azure-firewall

Azure Firewall Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Firewall. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: This file may be large. Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections, then use read_file with specific line ranges (e.g., L136-L144) to read the sections needed for the user's question This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content. Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch to retrieve full articles.

• Fallback: Use the built-in WebFetch tool if the Microsoft Learn MCP server is not available.

Category Index

Category	Lines	Description
Troubleshooting	L31-L35	Diagnosing Azure Firewall issues and limitations, and using packet capture to investigate, analyze, and troubleshoot network traffic and connectivity problems.
Best Practices	L37-L41	Guidance on tuning Azure Firewall rules and SKUs for performance, plus security best practices for policies, rule design, logging, and threat protection configuration.
Decision Making	L43-L50	Guidance on choosing Azure Firewall Basic/Standard/Premium SKUs, comparing features and performance, and selecting or changing the right SKU for your workload and SMB scenarios.
Architecture & Design Patterns	L52-L62	Architectural patterns and topologies for Azure Firewall: hub-and-spoke routing, forced tunneling, SLB integration, hybrid connectivity, DNAT with overlapping IPs, DDoS protection, and traffic separation.
Limits & Quotas	L64-L71	Azure Firewall capacity, IP and SNAT port limits, prescaling ranges, TCP idle timeouts, and behavioral FAQs for scaling and quota-related configuration.
Security	L73-L90	Securing Azure Firewall: policies, roles, TLS inspection, threat intel, hybrid/AKS/AVD/M365 protection, Sentinel integration, DNAT, and compliance configuration.
Configuration	L92-L114	Configuring Azure Firewall rules, DNS/proxy, IP groups, SNAT/DNAT, Premium features, logging/monitoring, and bulk or policy-based rule management and change tracking.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L116-L119	Configuring Azure Firewall to securely access Azure Storage via SFTP, including required rules, network paths, and integration patterns for SFTP traffic.
Deployment	L121-L127	How to deploy Azure Firewall (including Premium) and IP Groups using ARM templates, Bicep, or Terraform, with example templates and infrastructure-as-code guidance.

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Diagnose Azure Firewall known issues and limitations	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-known-issues
Troubleshoot Azure Firewall using packet capture	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/packet-capture

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Optimize Azure Firewall configuration for performance	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-best-practices
Apply security best practices to Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/secure-firewall

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Choose and change Azure Firewall Standard vs Premium SKU	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/change-sku
Select the appropriate Azure Firewall SKU	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/choose-firewall-sku
Deploy Azure Firewall Basic for SMB scenarios	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/deploy-firewall-basic-portal-policy
Compare Azure Firewall features across SKUs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/features-by-sku
Plan Azure Firewall performance and SKU selection	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-performance

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic	URL
Architect multi-hub and spoke routing with Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-multi-hub-spoke
Design Azure Firewall forced tunneling topology	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/forced-tunneling
Integrate Azure Firewall with Standard Load Balancer	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/integrate-lb
Use Azure Firewall Management NIC for traffic separation	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/management-nic
Secure hybrid networks with Azure Firewall and policy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-hybrid-portal-policy
Deploy Azure Firewall in a hybrid network via PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-hybrid-ps
Use private IP DNAT for overlapped Azure networks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-private-ip-dnat
Protect Azure Firewall with Azure DDoS Protection	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-protect-firewall-ddos

Limits & Quotas

Topic	URL
Deploy Azure Firewall with multiple public IP limits	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/deploy-multi-public-ip-powershell
Azure Firewall FAQs on limits and behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-faq
Scale Azure Firewall SNAT ports with NAT Gateway	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/integrate-with-nat-gateway
Configure Azure Firewall prescaling capacity ranges	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/prescaling
Manage Azure Firewall TCP session idle timeouts	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tcp-session-behavior

Security

Topic	URL
Understand Azure Firewall compliance certifications	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/compliance-certifications
Deploy and configure Azure Firewall policy via PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/deploy-ps-policy
Detect malware using Microsoft Sentinel and Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/detect-malware-with-sentinel
Secure Azure Firewall deployments with Azure Policy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-azure-policy
Integrate Azure Firewall with Microsoft Sentinel	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-sentinel-overview
Configure TLS inspection certificates for Firewall Premium	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/premium-certificates
Deploy Enterprise CA chain for Azure Firewall Premium	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/premium-deploy-certificates-enterprise-ca
Protect AKS clusters using Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/protect-azure-kubernetes-service
Secure Azure Virtual Desktop with Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/protect-azure-virtual-desktop
Allow Microsoft 365 traffic through Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/protect-office-365
Understand Azure Firewall roles and permissions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/roles-permissions
Configure Azure Firewall threat intelligence filtering	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/threat-intel
Deploy and configure Azure Firewall in portal	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-firewall-deploy-portal
Configure Azure Firewall DNAT for inbound filtering	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-firewall-dnat
Configure Azure Firewall for hybrid network security	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-hybrid-portal

Configuration

Topic	URL
Create Azure Firewall IP Groups for rule management	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/create-ip-group
Set customer-controlled maintenance windows for Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/customer-controlled-maintenance
Bulk manage Azure Firewall rules with PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/deploy-rules-powershell
Configure and monitor Azure Firewall DNAT rules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/destination-nat-rules
Understand Azure Firewall DNS Proxy behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/dns-details
Configure DNS servers and DNS proxy for Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/dns-settings
Use Azure Firewall Policy Draft and Deployment	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/draft-deploy
Configure Azure Firewall explicit proxy mode	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/explicit-proxy
Analyze Azure Firewall data with Workbooks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-workbook
Use FQDN tags in Azure Firewall application rules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/fqdn-tags
Configure Azure Firewall FTP active and passive modes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/ftp-support
Configure and use IP Groups in Azure Firewall rules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/ip-groups
Configure monitoring and logging for Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/monitor-firewall
Use Azure Firewall monitoring data and logs with Azure Monitor	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/monitor-firewall-reference
Implement Azure Firewall Premium advanced features	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/premium-features
Track Azure Firewall rule changes with Resource Graph	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/rule-set-change-tracking
Configure Azure Firewall rules with service tags	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/service-tags
Configure Azure Firewall SNAT private IP ranges	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/snat-private-range
Configure Azure Firewall application rules for SQL FQDNs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/sql-fqdn-filtering
Configure Azure Firewall DNAT policy for inbound traffic	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-firewall-dnat-policy

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Access Azure Storage via SFTP through Azure Firewall	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-sftp

Deployment

Topic	URL
Deploy Azure Firewall Premium with template	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/premium-deploy
Deploy Azure Firewall and IP Groups using Bicep	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/quick-create-ipgroup-bicep
Deploy Azure Firewall and IP Groups via ARM template	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/quick-create-ipgroup-template
Deploy Azure Firewall and IP Groups with Terraform	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/quick-create-ipgroup-terraform