Task 1: Azure Virtual WAN

Azure Virtual WAN
Azure Virtual WAN is a networking service that brings many networking, security, and routing functionalities together to provide a single operational interface. Some of the main features include:
- Branch connectivity (via connectivity automation from Virtual WAN Partner devices such as SD-WAN or VPN CPE).
- Site-to-site VPN connectivity.
- Remote user VPN connectivity (point-to-site).
- Private connectivity (ExpressRoute).
- Intra-cloud connectivity (transitive connectivity for virtual networks).
- VPN ExpressRoute inter-connectivity.
- Routing, Azure Firewall, and encryption for private connectivity.
All of these use cases are not required to start using Virtual WAN. Get started with just one use case and adjust as the network needs evolve.
The Virtual WAN follows a hub and spoke architecture with scale and performance built in for branches (VPN/SD-WAN devices), users (Azure VPN/OpenVPN/IKEv2 clients), ExpressRoute circuits, and virtual networks. Enabling a global transit network architecture, where the cloud hosted network ‘hub’ provides transitive connectivity between endpoints that can be distributed across different types of ‘spokes’.
Virtual WAN offers the following advantages:
- Integrated connectivity solutions in hub and spoke: Automate site-to-site configuration and connectivity between on-premises sites and an Azure hub.
- Automated spoke setup and configuration: Connect your virtual networks and workloads to the Azure hub seamlessly.
- Intuitive troubleshooting: You can see the end-to-end flow within Azure, and then use this information to take required actions.
In this course, the vWAN has already been deployed.
Continue to Chapter 2 - Task 2: Azure vWAN resources
Task 2: Azure vWAN Resources

Azure vWAN Resources
To configure an end-to-end virtual WAN, create the following resources:
Virtual WAN: The virtual WAN resource represents a virtual overlay of your Azure network and is a collection of multiple resources. Containing links to all virtual hubs within the virtual WAN. Virtual WANs are isolated from each other and cannot contain a common hub. Virtual hubs in different virtual WANs do not communicate with each other.
Hub: A virtual hub is a Microsoft-managed virtual network. The hub contains various service endpoints to enable connectivity. From on-premises network (vpnsite), connections can be made to a hub VPN gateway, connect ExpressRoute circuits to a virtual hub, or even connect mobile users to a point-to-site gateway in the virtual hub. The hub is the core of the network in a region. Multiple virtual hubs can be created in the same region.
A hub gateway is not the same as a virtual network gateway used for ExpressRoute and VPN Gateway. For example, when using Virtual WAN, site-to-site connections are not made from on-premises sites directly to an Azure virtual network (VNET). Instead a site-to-site connection is made to the virtual hub. The traffic always goes through the hub gateway. This means that VNETs do not need their own virtual network gateway. Virtual WAN lets VNETs take advantage of scaling easily through the virtual hub and the virtual hub gateway.
Hub virtual network connection: The hub virtual network connection resource is used to connect the hub seamlessly to virtual networks. One virtual network can be connected to only one virtual hub.
Hub-to-hub connection: Hubs are all connected to each other in a virtual WAN. This implies that a branch, user, or VNET connected to a local hub can communicate with another branch or VNET using the full mesh architecture of the connected hubs. VNETs can also be connected within a hub transiting through the virtual hub, as well as VNETs across hubs, using the hub-to-hub connected framework.
Hub route table: virtual hub routes are applied to the virtual hub route table. Multiple routes can be added to the virtual hub route table.
These resources are used to manage network traffic and route to the FortiGate NVAs.
Continue to Chapter 2 - Task 3: FortiGate NVA Support for vWAN
Task 3: FortiGate NVA Support for vWAN
Microsoft Azure supports virtual WAN (vWAN) and partners with third-party solution providers, such as Fortinet, to deploy network virtual appliances (NVAs) to a vWAN hub.
FortiGate NVA
By combining stateful inspection with a comprehensive suite of powerful security features, FortiGate next generation firewall technology delivers complete content and network protection. This solution is available for deployment in the Microsoft Azure vWAN managed service.
In addition to advanced features such as an extreme threat database, vulnerability management, and flow-based inspection, features including application control, firewall, antivirus, IPS, web filter, and VPN work in concert to identify and mitigate the latest complex security threats.
FortiGate NVAs are deployed in an active/active high availability (HA) configuration with FortiGate-native FGSP synchronization between the NVAs.
Order Types
Choose one of the following scale unit values when deploying FortiGate NVAs. Higher scale units are available for increased bandwidth requirements. A specific FortiGate virtual machine license is recommended for each scale unit value.
NGFW Deployment

SD-WAN NGFW Deployment

Tip
Azure has release new az cli commands that support changing the scale unit of a NVA with out the need to redeploy the environment. See NVA Management
Deployment Requirements
Deployment requires the following:
- The number of required FortiGate licenses depends on the selected scale unit. Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL), FortiFlex, and Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) are all supported. the desired licensing method can be chosen during deployment.
- One fully licensed FortiManager instance (BYOL or Flex) is recommended, but not required.
Continue to Chapter 3 - Getting Started