Define network encryption requirements
This section explores key recommendations to achieve network encryption between on-premises and Azure as well as across Azure regions.
Design considerations
Cost and available bandwidth are inversely proportional to the length of the encryption tunnel between endpoints.
Azure Virtual Network encryption enhances existing encryption-in-transit capabilities in Azure and allows seamless traffic encryption and decryption between virtual machines (VMs) and virtual machines scale sets.
When you're using a VPN to connect to Azure, traffic is encrypted over the internet via IPsec tunnels.
When you're using Azure ExpressRoute with private peering, traffic isn't currently encrypted.
It's possible to configure a site-to-site VPN connection over ExpressRoute private peering.
You can apply media access control security (MACsec) encryption to ExpressRoute Direct to achieve network encryption.
When Azure traffic moves between datacenters (outside physical boundaries not controlled by Microsoft or on behalf of Microsoft), MACsec data-link layer encryption is used on the underlying network hardware. This is applicable to virtual network peering traffic.
Design recommendations
Figure 1: Encryption flows.
When you're establishing VPN connections from on-premises to Azure by using VPN gateways, traffic is encrypted at a protocol level through IPsec tunnels. The preceding diagram shows this encryption in flow
A
.If you need to encrypt VM-to-VM traffic in the same virtual network or across regional or global peered virtual networks, use Virtual Network encryption.
When you're using ExpressRoute Direct, configure MACsec in order to encrypt traffic at Layer 2 between your organization's routers and MSEE. The diagram shows this encryption in flow
B
.For Virtual WAN scenarios where MACsec isn't an option (for example, not using ExpressRoute Direct), use a Virtual WAN VPN Gateway to establish IPsec tunnels over ExpressRoute private peering. The diagram shows this encryption in flow
C
.For non-Virtual WAN scenarios, and where MACsec isn't an option (for example, not using ExpressRoute Direct), the only options are:
- Use partner NVAs to establish IPsec tunnels over ExpressRoute private peering.
- Establish a VPN tunnel over ExpressRoute with Microsoft peering.
- Evaluate the capability to configure a Site-to-Site VPN connection over ExpressRoute private peering.
If native Azure solutions (as shown in flows
B
andC
in the diagram) don't meet your requirements, use partner NVAs in Azure to encrypt traffic over ExpressRoute private peering.