Azure Bastion

Azure Bastion Skill

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

How to Use This Skill

> IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., security.md), use read_file on the linked reference file

> IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

| Category | Lines | Description |

|----------|-------|-------------|

| Best Practices | L35-L39 | Guidance on reducing Azure Bastion costs through sizing, scaling, and usage patterns while maintaining secure remote access and compliance best practices. |

| Decision Making | L40-L46 | Guidance on choosing and upgrading Bastion SKU tiers and using IP-based Bastion connections across VNets, subscriptions, and environments. |

| Architecture & Design Patterns | L47-L53 | Architectural options and patterns for Azure Bastion: hub/spoke and peered VNets, private-only deployments, network/topology design, and deployment guidance for secure remote access. |

| Limits & Quotas | L54-L58 | Configuring Azure Bastion host scaling limits, including max concurrent RDP/SSH sessions, connection thresholds, and how to adjust or plan capacity for different SKUs. |

| Security | L59-L65 | Configuring secure Azure Bastion access: Entra ID authentication, required NSG rules, and hardening best practices to lock down Bastion hosts and connections. |

| Configuration | L66-L77 | Configuring Azure Bastion features: auth (Kerberos), monitoring/metrics/logs, native client access, session management, recording, and shareable links. |

| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L78-L85 | How to use Azure Bastion with AKS private clusters, VM scale sets, and native Windows/Linux clients, including SSH/RDP connectivity patterns and file transfer via Bastion native clients. |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Optimize Azure Bastion costs without reducing security | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/cost-optimization |

Decision Making

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Select the appropriate Azure Bastion SKU tier | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/bastion-sku-comparison |

| Use Azure Bastion IP-based connections across environments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/connect-ip-address |

| View and upgrade Azure Bastion SKU tiers safely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/upgrade-sku |

Architecture & Design Patterns

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Understand Azure Bastion deployment architectures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/design-architecture |

| Design and deploy private-only Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/private-only-deployment |

| Use Azure Bastion with VNet peering architectures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/vnet-peering |

Limits & Quotas

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Configure Azure Bastion host scaling limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/configure-host-scaling |

Security

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Configure Microsoft Entra ID auth for Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/bastion-entra-id-authentication |

| Configure Azure Bastion NSG rules for secure access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/bastion-nsg |

| Harden and secure your Azure Bastion deployment | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/secure-bastion |

Configuration

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Azure Bastion configuration settings and options | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/configuration-settings |

| Configure Kerberos authentication for Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/kerberos-authentication-portal |

| Configure monitoring and diagnostics for Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/monitor-bastion |

| Reference Azure Bastion monitoring metrics and logs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/monitor-bastion-reference |

| Configure Azure Bastion for native client access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/native-client |

| Monitor and manage active Azure Bastion sessions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/session-monitoring |

| Configure and use Azure Bastion session recording | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/session-recording |

| Create and use Azure Bastion shareable links | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/shareable-link |

Integrations & Coding Patterns

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Connect to AKS private clusters via Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/bastion-connect-to-aks-private-cluster |

| Connect to VM scale sets using Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/bastion-connect-vm-scale-set |

| Connect from Linux native clients through Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/connect-vm-native-client-linux |

| Connect from Windows native clients through Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/connect-vm-native-client-windows |

| Transfer files via Azure Bastion native clients | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bastion/vm-upload-download-native |