Microsoft Azure Firewall Manager

Introduction

• Azure Firewall Manager is a centralized security management service in Azure that enables you to manage and monitor multiple Azure Firewall instances across different Azure regions and subscriptions from a single location.
• It provides a unified view and streamlined management capabilities for deploying, configuring, and monitoring Azure Firewall policies across your entire Azure environment.

Key Features of Azure Firewall Manager

1. Centralized Management:
   • Azure Firewall Manager allows you to manage multiple Azure Firewall instances from a single pane of glass, providing a unified and centralized management experience.
2. Global Policy Management:
   • Define and enforce network and application-level policies across multiple Azure Firewall instances and Azure Virtual Networks (VNets) globally.
   • Simplifies policy management and ensures consistent security across your Azure environment.
3. Hierarchical Policy Structure:
   • Create hierarchical policy structures with Azure Firewall Policy and Azure Firewall Policy Association to apply policies at different levels, such as subscription, resource group, or virtual network.
4. Azure Firewall Policy:
   • Define firewall rules, network rules, application rules, and threat intelligence settings in Azure Firewall Policy.
   • Apply policies globally or selectively to specific Azure Firewall instances or virtual networks.
5. Policy Association:
   • Associate Azure Firewall Policies with Azure Firewall instances or Azure Virtual Network (VNet) resources to enforce security policies at the appropriate level.
   • Allows for granular control over policy application based on your organizational requirements.
6. Integration with Azure Security Center:
   • Azure Firewall Manager integrates with Azure Security Center for enhanced security insights, recommendations, and threat detection capabilities.
7. Built-in Monitoring and Reporting:
   • Monitor and audit firewall policy compliance, rule effectiveness, and network traffic using built-in logging and reporting features.
   • Gain visibility into network activity and security events across Azure Firewall instances.

Benefits of Azure Firewall Manager

1. Simplified Security Management:
   • Centralizes security management for Azure Firewall instances, reducing complexity and administrative overhead.
   • Enables consistent policy enforcement and security posture across multiple environments.
2. Scalability and Flexibility:
   • Scales with your organization’s needs by supporting multiple Azure Firewall instances, VNets, and policy associations.
   • Flexibly apply policies at different levels of the hierarchy based on your network architecture.
3. Compliance and Governance:
   • Facilitates compliance with regulatory requirements by enforcing standardized security policies across Azure environments.
   • Provides governance capabilities for monitoring and auditing firewall policies and traffic.

Use Cases for Azure Firewall Manager

1. Multi-Cloud Environments:
   • Manage Azure Firewall instances across multiple Azure regions and subscriptions, including hybrid and multi-cloud scenarios.
2. Enterprise Networks:
   • Centralize security management for large enterprise networks with multiple Azure Virtual Networks and Azure Firewall deployments.
3. Security Orchestration:
   • Orchestrate security policies and rules across diverse Azure environments to ensure consistent security posture and compliance.

Azure Firewall Manager Policy Components

1. Parent Policies:
   • These are top-level policies that define security rules and configurations inherited by multiple child policies or firewalls, enabling centralized management and consistent enforcement across environments.
2. Rule Collections:
   • Logical groupings of rules within Azure Firewall policies, organized into application rule collections, network rule collections, and DNAT rule collections, each serving different purposes in traffic filtering and management.
3. DNAT Rules (Destination Network Address Translation):
   • Rules that map incoming traffic from a public IP address and port to a private IP address and port within the virtual network, facilitating access to internal resources from external sources.
4. Network Rules:
   • Rules that control traffic based on IP addresses, port numbers, and protocols, used primarily for controlling network-level access between resources within the virtual network or to/from the internet.
5. Application Rules:
   • Rules that filter outbound traffic based on fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) and protocol, allowing granular control over web and application traffic to ensure secure and compliant access to internet resources.