Learn how to configure Microsoft Azure connectivity and name resolution with this course instructed by a Cloud Academy expert.
In this course, you will learn two different ways to connect virtual networks together. The course starts by teaching you how to set up peering between virtual networks, then moves on to show you how to connect two VNets using a virtual network gateway. Once you have mastered network connections, you will learn how to use Azure DNS to configure custom domain names for the resources in your VNets. Finally, we will move on to learning how to set up both public and private DNS zones.
This course is essential for those looking to train enterprise teams since, by default, Azure virtual networks are isolated from each other and only have a rudimentary form of name resolution. To build useful networks in Azure, you will need to connect these virtual networks together. To make them easier to manage, you will need to implement custom name resolution.
This course is made up of 7 lectures with an introduction and conclusion to aid in reviewing what you have learned throughout the course.
Learning Objectives
- Configure Azure virtual network peering
- Create a virtual network gateway and use it to connect two VNets
- Configure Azure DNS to handle name resolution
Intended Audience
- Those looking to become Azure cloud architects
- Those preparing for Microsoft’s AZ-100 or AZ-102 exam
Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of Azure virtual networks
Additional Resources
- The GitHub repository for this course is at https://github.com/cloudacademy/azure-networks-and-dns
As I mentioned earlier, Azure DNS now supports private domains that aren’t accessible over the internet. In the simplest scenario, you can use Azure DNS to set up a custom domain inside a single virtual network. One advantage of using Azure DNS to do this is that it will also automatically create a DNS record for each of the VMs and other resources in the virtual network so you don’t have to.
Before we can create a private zone, we need a virtual network, and in order to create a virtual network, we need a resource group, so I’ve included commands to do all of these tasks in the readme file in the GitHub repository for this course. The URL pointing to it is at the bottom of the overview below.
First, go into Cloud Shell. Then copy the command to create a resource group and paste it. Good, it says it succeeded. Now copy and paste the command to create a virtual network. It’s a little harder to find the status on this one, but it says it succeeded.
Let’s have a look at the next command before we run it. The first line is pretty straightforward. We’re creating a private DNS zone in the resource group we created earlier. Then we give the name, which is private.contoso.com.
It succeeded. Now we need to create a link between the private DNS zone and the virtual network. We have to tell it which resource group to put it in and give the link a name. Then we tell it the name of the zone and the name of the VNet. Finally, we need to say whether autoregistration is enabled. If we set this to “true”, then any time a VM is created or deleted or changes its IP address, it’ll be recorded in the DNS zone. Okay, that worked.
Now, to test the capabilities of the private zone, let’s provision a couple of VMs. Copy and paste these two commands. Highlight it so the last line has a space at the end. That way, it’ll run the second command as soon as the first one’s done. It’ll take a few minutes, so I’ll fast forward. OK, they’re ready.
To see if the DNS records that were automatically created, look up the zone in the portal. Type “private zones” in the search field. There it is. Now click on the zone we created. Great. It created a DNS record for each of the virtual machines.
Make sure you delete these two VMs so you don’t incur any additional charges. The easiest way to do that and to delete everything else you created, too, is to go to “Resource groups” and delete “MyAzureResourceGroup”.
That’s it for this lesson. In the next lesson, we’ll look at more complex scenarios.
Guy launched his first training website in 1995 and he's been helping people learn IT technologies ever since. He has been a sysadmin, instructor, sales engineer, IT manager, and entrepreneur. In his most recent venture, he founded and led a cloud-based training infrastructure company that provided virtual labs for some of the largest software vendors in the world. Guy’s passion is making complex technology easy to understand. His activities outside of work have included riding an elephant and skydiving (although not at the same time).