Hey,
Please find below the responses :
- yes, you can use shir even for cloud sources or cloud databases hosted within a vnet
- it depends on the configuration of your server on which the ir is installed
- in case if shir, there is additional aspect of overhead maintenance of the server, patches and configs whereas in case of Azure ir, msft takes care of everything.
- ideally it is suggested to install the ir on a seperate server within the vnet but close to the source.
@KranthiPakala-MSFT :please add any points in case if missed out