Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway Reviews

Our main use case for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is to connect to the data sources of our clients. We establish the VPN gateway between our SaaS platform and their on-premise environment to connect to their data source and transmit data privately from the on-premise to our SaaS platform.

Regarding our main use case for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, there are different requirements for different customers and different kinds of networks. This depends on the algorithms they expect and the BGP. Some customers have BGP, others do not. Some customers connect from Azure to Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, while others connect from our Azure VPN Gateway to their on-premise VPN gateways. We have explored these different use cases with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway.

The best feature of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is its sophisticated security mechanism for transmitting data between on-premise to Azure or Azure to Azure. The process of building the VPN gateway is user-friendly, making it easy to configure. Additionally, it supports various options to establish connections between on-premise to Azure or other sources to targets. Using pfSense as a firewall and VPN at our on-premise allows us to establish connections between Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and our on-premise pfSense VPN easily. This streamlined connection process occurs within a few steps.

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway has positively impacted our organization because it is core to our system and crucial for establishing private connections to our customer's data sources. Their databases lie in a private network with no communication with the outside world. Our customers trust Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, and by extension, trust us because of this efficient networking establishment process.

The logging mechanism could use improvement. More detailed logging would help in troubleshooting any failures during connection establishment or monitoring Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. Otherwise, everything else about Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is good.

We have been using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway for approximately two years.

Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is stable.

Regarding scalability, as it functions as a SaaS platform, we do not see much of what runs behind the scenes. It is auto-scalable, and I do not see any issues regarding scalability.

Customer support for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway was good. We received the required support whenever we encountered challenges.

I started using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway for the first time, and we have continued using it.

Establishing the connection was very easy, thanks to the proper documentation in Azure. It is a fixed configuration from source to target. We create an Excel sheet for what is needed from the customer, which includes things to be done from their side and ours. With minimal interactions, the connection establishment was accomplished.

Time savings have notably increased because establishing the connection with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway was straightforward. Our documentation ensures clarity, specifying actions required from customer and Azure sides, which minimizes interactions and expedites the connection process.

Regarding pricing for Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, it could be more cost-effective. We are paying around $300 per month for a VPN gateway, which seems high.

I have used AWS VPN gateway, and Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is also very interesting.

For those considering using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, read the documentation thoroughly. Create an Excel sheet outlining tasks for both the source and target sides, especially when establishing on-premise connections. Decide on the algorithms supported at the target side. Proper planning and documentation save a great deal of time in establishing connections. I would rate this product an 8 out of 10.

Generally, when we set up a service, whether it's a data warehouse, an application, or a function, we use Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway to build a firewall around it. We create the virtual network gateway and allow people to access from within the office or on-premise. Because we don't open certain services for the public internet, we put them within a virtual network and create a virtual network gateway so that using Azure VPN, people can access the services. This is what we've done in our organization. Our data warehouse is walled through a firewall. We've put the warehouse within a virtual network, created a virtual network gateway, and then we use the Azure VPN client for individuals to access the warehouse.

Security is the first feature in Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway because we don't have to go through the public internet to access things. It's very easy once the setup is done. Another benefit is getting everything within the single Azure suite. You don't have to provision other third-party services to make this happen. Within the Azure portal itself, you get all the features. You have the warehouse within Azure, you use the virtual network within Azure, you provision the virtual network gateway within Azure, and the Azure VPN client is also from Azure. You use Microsoft Store to install and configure it, making the services seamless without relying on any third-party services.

If you want to move into higher layers of security with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, you can use IPsec or IKEv2. We haven't used these features, but they will be helpful if you want to move into higher security tiers.

For internal work with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, we don't put much pressure on the systems. If you are using it for client work and have systems that require high availability with significant network load, the load balancing and other features that come with it will be helpful.

In Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, there aren't too many areas for improvement, but the configuration part might be a little tricky. It took some time to get things to work, but once figured out, it becomes much easier. The documentation could use some improvement, particularly regarding point-to-site system setup with on-premise systems. Other than that, it's seamless, and you can connect things across regions.

Regarding integration with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, we use Function Apps to create the integrations and Data Factory. All our data pipelines are written in Python, hosted within an Azure Data Factory or a Function App. This makes configuration easier and allows pipeline monitoring and creating integrations between different systems. We've created multiple integrations between SharePoint and our data warehouse, HubSpot and our data warehouse, and several other tools.

I have been working with the product for about three years.

