Exercise 03: Create and configure Azure Firewall

Scenario

Your organization requires centralized network security for the application virtual network. As the application usage increases, more granular application-level filtering and advanced threat protection will be needed. Also, it is expected the application will need continuous updates from Azure DevOps pipelines. You identify these requirements.

• Azure Firewall is required for additional security in the app-vnet.
• A firewall policy should be configured to help manage access to the application.
• A firewall policy application rule is required. This rule will allow the application access to Azure DevOps so the application code can be updated.
• A firewall policy network rule is required. This rule will allow DNS resolution.

Skilling tasks

• Create an Azure Firewall.
• Create and configure a firewall policy
• Create an application rule collection.
• Create a network rule collection.

Architecture diagram

Exercise instructions

Create Azure Firewall subnet in our existing virtual network

1. In the search box at the top of the portal, enter Virtual networks. Select Virtual networks in the search results.

2. Select app-vnet.

3. Select Subnets.

4. Select + Subnet.

5. Enter the following information and select Save.

   Property	Value
   Name	AzureFirewallSubnet
   Address range	10.1.63.0/26

Note: Leave all other settings as default.

Create an Azure Firewall

1. In the search box at the top of the portal, enter Firewall. Select Firewall in the search results.

2. Select + Create.

3. Create a firewall by using the values in the following table. For any property that is not specified, use the default value.

   Note: Azure Firewall can take a few minutes to deploy.

   Property	Value
   Resource group	RG1
   Name	app-vnet-firewall
   Firewall SKU	Standard
   Firewall management	Use a Firewall Policy to manage this firewall
   Firewall policy	select Add new
   Policy name	fw-policy
   Region	East US
   Policy Tier	Standard
   Choose a virtual network	Use existing
   Virtual network	app-vnet (RG1)
   Public IP address	Add new: fwpip
   Enable Firewall Management NIC	uncheck the box

   Learn more on creating a firewall.

4. Select Review + create and then select Create.

Update the Firewall Policy

1. In the portal, search for and select Firewall Policies.

2. Select fw-policy.

Add an application rule

1. In the Settings blade, select Application rules and then Add a rule collection.

2. Configure the application rule collection and then select Add.

   Property	Value
   Name	app-vnet-fw-rule-collection
   Rule collection type	Application
   Priority	200
   Rule collection action	Allow
   Rule collection group	DefaultApplicationRuleCollectionGroup
   Name	AllowAzurePipelines
   Source type	IP address
   Source	10.1.0.0/23
   Protocol	https
   Destination type	FQDN
   Destination	dev.azure.com, azure.microsoft.com

Note: The AllowAzurePipelines rule allows the web application to access Azure Pipelines. The rule allows the web application to access the Azure DevOps service and the Azure website.

Add a network rule

1. In the Settings blade, select Network rules and then Add a network collection.

2. Configure the network rule and then select Add.

   Property	Value
   Name	app-vnet-fw-nrc-dns
   Rule collection type	Network
   Priority	200
   Rule collection action	Allow
   Rule collection group	DefaultNetworkRuleCollectionGroup
   Rule	AllowDns
   Source	10.1.0.0/23
   Protocol	UDP
   Destination ports	53
   Destination addresses	1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1

Verify the firewall and firewall policy status

1. In the portal search for and select Firewall.

2. View the app-vnet-firewall and ensure the Provisioning state is Succeeded. This may take a few minutes.

3. In the portal serach for and select Firewall policies.

4. View the fw-policy and ensure the Provisioning state is Succeeded. This may take a few minutes.

Learn more with online training

• Introduction to Azure Firewall. In this module, you learn about how Azure Firewall features, rules, deployment options, and administration.
• Introduction to Azure Firewall Manager. In this moudle, you learn how Azure Firewall Manager provides central security policy and route management for cloud-based security perimeters.

Key takeaways

Congratulations on completing the exercise. Here are the main takeaways:

• Azure Firewall is a cloud-based security service that protects your Azure virtual network resources from incoming and outgoing threats.
• An Azure firewall policy is a resource that contains one or more collections of NAT, network, and application rules.
• Network rules allow or deny traffic based on IP addresses, ports, and protocols.
• Application rules allow or deny traffic based on fully qualified domain names (FQDNs), URLs, and HTTP/HTTPS protocols.