1---2name: azure-virtual-network3description: Expert knowledge for Azure Virtual Network development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, and configuration. Use when designing VNets, NSGs, service endpoints, VNet peering, VPN gateways, or Azure Firewall/NAT gateways, and other Azure Virtual Network related development tasks. Not for Azure Networking (use azure-networking), Azure Virtual Network Manager (use azure-virtual-network-manager), Azure Virtual WAN (use azure-virtual-wan), Azure VPN Gateway (use azure-vpn-gateway).4---5# Azure Virtual Network Skill
6
7This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Virtual Network. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, and configuration. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.
8
9## How to Use This Skill
10
11> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: Use the **Category Index** below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., `L35-L120`), use `read_file` with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., `[security.md](security.md)`), use `read_file` on the linked reference file
12
13> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: If `metadata.generated_at` is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If `mcp_microsoftdocs` tools are not available, suggest the user install it: [Installation Guide](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md)
14
15This skill requires **network access** to fetch documentation content:
16- **Preferred**: Use `mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill`. Returns Markdown.
17- **Fallback**: Use `fetch_webpage` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown`. Returns Markdown.
18
19## Category Index
20
21| Category | Lines | Description |
22|----------|-------|-------------|
23| Troubleshooting | L35-L40 | Diagnosing and fixing Azure VM/VNet connectivity issues: routing and NSG problems, NVAs and routing appliances, SMTP blocking, VNet peering, encryption, and VNet deletion errors. |
24| Best Practices | L41-L52 | Network performance and connectivity guidance: VNet design, NSGs, service endpoints, outbound access, MTU/TCP tuning, and tools to test throughput and latency on Azure VMs. |
25| Decision Making | L53-L62 | Guidance on design choices: when to use accelerated networking, routing preferences, VNets vs appliances, IP upgrade paths, VNet integration options, and cost/performance trade-offs. |
26| Architecture & Design Patterns | L63-L72 | Designing VNet architectures: subnet extension for migrations, VNet peering, hybrid two-tier apps, traffic mirroring with TAP, topology planning, and custom routing options. |
27| Limits & Quotas | L73-L79 | VM networking limits: MANA support per VM size, static public IP assignment and quotas, and per-VM network throughput caps and constraints. |
28| Security | L80-L88 | Securing virtual networks with policies and encryption, including Kubernetes network policies, Azure Policy for VNets, VNet encryption, and restricting storage egress via service endpoint policies. |
29| Configuration | L89-L116 | Configuring Azure Virtual Network behavior: IPs (public/private/custom), NAT/load balancer/firewall/VPN, DNS, DHCP, monitoring, policies, subnet delegation, and encryption. |
30
31### Troubleshooting
32| Topic | URL |
33|-------|-----|
34| Register and create Azure Virtual Network routing appliances | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/how-to-create-virtual-network-routing-appliance |
35| Troubleshoot Azure Virtual Network encryption scenarios | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-encryption-faq |
36
37### Best Practices
38| Topic | URL |
39|-------|-----|
40| Understand Azure Accelerated Networking internals on Linux | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/accelerated-networking-how-it-works |
41| Apply Azure Virtual Network design best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/concepts-and-best-practices |
42| Tune MTU settings for Azure virtual machines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/how-to-virtual-machine-mtu |
43| Understand and control default outbound access for Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/default-outbound-access |
44| Configure Azure NSG rules and traffic processing | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/network-security-group-how-it-works |
45| Optimize Azure VM network throughput settings | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-optimize-network-bandwidth |
46| Configure and use Azure VNet service endpoints | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-service-endpoints-overview |
47| Apply TCP/IP performance tuning on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-tcpip-performance-tuning |
48
49### Decision Making
50| Topic | URL |
51|-------|-----|
52| Decide when to use Azure Accelerated Networking | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/accelerated-networking-overview |
53| Plan and execute upgrade from Basic to Standard public IPs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/public-ip-basic-upgrade-guidance |
54| Choose Azure routing preference via Microsoft or ISP network | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/routing-preference-overview |
55| Use routing preference unmetered for Azure-to-CDN traffic | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/routing-preference-unmetered |
56| Optimize Azure Virtual Network costs and trade-offs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-cost-optimization |
57| Choose Azure VNet integration options for service isolation | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/vnet-integration-for-azure-services |
58
59### Architecture & Design Patterns
60| Topic | URL |
61|-------|-----|
