Azure virtual network (VNet) peering is established between pairs of virtual networks. Once a peering connection is established, they appear as one network for connectivity purposes. Devices in each network can communicate with devices in the other network using private IP addresses. The two networks can be in different regions. This is referred to as global peering. Global peering traffic also stays in Microsoft's private backbone network, and does not traverse the public internet, meaning it provides superior security and performance.

This lab describes a scenario where peering can be used and also explains when peering cannot be used. You will create a virtual network, including resources in the network, and then create a peering connection with a pre-created virtual network. You will verify that the peering connection allows you to communicate between virtual networks using private addresses.

Lab Objectives

Upon completion of this lab, you will be able to:

• Configure Azure virtual networks and peering connections between networks
• Explain the situations when Azure virtual network peering applies
• Understand alternative Azure networking options when peering does not apply
• Use Azure VM serial console to test peering connectivity

Lab Prerequisites

You should be familiar with:

• Basic Azure concepts including the Azure Portal, VMs, and virtual networks

Updates

July 18th, 2024 - Updated instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest UI

January 5th, 2024 - Updated instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest UI

August 31st, 2023 - Updated instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest UI

September 26th, 2022 - Updated instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest UI

March 28th, 2022 - Updated the instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest UI 

February 3rd, 2022 - Updated the instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest UI  

October 25th, 2021 - Updated instructions and screenshots to reflect the latest user experience 

April 16th, 2021 - Moved validation checks to the most relevant lab step for more immediate validation feedback

November 6, 2019 - Updated instructions to specifically target creating a CentOS 7.5 VM to avoid phone number and email validation for later releases of CentOS

August 30th, 2019 - Resolved an issue that caused some validation checks to incorrectly report their result status in the case of failure

August 16th, 2019 - Updated the instructions to reflect the ability to create peerings in a single step compared to the two-step approach previously required