When a company migrates to Azure, the normal network diagram consists of Azure being treated as an extension of the main Datacenter and keeping all the branches and other locations connected with the Datacenter as the hub. However, is this the best method for your company?

Until recently it was only possible to have a limited number of connections in Azure via the VPN Gateway, with an aggregate speed too low for more than a small number of connections. ExpressRoute still remains a great option for connecting a Datacenter or HQ, with its redundant configuration and dynamic routing, but what about everyone else?

At Ignite 2018 Microsoft released Azure WAN for connecting offices together. Azure WAN creates a hub and spoke model for connecting all your offices with Azure as the hub, with data able to traverse through the Hub from a branch to another branch. While this might not seem that monumental, it has removed the issue of migrating fully to Azure and maintaining a redundant network for all offices.

Azure WAN can deploy a single Hub in each region, with each capable of up to 1,000 connections, and each connection made up of two active-active tunnels, with a current speed limit of 2gbps, soon to be increased to 20gbps. Setup can be a breeze, as Microsoft has partners which make the setup automatic, however, any device that supports Azure’s IPSec configuration will also work.

Using IPSec is great, but what about the Datacenter? Well, Azure WAN also supports ExpressRoute, so your Datacenter can still have a high bandwidth, reliable, and highly available connection into Azure, which can also be used for data traversing Azure from a branch to your Datacenter.

But what about remote workers? Azure WAN also supports Point-to-Site connections, which creates a full-featured system, capable of connecting Data Centers, branches, and remote workers together, enabling them to fully use Azure services and any services still in the Datacenter.

Watch my course, Overview of Microsoft Azure, to find out how to make Azure the center of your world.