Any VPN or ExpressRoute gateway SKU carrying the AZ suffix (VpnGw1AZ to 5AZ, ErGw1Az to 3Az). In regions with availability zones its instances spread across zones; in other regions it deploys regionally, becoming zone-redundant once zones are introduced there.
Also called availability zone SKU.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains AZ SKU in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- VPN
Traffic sent through an encrypted tunnel across a public network, as in a site-to-site connection to a VPN gateway in an Azure GatewaySubnet.
- ExpressRoute gateway
Connects a virtual network to an ExpressRoute circuit from inside GatewaySubnet. Only one is allowed per VNet, and VPN traffic needs a separate gateway.
- SKU
The size or tier of a service, for example a VM size or the Premium tier of ACR.
- VpnGw1AZ
A Generation1 VPN gateway SKU with zone redundancy, 650 Mbps and as many as 30 site-to-site tunnels. Because AZ SKUs survive a zone failure without dropping tunnels, they are recommended for new gateways.
- ErGw1Az
ExpressRoute gateway SKU deployed across availability zones, offering roughly 1 Gbps like Standard, without FastPath support.
- Availability zones
Separate physical datacentre locations inside one region. Placing VMs in at least two of them earns a 99.99% SLA.
- Zone-redundant
Distributed over every availability zone in a region, allowing it to withstand losing one zone; a StandardV2 NAT gateway is an example.
Related terms
- ExpressRoute gateway migration
To turn a Standard, HighPerformance or UltraPerformance gateway into an AZ SKU, this guided experience deploys a second gateway next to it in the existing GatewaySubnet. The alternative is deleting and recreating it.
- Zone-redundant gateway
A virtual network gateway on an AZ SKU, paired with a Standard zone-redundant public IP, with instances across availability zones. Zone resilience comes from this rather than from adding ExpressRoute circuits.