Azure
Azure Networking & Security Mastery
VNet, vWAN, ExpressRoute, Front Door, Firewall, Private Link, AKS.
This is the TechLeague pillar page for Azure: 47 hand-curated guides, blueprints and roadmaps, grouped by sub-topic so you can go from zero to production fast. Start anywhere β every article is independent and links back to its cluster.
Latest articles
Certifications6
The Ultimate Azure Network Architect Roadmap (AZ-700 & AZ-305) for 2026
A high-level technical roadmap for achieving Azure AZ-700 and AZ-305 certifications by 2026, focusing on enterprise networking, architectural governance, and salary ROI.
Read article βAzure Administrator (AZ-104) roadmap
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Solutions Architect (AZ-305) roadmap
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Security Engineer (AZ-500) roadmap
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Network Engineer Associate (AZ-700): official blueprint and study plan
Master AZ-700 from the official Microsoft blueprint: VNet, ExpressRoute, Virtual WAN, Front Door and security β with an 8-week plan.
Read article βMicrosoft SC-200: Security Operations Analyst
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βNetworking & Edge17
Azure Front Door vs. Application Gateway: The 2026 Architectural Showdown
An in-depth technical comparison of Azure Front Door vs. Application Gateway in 2026. Learn why AFD Premium's Private Link and Edge WAF are killing the regional App Gateway for global performance.
Read article βApp Service VNet integration patterns
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Application Gateway + WAF v2
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Bastion: secure RDP/SSH without public IPs
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βCosmos DB with Private Endpoint
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βCustom DNS in Azure: forwarders and Private DNS zones
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βExpressRoute Direct: 10/100 Gbps and FastPath
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βExpressRoute Global Reach: any-to-any across continents
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βExpressRoute encryption with MACsec
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Front Door: global L7 with WAF and CDN
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure NAT Gateway design and limits
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βNSG and ASG: clean micro-segmentation on Azure
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βPrivate Link and Private Endpoints
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Route Server: BGP peering with NVAs
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βTraffic Manager vs Front Door
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure VNet design patterns: hub-spoke vs vWAN
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βvWAN routing intent and policies
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βSecurity & Identity14
Azure Firewall vs. Palo Alto & Fortinet NVAs: A 2026 TCO Analysis
A brutally honest TCO and performance comparison for 2026: Azure Firewall Premium vs. Palo Alto VM-Series and FortiGate-VM NVAs. We cover TLS inspection, IDPS, and real sizing.
Read article βConditional Access design that does not break users
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure DDoS Protection Standard
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βDefender for Cloud: CSPM + CWPP
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βEntra Workload Identity for apps and pods
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Firewall Premium: TLS inspection and IDPS
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βJust-In-Time VM access via Defender for Cloud
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Key Vault best practices
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βPoint-to-Site OpenVPN with Microsoft Entra auth
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βPIM: just-in-time privileged access
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Policy and initiatives at scale
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βMicrosoft Sentinel: SIEM that scales
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βStorage account firewall and Private Endpoint
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure WAF policy: managed rules and custom
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βPlatform & AKS5
Azure AKS Networking: Why Azure CNI Overlay + Cilium is the Only Logical Choice in 2026
A deep dive into Azure AKS networking in 2026, comparing Azure CNI Overlay, Kubenet, and Cilium eBPF for enterprise-grade Kubernetes performance and scale.
Read article βAKS with Cilium dataplane (BYOCNI)
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAKS networking: Azure CNI vs kubenet vs Overlay
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Functions networking trade-offs
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Lighthouse for managed service providers
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Virtual WAN vs Hub-and-Spoke: The 2026 Enterprise Decision
A deep technical analysis of Azure Virtual WAN Secured Hubs versus traditional NVA-based hub-and-spoke architectures for 2026, focusing on multi-region routing, cost, and scale.
Read article βAzure Network Watcher: troubleshoot and monitor
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βService endpoints vs Private Endpoints
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βAzure Virtual WAN design: hubs, secured hubs and global transit
Virtual WAN hub-and-spoke, secured hubs with Azure Firewall, ExpressRoute, point-to-site and routing policies.
Read article βAzure VPN Gateway: SKUs, BGP, active-active
Practical, blueprint-driven walk-through with design choices, pitfalls and a fast learning path.
Read article βTechLeague Challenges
Stop reading about Azure. Start competing.
Every guide on this page maps to a hands-on challenge with real ranking. Solve the lab, submit the config, climb the leaderboard.
Open the challenge arena βFAQ
- Where should I start with Azure?
- Open the "Certifications" or "Fundamentals" cluster above and read top-down β every guide is self-contained.
- Are these guides updated for 2026?
- Yes. Every post on this page is dated 2026 and follows current vendor blueprints.
- Do I need a lab to follow them?
- Recommended. Most guides include lab suggestions; for Azure a free trial or sandbox is usually enough.