Azure Service Endpoints is a feature of Azure Virtual Network that provides a secure and direct connection between virtual network resources and Azure services over the Azure backbone network. With Service Endpoints, you can create a private endpoint for a supported Azure service and connect it to your virtual network. This enables traffic between the virtual network and the Azure service to be routed through a private, dedicated connection, rather than over the public Internet.
The key benefits of Azure Service Endpoints include:
- Security: By using Service Endpoints, traffic between your virtual network and Azure services remains within the Azure backbone network and is isolated from the public Internet. This provides an additional layer of security and helps to reduce the attack surface.
- Performance: Since traffic between the virtual network and Azure services travels over the Azure backbone network, it can be faster and more reliable than traffic over the public Internet.
- Simplified network configuration: Service Endpoints simplify network configuration by allowing you to use the same virtual network address space for both your virtual network and the Azure service. This eliminates the need for complex network address translation (NAT) rules.
- Reduced data transfer costs: Since traffic between the virtual network and Azure services is routed over the Azure backbone network, it’s not subject to outbound data transfer costs.
Service Endpoints can be used with a variety of Azure services, including Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, Azure Key Vault, Azure Cosmos DB, and many more. To create a Service Endpoint, you simply need to enable the feature on the virtual network and then configure the service to use the private endpoint.
Azure Service Endpoints provide a secure and direct connection between virtual network resources and Azure services over the Azure backbone network. This helps to improve security, performance, and network configuration, while also reducing data transfer costs.
Azure Service Endpoint Usage Examples
Azure Service Endpoints can be used with a variety of Azure services, including Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, Azure Key Vault, Azure Cosmos DB, and many more. Here are some examples of how Service Endpoints can be used with these services:
- Azure Storage: By using Service Endpoints with Azure Storage, you can create a private endpoint for your storage account and access it from within your virtual network. This can help to improve security and performance, as well as simplify network configuration. For example, you can use Service Endpoints to access a blob storage container from a virtual machine in your virtual network without having to expose the container to the public Internet.
- Azure SQL Database: With Service Endpoints for Azure SQL Database, you can create a private endpoint for your database and access it from within your virtual network. This can help to improve security and performance, as well as simplify network configuration. For example, you can use Service Endpoints to access your SQL Database from an Azure virtual machine in your virtual network without having to configure a VPN or use public IP addresses.
- Azure Key Vault: By using Service Endpoints with Azure Key Vault, you can create a private endpoint for your key vault and access it from within your virtual network. This can help to improve security and simplify network configuration. For example, you can use Service Endpoints to store and retrieve secrets from Azure Key Vault from an Azure virtual machine in your virtual network without having to expose the secrets to the public Internet.
- Azure Cosmos DB: With Service Endpoints for Azure Cosmos DB, you can create a private endpoint for your Cosmos DB account and access it from within your virtual network. This can help to improve security and performance, as well as simplify network configuration. For example, you can use Service Endpoints to access your Cosmos DB account from an Azure virtual machine in your virtual network without having to use public IP addresses.
Azure Service Endpoints can be used with a variety of Azure services to create a private endpoint for the service and access it from within your virtual network. This helps to improve security, performance, and network configuration, while also simplifying management and reducing costs.
