Azure VPN: A Comprehensive Configuration and Troubleshooting Guide

To set up an Azure VPN, you'll need to create a virtual network (VN) and a VPN gateway. This is done by navigating to the Azure portal and selecting "Virtual networks" from the menu.

Azure VPN supports multiple VPN protocols, including IKEv2, OpenVPN, and SSTP. IKEv2 is the default protocol and offers strong encryption and secure connections.

When creating a VPN gateway, you'll need to specify the VPN protocol, subnet, and public IP address. The public IP address is used to connect to the VPN gateway from the internet.

To troubleshoot Azure VPN connectivity issues, you can check the VPN gateway connection status, virtual network connection status, and the status of the VPN client connection.

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To set up Azure VPN, you'll need to establish secure, cross-premises connectivity between your virtual network and on-premises IT infrastructure. This is where Azure VPN Gateway comes in, allowing you to create a secure connection.

First, you'll need to create a Virtual Network Gateway. To do this, click on the "Home" button to go back to the Azure Portal and select "Create a resource" on the left side of the page. Then, type "Virtual Network Gateway" in the search line.

The next step is to create a Gateway Subnet. In the Azure Management Portal, navigate to the Virtual networks and select the Virtual Network you'd like to create a gateway for, and click on Subnets. Select the "Gateway subnet" option and adjust the auto-filled Address range values as needed.

To create a secure connection, you'll need to create an IPSEC tunnel connection. Open your Virtual Network Gateway page, go to Settings, and select Connections. Click on the "+" button to add a new connection and fill in the required fields with the following information: Encryption: AES256, Integrity/PRF: SHA1, DH Group: DHGroup2, IPsec Encryption: AES256, IPsec Integrity: SHA1, PFS Group: PFS2, IPsec SA lifetime in KiloBytes: 102400000, and IPsec SA lifetime in seconds: 27000.

Here's a summary of the settings you'll need to configure:

Once you've configured these settings, you can download a configuration file by navigating to the "Overview" page and clicking on the "Download configuration" button.

To configure your Azure VPN, you'll need to set up a Site-to-Site connection in the Azure portal.

You can download a VPN device configuration script, such as a Juniper device file, to help with the process.

The Azure VPN configuration requires a name for your VPN, which should be a unique identifier, like "US-East-2".

You'll also need to specify the Phase 1 encryption algorithm, which should be "aes 256", and the Phase 1 pre-shared key, which must match the pre-shared key in the Azure VPN connection.

To set up your Skytap VPN, you'll need to enter a few parameters, including the Remote Peer IP, which is the public IP address of the VPN gateway in your Azure account.

You should also select an available public IP address in your Skytap account as the Skytap peer IP.

Here's a summary of the parameters to enter on your Skytap VPN page:

Remember to apply NAT for connected networks and specify the maximum segment size, and also define included and excluded remote subnets according to your needs.

To create a gateway subnet, navigate to the Virtual networks in your Azure Management Portal. Here, you'll find a list of existing virtual networks, including the one you want to add a gateway subnet to.

Select the virtual network, then click on Subnets. This will take you to a page where you can manage the subnets within that virtual network. To create a new gateway subnet, click on the +Gateway subnet button.

The subnet name will be automatically filled in with "Gateway subnet", but you can adjust the address range values if needed. This subnet will be used specifically for the virtual gateway, so make sure the address range is suitable for your setup.

If the address range isn't automatically filled in, you can manually enter it. Remember to use a range that's only used for the virtual gateway to avoid conflicts with other subnets.

Here's a quick rundown of the steps to create a gateway subnet:

To set up Harmony SASE settings, start by opening your Harmony SASE Management Platform and navigating to the Network tab.

From there, select the gateway in your network that you want to create a tunnel to Azure, then click the three-dotted menu and choose Add Tunnel.

Next, select IPSec Site-2-Site Tunnel and click Continue to proceed.

Now, fill in the fields with the following information:

After the tunnel is created, click the "..." button at the top right corner of the network and select Routes Table to add the routes.

Input all the Subnets on the Azure Side, then click Add Route.

Once you're done, click Apply Configuration to save your changes.

To set up Skytap VPN, you'll need to enter specific parameters on your Skytap VPN page.

The Parameter Name is "azure-east-us-vpn", which is an example value.

You'll need to enter the public IP address of the VPN gateway in your Azure account in the "Remote Peer IP" field.

In Skytap, select an available public IP address in the same region as the VMs you want to connect to for the "Skytap peer IP".

This value is entered in the IP address field of the local network gateway in your Azure account.

The "Skytap subnet" is the range of VM IP addresses in Skytap that sends and receives traffic through this VPN.

This range cannot overlap with the included remote subnets defined below.

You can specify the default route (0.0.0.0/0) for either the remote subnet or the local subnet.

You cannot use 0.0.0.0/0 for both local and remote subnets.

To apply NAT for Connected Networks, you'll need to specify the maximum segment size.

The "Included remote subnets" field requires you to enter the IP addresses and subnets on your Azure virtual network that will send and receive traffic through this VPN.

For example, you might enter 10.1.15.0/24.

You can also define exclusions for VPN traffic from larger included remote subnets using the "Subset of IP addresses and subnets" field.

For example, you might exclude 10.1.15.17/32.

To ensure your Azure VPN connection is working correctly, you need to verify it. Open your Virtual Network Gateway page to start the process.

To begin, navigate to the Settings section and select Connections from the dropdown menu. This will allow you to view the status of your VPN connection.

The next step is to select the connection you created. Under the Overview tab, make sure that the Status is Connected and that there is data going out and coming in.