to apply the changes.

To download the Point-to-site VPN profile, you'll need to see global and hub profiles, as the information in the zip-file downloaded from the Azure portal is critical to properly configuring your clients.

The steps to configure forced-tunneling are different, depending on the operating system of the end user device, so be sure to check the specific instructions for your device.

Here are the basic steps to configure forced tunnelling:

Remember to always download the Point-to-site VPN profile from the Azure portal and follow the specific instructions for your device's operating system.

Azure Forced Tunneling is a feature that lets you redirect all internet-bound traffic from Azure Firewall to your on-premises firewall or a nearby network virtual appliance (NVA) for additional inspection. This is generally available and can be enabled when creating a new firewall.

To support forced tunneling, you'll need to separate service management traffic from customer traffic by creating an additional dedicated subnet named AzureFirewallManagementSubnet with its own associated public IP address. This subnet requires a default route to the internet and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) route propagation must be disabled.

Azure Firewall can now include routes to any on-premises firewall or NVA to process traffic before it's passed to the internet. You can also publish these routes via BGP to AzureFirewallSubnet if BGP route propagation is enabled on this subnet.

Here's a quick rundown of the configuration steps:

Configuring IKEv2 clients requires a different approach than other VPN clients. You can't directly use the executable profiles downloaded from the Azure portal.

To properly configure an IKEv2 client, you'll need to run a PowerShell script or distribute the VPN profile via Intune. This is a more complex setup process.

The authentication method configured on your Point-to-site VPN gateway determines the EAP Configuration file you'll need to use. Sample EAP Configuration files are provided for reference.

You'll need to choose the correct EAP Configuration file based on your authentication method.

Forced tunneling support is now generally available in Azure Firewall, allowing you to redirect all internet-bound traffic to your on-premises firewall or to chain it to a nearby network virtual appliance (NVA) for additional inspection.

You can enable forced tunneling when creating a new firewall, but it's not possible to migrate an existing firewall deployment to a forced tunneling mode.

To support forced tunneling, service management traffic is separated from customer traffic, requiring an additional dedicated subnet named AzureFirewallManagementSubnet with its own associated public IP address.

The only route allowed on this subnet is a default route to the internet, and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) route propagation must be disabled.

Forced tunneling is different depending on the operating system of the end user device, so the steps to configure it are also different.

You can create a default route on the AzureFirewallSubnet with your VPN gateway as the next hop to get to your on-premises device, or you can enable Propagate gateway routes to get the appropriate routes to the on-premises network.

To configure forced tunneling, you'll need to follow these steps:

By following these steps, you can configure forced tunneling and redirect internet-bound traffic to your on-premises firewall or NVA.

To configure a hub and spoke architecture in Azure, you'll need to start by navigating to the virtual network you want to use as the hub and selecting "Virtual network peering" from the left-hand menu.

Click the "Add" button to create a new virtual network peering, and then enter a name for the peering and select the virtual network you want to use as the spoke.

Select "Use remote gateways" and choose the virtual network gateway you want to use as the hub.

To create a new route, navigate to the "Routes" section of the hub virtual network and click the "Add" button.

In the "Add route" pane, enter a name for the route and specify the address prefix for the traffic you want to route.

Select "Virtual network peering" as the next hop type and choose the virtual network peering you want to use for the route.

Here's a step-by-step summary of the process: