Tutorial / Cram Notes
To implement Azure Bastion, the following high-level steps are necessary:
- Provisioning the Bastion Service: The first step is to provision the Azure Bastion service in the Azure Portal. This involves creating a new Bastion Host in your desired Azure region within a Virtual Network (VNet) where your VMs are located or will be located.
- Configuring Network Settings: For Bastion to function correctly, you must configure the network settings. This includes setting up an AzureBastionSubnet within your VNet. This subnet should be /27 or larger (for example, /26, /25, etc.) and dedicated to the Bastion service.
- Associating VMs: Azure Bastion will now be available to connect to VMs within the same Virtual Network. Ensure that your VM is deployed within the VNet or peered VNet where the Azure Bastion service exists.
- Establishing Connectivity: To connect to a VM using Azure Bastion, navigate to the Azure Portal, select the VM you wish to access, and click on the “Connect” button. From there, choose “Bastion” as the connection type and proceed to enter your credentials.
Azure Bastion Features and Benefits
- No Public IP Required: VMs do not require a public IP address, as Azure Bastion opens the RDP/SSH connection inside the Azure platform.
- Secure by Default: Azure Bastion uses Azure’s built-in multi-factor authentication and adheres to Azure’s compliance standards, providing a secure access point.
- Seamless Integration: It integrates directly with the Azure Portal, providing a smooth and uniform experience when managing your VMs.
- Isolation and Hardening: The Bastion service is isolated from your virtual machines, ensuring that it provides a hardened access point that is managed by Azure.
Cost Efficiency and Management
Azure Bastion is offered as a PaaS service with a per-hour billing model, providing cost efficiency as organizations do not need to invest in additional public IP addresses or NAT gateways for secure RDP/SSH access.
Connectivity Flow
The connectivity via Azure Bastion can be summarized as follows:
User —HTTPS—> Azure Portal —RDP/SSH over TLS—> Azure Bastion —RDP/SSH—> Virtual Machine
By enforcing the connectivity to go through Azure Portal, administrators can ensure that all sessions are logged and audited, providing additional layers of governance and oversight.
Conclusion
Azure Bastion enhances the security posture of your Azure infrastructure by providing secure and seamless access to your Azure VMs. Implementing Azure Bastion is straightforward, requiring only a few steps to set up and manage the service within the Azure Portal. By using Azure Bastion, administrators can benefit from a more secure way to connect to VMs, control costs, and streamline the management of remote sessions with minimal effort.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Azure Bastion provides RDP and SSH access to your virtual machines without requiring a public IP address.
- True
Azure Bastion is a fully managed service that provides secure and seamless RDP and SSH access to your virtual machines directly through the Azure portal without the need for a public IP address on your VMs.
Azure Bastion is deployed in which of the following Azure network resources?
- A. Virtual Network Gateway
- B. Virtual Network
- C. Application Gateway
- D. Azure Front Door
B. Virtual Network
Azure Bastion is deployed within a virtual network (VNet) to which the VMs it provides access to are also connected.
Which of the following services is required to use Azure Bastion?
- A. Azure VPN Gateway
- B. Azure Active Directory Domain Services
- C. Azure ExpressRoute
- D. None of the above
D. None of the above
Azure Bastion is a standalone service that does not require Azure VPN Gateway, Azure Active Directory Domain Services, or Azure ExpressRoute to function.
True or False: Azure Bastion can be used to connect to Windows and Linux virtual machines.
- True
Azure Bastion supports both RDP and SSH protocols, which means it can connect to Windows (RDP) and Linux (SSH) virtual machines.
True or False: Azure Bastion supports VNet peering to access VMs in peered VNets.
- True
Azure Bastion supports VNet peering and can be used to access VMs in different peered VNets, provided that network security group (NSG) rules allow the necessary traffic.
Which feature ensures that Azure Bastion uses isolated, ephemeral instances for establishing RDP/SSH sessions?
- A. PrivateLink
- B. SecureAML
- C. Session Hosts
- D. Jumpbox
C. Session Hosts
Azure Bastion uses ephemeral instances called Session Hosts to establish secure RDP/SSH sessions so that each session is isolated from the others and does not persist.
True or False: Azure Bastion requires a dedicated subnet named ‘AzureBastionSubnet’.
- True
When you deploy Azure Bastion, it requires a dedicated subnet within your VNet named ‘AzureBastionSubnet’ with a specific prefix length.
Which Azure service is typically used alongside Azure Bastion to monitor and log sessions?