Generally, things are stable with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. However, with Function Apps recently, we noticed that when integrating CI/CD pipelines through GitHub, published things don't get updated on the Azure function app side. Instead of doing a seamless CI/CD integration, you have to do a remote build each time. This is something we're experiencing with several deployed function apps. The CI/CD integration is not seamless, requiring manual remote builds each time. This specifically happens with Linux-based function apps, though we're uncertain whether this occurs with Windows-based function apps as well.

We are generally fully scalable with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, though sometimes depending on the different SKUs that Microsoft uses, within a tier, you can switch between the SKUs for scaling. However, there are instances where if you provision something of a very low tier for testing and later want to move into a higher tier, you can't upgrade or scale up. In such instances, you have to recreate the instance to get the opportunity to scale up. If there were options to seamlessly scale up, that might be a good option to have.

I'm happy with the technical support from Microsoft, but sometimes there are issues. In a recent incident, I had an issue with the SharePoint API. It relates to documentation, specifically the lack of up-to-date documentation because Microsoft is moving away from the traditional SharePoint REST API to Microsoft Graph. Some features from the traditional REST API are still not available in Graph. When looking for help online, solutions aren't readily available. I raised a ticket with Microsoft, and after two weeks, I haven't received any positive response. We found an internal solution requiring some patchwork, but a decent response from Microsoft trying to solve this would have been appreciated.

Positive

Regarding pricing from a resource perspective with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, the pricing is fair as you pay for the resources. What comes as a surprise is sometimes the networking costs for ingress and egress. If you are transferring data between two different regions, you can unknowingly incur a large cost. I've also seen huge costs related to using blob storage for secure FTP. The network costs or transport costs are relatively high, but the resources themselves are fairly priced.

We work with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and the VPN firewalls. We have our local physical firewall infrastructure from Cisco and other companies, but we can't compare those with the virtual network scenarios with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. We've had a few AWS services, but nothing related to firewall, and we are moving some of that infrastructure into Azure. I rate Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway an 8 out of 10.

In a specific assignment, I connected the client's existing physical network to their Azure instance, as they had no prior knowledge of how to start or conduct this. I supported them due to my previous engagement with them on other services. The task involved maintaining their existing physical network while moving everything into Azure.

The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances. You can configure these networks using IP numbers and connect them using certificates or SaaS strings. It also requires Entra ID for privileged access groups, resulting in high security.

The instructions on how to integrate P2N and P2S type networks into Azure VPN Gateway could be improved, though it is a constantly evolving process. The instructions should have been more accessible and less time-consuming to find the best solution tailored for the customer.

I worked on the project between February and August.

Azure VPN Gateway is very stable due to reliance on Microsoft's own network, showcasing robustness and stability in uptime, zone resiliency, and DDoS protection.

Azure VPN Gateway offers excellent scalability. Once I understood the process, it was very efficient to scale the solution, which supports a high level of scalability.

Setting up the solution was easy. I rate the initial setup between eight and ten out of ten. It was not difficult at all and I did not encounter any challenges during the initial setup.

I managed the deployment all by myself, as everyone else at the customer's facility was on summer vacation.

The price of Azure VPN Gateway should be rated five from a purely invoice aspect. However, its worth is a ten due to its functionality, which is very valuable.

I would advise comparing Azure VPN Gateway with other market leaders in this segment and referencing sources like Forrester and Gartner. It's crucial to look at which competitors in this spectrum have been compromised. 

I rate the product ten out of ten. The product is reliable, functional, and meets high standards.

We deployed the Azure VPN Gateway to connect our Las Vegas office to the cloud. 

Additionally, we are migrating several offices, having completed one so far. Each area originally had its own independent infrastructure, and we are using the solution to connect ports to our data center and build new machines.

The VPN Gateway is valued for its ease of use and redundancy. It simplifies the process of deploying a VPN connection, replacing all the physical network elements with a software appliance. It's cost-effective by eliminating the need for firewall and networking equipment purchases. 

This solution also facilitates the migration by allowing connectivity between previously isolated environments and our Americas environment.

There is a need to improve the paperwork and management approval process, which is currently painful, though not directly related to the VPN Gateway itself.

We have been using the solution since integrating our infrastructure with Azure, assisting in the current migration process.

The stability of the solution has been great, with no reported issues.

We haven't explored scalability too much, as we have only used it for one office so far. It is anticipated to support more offices in the future.

Microsoft's support is rated at four due to issues such as speed of response and coordination difficulties. Prioritization of tasks can also be challenging, impacting the timely resolution of problems.

Neutral

I have used AWS Direct Connect at another company, but not here. AWS is better suited for Linux machines, whereas Azure is designed more comprehensively for Office 365 and infrastructure integration.

The initial setup was rated eight out of ten for ease, with deployment taking around 15 minutes.

Typically one person manages the deployment. A team assigns a ticket to an individual who handles the deployment and adjustment of network settings.

The solution provides significant cost savings, transitioning expenses from CapEx to OpEx. It eliminates the need for expensive hardware and simplifies network setup.

The pricing is somewhat high but acceptable, considering it replaces the need for physical network equipment, leading to cost savings.

At a previous company, AWS was used due to its Linux compatibility. Azure is more suited for a Microsoft environment, particularly with Active Directory.

Overall, I would rate the Azure VPN Gateway an eight out of ten for its effectiveness and cost efficiency.

For our data source connections, we connect it to our on-premise data centers. Those connectivities are established by using Azure VPN Gateway.

Azure VPN Gateway has helped us in having a secure and reliable connection between our on-premise data centers and the Azure cloud. It supports various protocols, helping us to maintain secure data connections.

One of the most valuable features is its support for various protocols, including BGP, which helps in making more secure connections.

The monitoring part needs to be improved. Specifically, it should better handle connection availability and be able to send alerts in case of disruptions.

I have been using Azure VPN Gateway for around eight months.

The stability of Azure VPN Gateway is good, and we have not faced many outages.

The scalability is good, with different types of queues available. On a scale from one to ten, I would rate its scalability an eight.

We have not used technical support because we are on a free plan, which does not provide technical support. However, we have managed to handle everything ourselves.

Positive

We use both AWS VPN and Azure VPN Gateway, so no switching is involved.

The initial setup is easy and not very difficult. I would rate the ease of initial setup as eight out of ten.

For managing and maintaining the solution, we do not require a large team. The setup and regular maintenance can be managed by me alone.

Azure VPN Gateway has provided good organizational value and is a value addition for us.

We pay around $4,000 per year. This pricing can be an obstacle for smaller businesses as it is relatively expensive.

We did not evaluate other options apart from AWS.

I recommend Azure VPN Gateway. It's good and can be used effectively.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We use it for B2C. We use Azure VPN to connect on-prem networks to Azure. Doing just site-to-site.

We use it on the infrastructure side, sort of VNet, Azure Firewall, Azure Load Balancer, and Azure Front Door.

I've got a sort of peripheral understanding of Logic Apps. We do utilize them.

We just use it because it's the native tool. It performs exactly the same whether we use VPN Gateway or a third-party appliance.

It does what it says it'll do. It terminates VPNs for us and allows us access into our tenancy.

The point-to-site is pretty good for the B2C stuff. It's fairly straightforward to set up.

I'd like to see no difference between point-to-site or site-to-site. For the Gen1 VPN Gateway, you can have a maximum of 30 site-to-site VPNs or 100 and 28 point-to-site. I don't see why site-to-site can't be 100 and 28 also.

In future releases, I would like to see the ability to inject BGP routes.

I have been using it for three years. 

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. There are around 70 end users using this product in my company. 

So, it is pretty stable. 

The scalability is not too bad, though limited depending on the SKU you select. You can uplift the SKU to certain degrees, but compared to third-party appliances, it's more limited.

In terms of scalability, it's limited because scalability without changing your SKU, it's pretty limited. For instance, the Gen1 Gateway can only do like a maximum of 30 VPN site-to-sites, which can be limited. 

If you uplift to the Gen2s, then you can get a maximum of a hundred. Third-party appliances can support up to 500. So, it is slightly limited but for our use case it is fine. 

I would rate the scalability a six out of ten. 

I used some third-party appliances. So, like, VPN Gateway, FortiGates, Cisco, Palo Alto, firewall, pretty much any firewall.

The cost was the decisive factor. It was far cheaper to use an Azure solution than the license of a third-party appliance.

The setup and management of network security policies in VPN Gateway are pretty good. It kind of flows in the same sort of NSG with subnets, so with subnets, there's no real difference to it.

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, with ten being easy to set up. 

It takes about half an hour. 

It's saved us money compared to getting a third-party appliance. So, from the money we save, we've seen ROI from it.

The pricing is not bad. You can get some third-party stuff that's slightly cheaper, but then by the time you take into account the underlying infrastructure you need to host even a third-party appliance on, it comes out about the same. 

And this is just a ready-to-roll solution for the role that we were after.

For our use case, we would have been looking at, like, a FortiGate VMware license, which is about four thousand for the vendor license. But then you've got to pay for the underlying virtual machine that sits on as well, which would be something like a D4, which essentially doubles the cost.

It's limited in functionality, but it does the role that it's designed to do really well.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Azure VPN Gateway is primarily used for high-availability connectivity between on-premises and Azure cloud networks. When customers or organizations need to connect their on-premises network to their Azure network, the Azure VPN Gateway is the appropriate tool. Setting up this connectivity requires deploying an Azure VPN Gateway within the Azure environment and a compatible VPN gateway on the on-premises side. Azure supports various VPN gateway options from manufacturers like Fortinet and Cisco.

Once both VPN gateways are in place - the Azure VPN Gateway (Azure VPN v3) and the on-premises VPN gateway - you can establish point-to-site or site-to-site connectivity. Point-to-site connectivity enables remote connections, particularly for employees working from home. In this scenario, there is no need for a VPN gateway at the on-premises location. Instead, you only need to configure the Azure VPN Gateway, generate a VPN profile, and distribute it to the relevant users. This allows remote users to connect securely to the Azure network from anywhere, as long as they have the VPN profile configured on their system.

Azure VPN Gateway has several SKUs, each with a specific capacity, bandwidth, and throughput. We currently use the Basic SKU, which Azure is working on phasing out soon. This SKU might become unavailable for customization soon. The next tier is VPN GW1, which faces the same issues as the first generation. Azure checks automation for all SKUs with a defined bandwidth and throughput.

When the VPN tunnel is created, the bandwidth impacts traffic flow within the tunnel. For organizations or corporations using the VPN, the workload will determine the amount of traffic handled. They can select the appropriate SKU to match their traffic needs.

Azure VPN Gateway is a managed service dedicated solely to allowing traffic in and out, functioning purely as a VPN gateway without additional firewall capabilities.

Azure VPN Gateway has features that enhance its usability. From a user's perspective, a valuable aspect would be monitoring tools. Specifically, Azure VPN Gateway supports Azure Diagnostic logs. These logs allow users to pull data and gain insights into the system's performance and issues. With these logs, users can identify solutions by examining the data. 

Additionally, having a real-time traffic flow monitoring tool would be beneficial. Such a tool would significantly improve identity management and security by providing real-time visibility into traffic flows and ensuring a high degree of identity verification.

I have been using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway for three years.

The tool is a managed service provided by Azure. The features are designed to handle various workloads effectively. If the workload increases, the D3 instances may not fail; instead, Azure provides mechanisms to manage and distribute the load.

Additionally, Azure provided the Gateway itself with a specific cost structure, which is billed based on usage in different stages. It helps establish secure connections and can be configured in active-active or passive-passive modes. In active-active mode, two instances reduce redundancy and provide fault tolerance. If one instance fails, the other continues operating, ensuring continuous availability.

In contrast, active-passive mode involves one instance being active while the other remains on standby. If the active instance fails, the passive instance takes over. This setup helps ensure high availability and reliability for the service.

Tech support is nice. Their team meets the expected troubleshooting standards. We contacted them a few times, and they provided the support we needed each time.

To deploy an Azure VPN Gateway, you must have an Azure account. Once you have an Azure subscription and have created the necessary resources, you can proceed with the deployment. Before deploying the VPN Gateway, you must have a virtual network. Planning your virtual network is crucial for your VPN setup.

Once your virtual network is ready, you can create the necessary configurations for the VPN Gateway and deploy it. Deploying the Azure VPN Gateway typically takes about 45 minutes. After deployment, you can proceed with other configurations, such as configuring the security parameters on the VPN Gateway.

Additionally, there is the LNG, which includes the details of the on-premises VPN Gateway site to establish the connection with the Azure VPN Gateway. Once all these configurations are done, you can complete the connection setup. The entire process, including configuration and connection establishment, is straightforward and can usually be completed within one to two hours.

As most businesses move towards cloud environments, migrating to the cloud has significant value and impact. However, many businesses prefer to keep some resources on-premises while migrating others to the cloud. Azure VPN Gateway adds substantial value to business operations by enabling secure and reliable connectivity between on-premises resources and those hosted in Azure.

For example, your web services might run on-premises, and a database might be hosted on Azure. The VPN Gateway ensures a secure connection between the Azure and on-premises environments, allowing both the website and the database to communicate seamlessly. This eliminates the need for a termination point and ensures a smooth user experience, as users can access the service without issues. The additional features and security provided by Azure VPN Gateway enhance overall business operations and user satisfaction.

Before proceeding, it is essential to plan thoroughly. Understand the local network requirements and the bandwidth volume needed, and then choose the appropriate SKU and the right VPN Gateway SKU. In planning the virtual network in Azure, one must consider IP address allocation to avoid conflicts. Additionally, I noticed a feature on Azure VPN Gateway that allows the configuration of BGP, which is beneficial. 

It is recommended that a detailed migration plan to Azure, a cloud environment, be planned correctly. This plan should also include the strategy for setting up VPNs, whether in the cloud or hybrid, incorporating both cloud and on-premises resources.

The solution integrates seamlessly, providing ease of use and straightforward configuration. It is not complex.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten, but they constantly improve services to meet user expectations and requirements.

I use the solution in my company to build IPsec tunnels on on-prem sites with Microsoft Azure's cloud services.

The feature that can improve our company's network connectivity revolves around the tool's IPSec functionality. I like the stability, HA, and performance of the product.

The product's deployment phase is not simple, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have two years of experience with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

It is a scalable solution.

Around 100 people use the tool in my company.

The solution can be deployed by myself.

The product's deployment phase is not straightforward.

The solution can be deployed by following the step-by-step instructions in Microsoft's guide.

The solution can be deployed in an hour.

The solution can be deployed by myself.

The measurable benefits that I have observed from the use of the product revolve around the scalability part.

I pay the licensing charges associated with the tool on an hourly basis. The tool is affordable.

Microsoft products have better scalability. The tool integrates well with other Microsoft products.

I recommend the product to others who plan to use it.

The tool is stable and cheap if used at a lower speed and with lower connections for users.

I don't use AI tools. I only work with networking solutions.

Considering the popularity of the vendor, I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

The ability to connect old protocols like Border Gateway Protocol is valuable. BGP is over 20 years old, but some customers still use it. Amazon, Google, IBM, and Oracle do not support BGP, but Microsoft does. It is good for the customers. If we ask the customers to change many things in their infrastructure to go to the cloud, it will put them off because it means they must spend more money to save money.

The product must provide a single sign-on. As of now, a shared secret is exchanged between both VPNs. It is quite compromisable. It will be good if a single sign-on feature is enabled in VPN Gateway or bundled with it.

I have been using the solution for four years.

I have never seen a downtime in the past four years. Except for one particular incident which hit the worldwide data centers, I have not seen any specific downtimes in Azure. It was not a Microsoft problem. The solution is very, very stable. I rate the stability a ten out of ten.

The tool is very scalable. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

Support quality depends on the tier of support. Free support takes a few days, and the quality is poor. If we take premium support from Microsoft, the response rate is very quick. The resolution time and the quality of the resolution are also very good. I rate the free support a two out of ten and the premium support a ten out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup is quite simple. It's just a few steps. The solution is deployed on the cloud. The deployment doesn't take more than a few minutes. If we know the setups and how they will run, it just takes a few minutes to set up the solution. It takes a couple of minutes to test that the product is working fine. Unless there's a breakage in the Internet, the product works fine.

The cost of the product must be improved. The costs are quite high. I understand that supporting old protocols is quite expensive for Microsoft, but the tool consumes a lot of costs. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.

VPN is a commonly used network connection system that has been around for many decades, like TCP/IP. There aren't too many differences between the vendors. Other than the fact that Microsoft supports some of the older protocols, which the other vendors don't, all the vendors provide similar features.

People who are looking into Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway should go for it. It is very stable, extremely reliable, it doesn’t go down, and we can connect any infrastructure we already have without too much of an issue. Overall, I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

I use Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway for hybrid networking. It is utilized to connect our cloud resources securely.

It has supported business growth with its scalable features, allowing us to expand our infrastructure as needed.

The scalability is a highly valued feature, and it is also beneficial for securing our connections with specific security features.

I would like to see improvements in the deployment process as I faced challenges.

I have been working with Azure VPN Gateway for an extended period.

There have been no significant downtimes affecting the reliability or stability of the solution.

The scalability of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is appreciated as it has supported our business growth effectively.

Customer service and support have been rated a four out of ten. There is room for improvement.

Neutral

I'm familiar with AWS. Both are considered pretty much the same with no significant pros and cons.

The initial setup was challenging. That said, it was proven to be effective once implemented.

The pricing of Azure VPN Gateway is considered fair.

Azure was evaluated and comparison with AWS.

I would recommend the Azure VPN Gateway to others considering implementation.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.