Network security is undeniably essential for modern cloud-based applications. Given the abundance of available security tools and devices, selecting the most suitable protection for a specific scenario can be a complex task. Take, for example, Azure Firewall and Azure Network Security Groups (NSGs) in the Azure cloud environment; although both are prevalent security measures, they serve distinctly different purposes.

What is Azure Firewall?

Azure Firewall is a cloud-native, fully-managed firewall service that offers advanced threat protection across OSI layers 3 to 7. It is an intelligent network security tool that extends beyond traditional IP, port, and protocol-based filtering, leveraging threat intelligence and signature-based Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) to analyze network traffic for potential threats. This comprehensive service is Microsoft’s flagship for securing Azure Cloud workloads.