Search code examples
azureazure-web-app-serviceweb-application-firewallazure-webapps

Do i need point to site vpn with azure waf and web app


I have been messing around with Azure trying to get a web app up and running. My plan was to create a WAF and site the web app behind that, each in a seperate subnet and then to use the service endpoint tech to point the web app to a database.

I have been stopped in my tracks almost straight away with the revelation that if i want to use a WAF in front of the web app i have to configure the networking in the web app but when i choose a vnet it says that no gateway is configured for the selected VNET.

My question being is do i have to use point to site VPN to get this setup working? i thought that it would work like

INTERNET ---> VNET ----> subnet ----> WAF -----> subnet -----> web app ----> service endpoint ------> DB

but that doesnt seem to be the case. I am not keen on the idea of having to install a client certificate on every machine in our network that might want to access this website (it is currently internal). I suppose i am looking for the best of both worlds. Accessible from the internet but having the added comfort of having something like a WAF sat in front of it to make up for any security inadequacies which might exist somewhere in said app.

Thanks


Solution

  • As far as I know, you could not deploy a web app in a VNet unless you are using the App Service Environment(Isolated). App VNet integration could not do it. It allows you to securely access resources in a VNet. For example, you have a database on an Azure VM in a private VNet. You could not access it from Azure web app to this database if this database is not available publicly, but you could reach it via app VNet integration.

    VNet service endpoints is another different service. Endpoints allow you to secure your critical Azure service resources to only your virtual networks. If you enable such service endpoint like Azure SQL database( which differs from the database on Azure VMs) in a VNet, this means only the resource in these authorized VNets could access your SQL database unless you add an exclusion like the public IP address in the firewall of the database.

    In this case, you could put a Public facing Azure app gateway at the high level of the web app service, then add the Azure app gateway public IP in the IP restriction of the web app.This will restrict to access to web app via Azure web app gateway over the Internet. Also, you could control the network inbound and outbound in Azure app gateway subnet NSG. See Network security groups on the Application Gateway subnet if you want to add an NSG to the app gateway subnet level. I think these are enough if you just want to create a WAF and site the web app behind that.

    Furthermore, if you want to let web app privately access the Azure SQL database. You could deploy a web app in an ASE, then enable the VNet service endpoint for Azure SQL database. App VNet integration does not need to use it with the service endpoint.