62| Design subnet extension strategies for Azure migrations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/subnet-extension |
63| Design and configure Azure Virtual Network peering | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-peering-overview |
64| Implement hybrid two-tier application with Azure VNets | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-scenario-udr-gw-nva |
65| Use Azure virtual network TAP for traffic mirroring | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-tap-overview |
66| Plan Azure virtual network topology and connectivity | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-vnet-plan-design-arm |
67| Design and customize Azure virtual network routing | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-networks-udr-overview |
68
69### Limits & Quotas
70| Topic | URL |
71|-------|-----|
72| Check MANA support and constraints for existing VM sizes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/accelerated-networking-mana-existing-sizes |
73| Create Azure VM with static public IP and understand IP limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/virtual-network-static-public-ip |
74| Understand Azure VM network throughput limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-machine-network-throughput |
75
76### Security
77| Topic | URL |
78|-------|-----|
79| Configure Kubernetes network policies on Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/kubernetes-network-policies |
80| Secure Azure Virtual Network deployments with layered controls | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/secure-virtual-network |
81| Apply Azure Policy compliance controls to Virtual Network | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/security-controls-policy |
82| Understand and use Azure Virtual Network encryption | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-encryption-overview |
83| Secure Azure Storage egress with service endpoint policies | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-service-endpoint-policies-overview |
84
85### Configuration
86| Topic | URL |
87|-------|-----|
88| Configure MANA behavior for NVA workloads with Azure Policy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/accelerated-networking-mana-network-virtual-appliance-opt-out |
89| Create and configure an encrypted Azure virtual network | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/how-to-create-encryption |
90| Deploy a DHCP server VM for on-premises clients | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/how-to-dhcp-azure |
91| Configure public IP addresses for Azure Application Gateway frontends | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/configure-public-ip-application-gateway |
92| Configure public IP addresses for Azure Firewall deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/configure-public-ip-firewall |
93| Configure public IP usage with Azure Load Balancer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/configure-public-ip-load-balancer |
94| Configure public IPs with Azure NAT Gateway for outbound SNAT | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/configure-public-ip-nat-gateway |
95| Manage public IP addresses for Azure Virtual Machines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/configure-public-ip-vm |
96| Configure public IP addresses for Azure VPN gateways | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/configure-public-ip-vpn-gateway |
97| Onboard and configure custom IPv6 address prefixes in Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/create-custom-ip-address-prefix-ipv6-portal |
98| Onboard and configure custom IPv4 address prefixes in Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/create-custom-ip-address-prefix-portal |
99| Manage Azure custom IP address prefixes and migrations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/manage-custom-ip-address-prefix |
100| Create and manage Azure public IP address prefixes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/manage-public-ip-address-prefix |
101| Configure monitoring and alerts for Azure Public IP addresses | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/monitor-public-ip |
102| Reference metrics and logs for monitoring Azure Public IPs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/monitor-public-ip-reference |
103| Configure Azure public IP address prefixes and zones | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/public-ip-address-prefix |
104| Configure private and public IPs on Azure network interfaces | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/virtual-network-network-interface-addresses |
105| Create and manage Azure public IP address resources | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/virtual-network-public-ip-address |
106| Configure monitoring for Azure Virtual Network with Azure Monitor | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/monitor-virtual-network |
107| Reference monitoring metrics and logs for Azure VNets | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/monitor-virtual-network-reference |
108| Use built-in Azure Policy definitions for Virtual Network | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/policy-reference |
109| Configure subnet delegation for Azure PaaS services | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/subnet-delegation-overview |
110| Set up dynamic DNS registration for Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-networks-name-resolution-ddns |
111| Configure DNS name resolution for Azure virtual networks | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-networks-name-resolution-for-vms-and-role-instances |
112| Understand and configure Azure IP 168.63.129.16 usage | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/what-is-ip-address-168-63-129-16 |
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