VNet Peering data charge in Azure Transit Option 1/2 via ExpressRoute Edge Routers
Hi guys,
In the Azure Networking 101 course/video, the instructor said doing Azure Transit via ExpressRoute Edge Routers can avoid VNet Peering data charge. I don't quite get it as there is data charge still on those two VNet Peering between Spoke VNets and Hub VNet that ExpressRoute terminates, isn't there?
Or he actually meant avoiding the data charge of VNet Peering between Spoke VNets? But what is the actual difference from commercial prospective? Traversing two VNet Peering through Hub VNet V.S. traversing one direct VNet Peering between two Spoke VNets.
Thanks
JF
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Hua (Jack) Fang - thanks for your question.
So even though you have a Hub and Spoke topology connected to ExpressRoute with VNET peering between the VNETs, when advertising a default or summary route in from on-prem the underlying Azure fabric recognizes data flows from spoke to spoke (hairpinning off the MSEEs) and does not flag this flow for VNET peering charges. This is why a lot of customers use this method initially.
If the data flow is leveraging UDRs in the spokes and "routing" off something inside the Hub for spoke to spoke traffic, VNET peering charges are applied. Keep in mind that while this does seem like a good idea for cost savings, it is not something that is recommended by the Azure Product Team and comes with some caveats as discussed in the ACE training course material.
Here is some additional reference material on spoke to spoke communication options in Azure: https://cloudnetsec.blogspot.com/2019/02/azure-intra-region-and-inter-region.html