Virtual Network Services

Virtual network services provide the basic connectivity and network management for services and resources used by customers in Azure.

Virtual Networks

A virtual network enables software-defined switching, routing, and other basic network services for many types of Azure resources, like Azure VMs or Azure-hosted applications. Virtual networks in Azure operate similarly to a private network in an on-premises datacenter and allow outbound communication to the Internet by default, while inbound communication requires a public IP address or public load balancer. Virtual network peering can connect Azure virtual networks in the same Azure region, while global virtual network peering can be used to connect virtual networks across Azure regions. 

Service Updates

Virtual network services receive frequent updates to improve performance and security and add new functionality. Recent updates include virtual network flow logs to better monitor traffic, and virtual network encryption to enable encryption of network traffic between VMs in the same virtual network and between peered virtual networks. Both flow logs and the new encryption features are in preview.