Azure Private Endpoints - Lock Down Your Storage and SQL

Azure PaaS services like Storage Accounts and SQL Databases are assigned public endpoints by default, making them reachable over the internet. While firewalls and network rules can restrict which sources are allowed to connect, the traffic still flows through the public endpoint. Azure Private Endpoints solve this by assigning a private IP address from your Virtual Network directly to the service, routing all traffic over the Microsoft backbone and eliminating public internet exposure entirely.

In this lab, you will create Private Endpoints for an Azure Storage Account and an Azure SQL Database, configure Private DNS Zones for automatic name resolution, disable public network access on both services, and verify the lockdown using nslookup from a Virtual Machine inside the VNet.

Objectives

Upon completing this intermediate-level lab, you will be able to:

• Create Private Endpoints for Azure Storage and SQL Database and connect them to a designated subnet
• Configure Private DNS Zones to automatically resolve service hostnames to private IP addresses
• Disable public network access on PaaS services to enforce private-only connectivity
• Verify private DNS resolution using nslookup from inside the Virtual Network
• Confirm that access from outside the VNet is blocked after disabling public access

Who is this lab for?

This lab is designed for:

• Cloud engineers who need to implement Zero Trust network security for Azure PaaS services
• Security professionals looking to lock down storage and database resources using Private Link
• Azure administrators preparing for certification exams where Service Endpoint vs Private Endpoint is a common topic