- A. Azure Monitor
- B. Azure Firewall
- C. Azure Log Analytics
- D. Azure Activity Log
A. Azure Monitor
Azure Monitor can be used in conjunction with Azure Bastion to collect logs and monitor the sessions for auditing or diagnostic purposes.
True or False: You can access VMs in one Azure region from Bastion hosts deployed in another region.
- False
Azure Bastion is region-specific. To access VMs, you need to deploy Bastion in the same Azure region as the VMs.
When setting up Azure Bastion, which pricing tier allows for unlimited users to initiate concurrent sessions?
- A. Basic tier
- B. Standard tier
- C. Premium tier
- D. None, there is always a limit on the number of concurrent users
C. Premium tier
The Premium tier of Azure Bastion allows for scaling to support higher numbers of concurrent sessions and does not impose a pre-set limit on the number of users.
True or False: Azure Bastion has a built-in Network Security Group (NSG).
- False
Azure Bastion itself doesn’t have a built-in NSG, but you can (and should) configure NSGs on the AzureBastionSubnet for enhanced security.
Azure Bastion integrates natively with which feature for enhanced security?
- A. Azure Security Center
- B. Azure Defender
- C. Just In Time (JIT) VM access
- D. Azure Information Protection
C. Just In Time (JIT) VM access
Azure Bastion integrates with Just In Time (JIT) VM access, which is a feature of Azure Defender for enhanced security, by providing controlled access to VMs.
Interview Questions
What is Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion is a fully-managed service that provides secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to virtual machines directly from the Azure portal over SSL.
How do you create an Azure Bastion host?
To create an Azure Bastion host, you need to open the Azure portal, navigate to your virtual machine, select the “Bastion” option in the left-hand menu, click the “Add” button, and fill in the required details.
What information do you need to provide to create an Azure Bastion host?
You need to provide a name for the Azure Bastion host, the virtual network, and the subnet. You also need to choose the size of the Azure Bastion host.
What is the benefit of using Azure Bastion for remote access?
Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a public IP address and the use of RDP or SSH clients, providing an additional layer of security. It is also convenient, cost-effective, and easy to use.
How do you connect to a virtual machine with Azure Bastion?
To connect to a virtual machine with Azure Bastion, you need to navigate to your virtual machine in the Azure portal, click the “Connect” button, choose the “Bastion” option, and select the Azure Bastion host you created earlier. You also need to enter the username and password for the virtual machine.
Is Azure Bastion a Platform as a Service (PaaS) solution?
Yes, Azure Bastion is a PaaS solution.
What is the role of Azure Bastion in remote access to virtual machines?
Azure Bastion provides secure and seamless RDP/SSH connectivity to virtual machines directly from the Azure portal, eliminating the need for a public IP address and the use of RDP or SSH clients.
How does Azure Bastion reduce the risk of a security breach?
Azure Bastion eliminates the need for a public IP address and the use of RDP or SSH clients, providing an additional layer of security.
What is the cost of using Azure Bastion?
Azure Bastion is a cost-effective solution for remote access, eliminating the need for expensive VPNs and hardware solutions.
Is Azure Bastion easy to set up and use?
Yes, Azure Bastion is easy to set up and use, providing a simple and secure way to connect to virtual machines.
Does Azure Bastion require a VPN?
No, Azure Bastion does not require a VPN.
Can Azure Bastion be used to connect to virtual machines from anywhere with an internet connection?
Yes, Azure Bastion can be used to connect to virtual machines from anywhere with an internet connection.
What is the benefit of using Azure Bastion for remote access instead of a VPN?
Azure Bastion provides a simpler, more cost-effective, and more secure solution for remote access compared to a VPN.
Is Azure Bastion suitable for small businesses?
Yes, Azure Bastion is suitable for businesses of any size.
Can Azure Bastion be used for both RDP and SSH connectivity?
Yes, Azure Bastion can be used for both RDP and SSH connectivity.
Great post on implementing Azure Bastion. This is a lifesaver for secure VM access.
Absolutely, Azure Bastion makes the entire process secure and straightforward.
Can anyone explain how Azure Bastion integrates with existing VNet?
Interesting but could you highlight the pricing model of Azure Bastion?
Thanks for the detailed info!
I noticed a slight latency while using Azure Bastion. Has anyone else experienced this?
Appreciate the sharing. It helped me set up Azure Bastion for my project.
How secure is Azure Bastion compared to traditional VPNs?