Hello, I am new to Azure. My question is: Can the Virtual Network Gateway (ExpressRoute) be disabled in the development and staging environments to minimize subscription costs? If yes, can it be easily re-enabled, or would I need to recreate the service from scratch? Thank you.

While you cannot directly "turn off" the gateway as you might with other resources, you can effectively disable the gateway by deleting the connection to ExpressRoute and the gateway itself. However, when you delete the gateway, the following happens: The ExpressRoute circuit remains intact (if you don’t delete the ExpressRoute circuit itself), so the connection to the on-premises network is removed, but you won't lose the configuration of the circuit. The Virtual Network Gateway is deleted, meaning any associated public IP addresses and gateway-specific settings will be removed. You’ll still incur some costs for the ExpressRoute circuit itself (unless you fully delete it), even when the gateway is deleted. The actual Virtual Network Gateway charges are mainly incurred for the gateway and the associated data transfer. If you only delete the gateway, it should minimize costs, but be aware that the circuit could still incur costs depending on the ExpressRoute plan you have. If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated. hth Marcin

Disable/Enable Virtual network gateway (ExpressRoute)

Accepted answer

Marcin Policht 29,885 Reputation points MVP

2024-11-13T06:13:36.49+00:00
While you cannot directly "turn off" the gateway as you might with other resources, you can effectively disable the gateway by deleting the connection to ExpressRoute and the gateway itself. However, when you delete the gateway, the following happens:

The ExpressRoute circuit remains intact (if you don’t delete the ExpressRoute circuit itself), so the connection to the on-premises network is removed, but you won't lose the configuration of the circuit.

The Virtual Network Gateway is deleted, meaning any associated public IP addresses and gateway-specific settings will be removed.

You’ll still incur some costs for the ExpressRoute circuit itself (unless you fully delete it), even when the gateway is deleted. The actual Virtual Network Gateway charges are mainly incurred for the gateway and the associated data transfer. If you only delete the gateway, it should minimize costs, but be aware that the circuit could still incur costs depending on the ExpressRoute plan you have.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin
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jb_devel 60 Reputation points

2024-11-13T07:01:08.8033333+00:00

Additional info: Were using SoftBank private network services as stated here: https://www.softbank.jp/biz/services/network/cloud-connect/direct-access-azure/

Is there a way to export the configuration/properties of these services so that, even if we decide to delete them, we can recreate them exactly as they were based on the exported file?

Marcin Policht 29,885 Reputation points MVP

2024-11-13T17:07:23.31+00:00

You'd need to reach out to the vendor providing this service to determine this.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

jb_devel 60 Reputation points

2024-11-14T00:49:19.9166667+00:00

I found these two options checked in the configuration under the Virtual Network Gateway:

Allow traffic from remote virtual networks.

Allow traffic from remote Virtual WAN networks.

I wonder if unchecking these will block all connection from devices, thereby reducing usage and ultimately cutting down costs. Am I correct? Thank you.

Marcin Policht 29,885 Reputation points MVP

2024-11-14T02:11:28.9266667+00:00

In short, no. The pricing for gateways is not based on the usage levels - you pay for provisioned throughput per hour. Review https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/expressroute/

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

jb_devel 60 Reputation points

2024-11-14T04:21:20.49+00:00

Got it. We are currently using the Standard VNet Gateway with 1 Gbps bandwidth, so there's no way to lower it. Does this mean we need to delete the virtual network gateway service entirely? If so, which configurations should I note from the current service so that when we need it again, we can recreate it with the same settings?

Marcin Policht 29,885 Reputation points MVP

2024-11-14T13:51:57.4066667+00:00

Confirmed...

If you delete the Azure Standard VNet Gateway for ExpressRoute and plan to recreate it later, here’s a checklist of key configurations to note down so you can set it up with the same settings:

Gateway Subnet

Subnet Address Range: Ensure you record the address range for the GatewaySubnet within your virtual network. The subnet size and IP range are crucial for re-creating the gateway.

Gateway SKU

SKU Name: In your case, it's the Standard SKU, which provides up to 1 Gbps of bandwidth. Make a note of this in case you need to create the same configuration.

Virtual Network and Region

VNet: Record the name and address space of the virtual network associated with the gateway.

Region: Note the Azure region where the VNet Gateway was created.

Connection Configuration

ExpressRoute Circuit: Note the ExpressRoute circuit name and details such as the peering location and bandwidth settings. If the circuit itself is deleted, this configuration will need to be recreated.

Connection Name and Settings: Record the connection configuration, including the connection type (ExpressRoute) and any custom settings, like BGP configurations if applicable.

Routing Configurations

Routing Settings: Note down any specific routing configurations, such as whether BGP is enabled, the BGP ASN, and any custom routes configured on the VNet Gateway.

Custom IP Addresses: If custom IP addresses were specified for the gateway’s frontend IP configuration, record them.

Public IP Configuration

Public IP Address Resource: Make a note of the public IP address resource associated with the gateway if it's assigned a static IP. If the gateway is re-created without this, a new IP address will be assigned, which may affect external configurations.

Shared Key (if applicable)

If you used a shared key for the ExpressRoute connection (e.g., for site-to-site connections), note this value for reconfiguration.

If you want a straightforward method to re-create the gateway, consider exporting the configuration as an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template:

Export Template: In the Azure portal, go to the VNet Gateway resource and use the “Export Template” option. This will capture most of the configuration.

Save Template: Save the ARM template to a secure location. When you need to recreate the gateway, you can redeploy this template, modifying any settings as needed.

This approach ensures that all configurations are accurately recorded, allowing you to redeploy quickly without manually re-entering details.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

jb_devel 60 Reputation points

2024-11-19T07:14:19.13+00:00

Hi! I apologize for the late response. I will check the above procedure. Thank you very much for your help!
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