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: 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 |

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

| Troubleshooting | L37-L42 | Diagnosing Azure Firewall issues using known limitations, packet captures, and Sentinel log analysis for malware detection and traffic investigation. |

| Best Practices | L43-L49 | Best practices for Azure Firewall DNS proxy/caching, rule and SNAT tuning, using Policy Analytics to refine rules, and hardening firewall security and configuration |

| Decision Making | L50-L58 | Guidance on choosing Azure Firewall SKUs (Basic/Standard/Premium), comparing features and throughput, and planning or changing deployments based on performance and requirements. |

| Architecture & Design Patterns | L59-L70 | Designing Azure Firewall network architectures: hub-and-spoke, forced tunneling, load balancer integration, hybrid/AVD/M365 protection, and DNAT for overlapping/private IP networks. |

| Limits & Quotas | L71-L80 | Azure Firewall capacity, IP and SNAT port limits, prescaling options, TCP idle timeouts, and how to scale/extend outbound connectivity (including via NAT Gateway V2). |

| Security | L81-L94 | Azure Firewall security setup: compliance, RBAC/permissions, Azure Policy, TLS inspection and CA chains, threat intel, DNAT, AKS and hybrid network protection, and portal deployment. |

| Configuration | L95-L118 | Configuring Azure Firewall features: rules, policies, IP groups, DNAT/SNAT, DNS, HTTP headers, explicit proxy, IPv6, logging/monitoring, advanced/Premium options, and PowerShell-based management. |

| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L119-L123 | Configuring Azure Firewall to securely access Azure Storage via SFTP, including required rules, network paths, and integration patterns for SFTP traffic. |

| Deployment | L124-L131 | How to deploy Azure Firewall (including Premium) with IP Groups using Bicep/ARM/Terraform, and integrate with Azure DDoS Protection, including basic configuration steps |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL |

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

| Detect and investigate malware using Sentinel with Azure Firewall logs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/detect-malware-with-sentinel |

| Troubleshoot Azure Firewall using packet capture | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/packet-capture |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL |

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

| Understand Azure Firewall DNS proxy behavior and caching | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/dns-details |

| Optimize Azure Firewall performance with rule and SNAT tuning | 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 with portal and policy | 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 throughput | 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 architectures | 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 control traffic | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/management-nic |

| Architect Azure Firewall protection for Azure Virtual Desktop | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/protect-azure-virtual-desktop |

| Design Azure Firewall protection for Microsoft 365 traffic | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/protect-office-365 |

| Architect Azure Firewall in hybrid network topologies | 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 |

Limits & Quotas

| Topic | URL |

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

| Deploy Azure Firewall with multiple public IPs and limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/deploy-multi-public-ip-powershell |

| Azure Firewall FAQ limits, features, and behaviors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-faq |

| Scale Azure Firewall SNAT ports and IP limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/integrate-with-nat-gateway |

| Integrate Azure Firewall with NAT Gateway V2 for SNAT scaling | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/integrate-with-nat-gateway-v2 |

| Configure Azure Firewall prescaling capacity ranges | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/prescaling |

| Configure 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 |

| Enforce Azure Firewall security using Azure Policy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-azure-policy |

| 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 |

| Azure Firewall roles, permissions, and required access | 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 |

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

| Configure HTTP header insertion in Azure Firewall | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/configure-http-header-insertion |

| Create and manage Azure Firewall IP Groups | 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 |

| Configure Azure Firewall for dual stack IPv4/IPv6 | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/deploy-dual-stack-firewall |

| Deploy and configure Azure Firewall policy via PowerShell | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/deploy-ps-policy |

| 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 |

| 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 |

| Analyze Azure Firewall data using workbooks | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/firewall-workbook |

| Use Azure Firewall FQDN tags in application rules | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/fqdn-tags |

| Configure FTP modes and security on Azure Firewall | 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 logs and metrics reference | 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 SNAT private IP ranges in Azure Firewall | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/snat-private-range |

| Configure Azure Firewall application rules with 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 and configure Azure Firewall Premium environments | 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 using Terraform | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/quick-create-ipgroup-terraform |

| Deploy Azure Firewall with Azure DDoS Protection | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/firewall/tutorial-protect-firewall-ddos |