Does Application Gateway is required for Azure App service? - Microsoft Q&A (2024)

FAQs

Is Application Gateway necessary? ›

Azure Application Gateway is a critical component in cloud services, serving as a web traffic load balancer that operates at the application layer to manage traffic to web applications efficiently and securely.

Azure Application Gateway is a web traffic (OSI layer 7) load balancer that enables you to manage traffic to your web applications. Traditional load balancers operate at the transport layer (OSI layer 4 - TCP and UDP) and route traffic based on source IP address and port, to a destination IP address and port.

You can use Azure PowerShell or the Azure CLI to stop and start Application Gateway. When you stop and start Application Gateway, billing also stops and starts. Any PUT operation done on a stopped application gateway (like adding tag, health probe, or listener) triggers a start.

It helps protect web applications from common web vulnerabilities and attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and session hijacking. By analyzing incoming HTTP/S traffic, Azure WAF can detect and block malicious requests, providing an additional layer of security for your web applications.

All networks have a boundary that limits communication to devices that are directly connected to it. Due to this, if a network wants to communicate with devices, nodes or networks outside of that boundary, they require the functionality of a gateway.

Answer: Azure Load Balancer operates at the network transport layer (Layer 4), focusing on distributing TCP and UDP traffic efficiently. In contrast, Application Gateway operates at the application layer (Layer 7), providing more advanced routing, load balancing, and security features for web applications.

Front Door can only do path-based load balancing at the global level, but Application Gateway can do it within your virtual network. You need Connection Draining, which Front Door doesn't support. Application Gateway can enable Connection Draining for your VMs or containers.

The Azure-managed rule sets in the Application Gateway web application firewall (WAF) actively protect web applications from common vulnerabilities and exploits. These rule sets, managed by Azure, receive updates as necessary to guard against new attack signatures.

Azure Firewall alone, when there are no web applications in the virtual network. It will control both inbound traffic to the applications and outbound traffic. Application Gateway alone, when only web applications are in the virtual network, and network security groups (NSGs) provide sufficient output filtering.

WAF is an additional setting for the application gateway. It's used to increase the security of applications behind the application gateway, and it also provides centralized protection. After the application gateway is set to WAF, we can enable and set the firewall rules.

What is the difference between Azure Web Apps and Azure App Service? ›

Azure Web Apps is a specific type of Azure App Service that focuses on hosting web applications, while Azure App Service is a broader category of PaaS offerings that includes Azure Web Apps and other related services.

Azure App Service provides a framework for developing and running apps in the cloud. PaaS providers host and maintain the platform's servers, networks, storage, and other computing resources.

All you have to do is pull up your router's firmware, visit the ALG page, and uncheck your SIP ALG box. You may need to gain access with your admin password if you have security settings in place.

Some benefits of using an Application Gateway include increased security, better load balancing, SSL termination, and improved monitoring capabilities. Additionally, it offers features like autoscaling and Web Application Firewall integration to enhance application resilience and security further.

Disadvantages of Application-Level Gateways

The stricter the monitoring rules on the proxy server, the slower the data flow. Proxy firewalls also have major compatibility problems, as they can't support a wide variety of connection types and network protocols.

An application layer gateway (ALG) is a type of security software or device that acts on behalf of the application servers on a network, protecting the servers and applications from traffic that might be malicious.