Azure Routing Cross-Region?

[jamesbertram]

Hi there! My company has our services on US East, however we have a large block of contractors using Cloud PCs based out of India. Recently we became aware of an issue where a vendor was blocking their access to their website based upon the region of their IP.

We're looking for a way to restore that connectivity in a fairly quick and non-disruptive manner. Thoughts of VPN, proxy, or other alternate solutions come to mind, but what about say, a custom routing assigned to the vNet? Or possible vWAN?

Sadly, I do not profess to be an azure sexpert, just looking for opinions on a solid path forward. Thanks! 

[#2]

Hi,
there are several options you could discuss:
1. VPN from vendor to your vnet (requieres Cloud PC (W365) wirth custom vnet?)
2. VPN from Cloud PC to your Vendor
3. vwan - with vwan you have multiple hubs.. eg. one hub in india and one in europe. if its possible you could route the vendor to europe. than you would access from public ip that is not india based
4.Cloud pc with custom vnet you could have a nat gateway. with that an a public ip. that ip can be whitelisted on vendors site

[#3]

@jamesbertram 

Can you share your usage in Azure so far?

[#4]

To address the issue of IP-based blocking by the vendor's website, you have several potential solutions in Azure:

1. VPN (Virtual Private Network)
A VPN can tunnel traffic from the Cloud PCs in India to the US East region, giving the appearance that the traffic originates from the US.

Azure VPN Gateway: You can set up a site-to-site VPN or point-to-site VPN to route traffic through the US East region.
Pros: Quick to set up, reliable, and secure.
Cons: Might introduce some latency, can be costly depending on the amount of traffic.

2. Proxy Server
A proxy server can route traffic through a different IP address.

Azure Application Gateway with WAF (Web Application Firewall): Can act as a reverse proxy and route traffic through the US.
Custom Proxy Server: You can set up a VM in US East and configure it to act as a proxy for your users.
Pros: Flexible, can provide caching and additional security.
Cons: Requires management of the proxy server, potential single point of failure.

3. Custom Routing with vNet
Custom routing can direct traffic from India through resources in the US.

Azure Route Tables (UDR): Configure user-defined routes to direct traffic through a specific path, such as through a VM or a gateway in US East.
Pros: Control over routing paths, integrated with Azure networking.
Cons: Requires careful configuration and management, potential complexity.

4. Azure Virtual WAN
Azure Virtual WAN can simplify large-scale site-to-site connectivity and provide optimized routing.

Pros: Centralized management of network connectivity, optimized routing, scalability.
Cons: Can be more complex to set up initially, might require adjustments to existing network architecture.

Recommended Approach
VPN Gateway: Start with setting up a VPN gateway to route traffic through the US East region. This is often the quickest and least disruptive method.

Proxy Server: If VPN does not meet your needs, consider setting up a proxy server in the US East region.

Explore Virtual WAN: If your network needs become more complex, or if you plan to scale further, investing time in Azure Virtual WAN can provide long-term benefits.

Here’s a high-level outline to set up a VPN gateway:

Create a Virtual Network Gateway in US East.
Configure VPN Gateway for point-to-site or site-to-site connection.
Set up VPN clients on Cloud PCs in India to connect through the VPN.
Test connectivity to ensure that traffic routes through the US East gateway.

Resources
Azure VPN Gateway Documentation : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/vpn-gateway/
Azure Application Gateway Documentation : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/application-gateway/
Azure Route Tables Documentation : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/manage-route-table
Azure Virtual WAN Documentation : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-wan/

If you need more detailed steps or assistance with specific configurations, feel free to ask!