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Welcome to configuring public IP addresses in Azure. This article builds on networking fundamentals (private networks, subnets, and internal communication) and focuses on exposing resources to the internet. Public IP addresses are the mechanism that connects Azure resources—such as virtual machines, load balancers, and application gateways—to clients anywhere in the world. Understanding how public IPs work helps you design for connectivity, availability, and security as your cloud environment scales. Why this matters:
  • Public IPs make services reachable from the internet (websites, APIs, remote management).
  • Choosing the correct SKU and assignment model affects SLAs, zone resiliency, and security.
  • Advanced options like Bring Your Own IP (BYOIP) let organizations retain address ownership for compliance or customer-facing services.
This article covers the following topics:
  • What a public IP address is, how it differs from a private IP, and when a public IP is required (for example, to allow a user anywhere in the world to reach a web server).
  • Azure public IP SKUs (Basic vs Standard), their features, and recommended use cases so you can choose the right option for testing or production workloads.
  • How to create and attach public IPs to Azure resources such as virtual machines, load balancers, and application gateways.
  • Advanced scenarios like Bring Your Own IP (BYOIP): how it works in Azure and when you might want to use it.
Quick comparison: Azure Public IP SKUs
SKUIdeal forDefault behaviorZone-resilient?Recommended for
BasicDevelopment, test, single-VM scenariosNo built-in SLA for zone redundancy; some features limitedNo (unless combined with availability sets)Labs, short-lived workloads
StandardProduction, high-availability services, load balanced appsSecured by default (requires NSG rules), supports SLA and zone redundancyYes (supports zone-redundant and zonal)Production workloads and internet-facing services
Best practices:
  • Use Standard SKU for production workloads and when you need SLA-backed IPs or zone redundancy.
  • Reserve a static public IP when DNS stability or firewall whitelisting is required.
  • Attach public IPs to a public-facing Azure Load Balancer or Application Gateway rather than directly to many VMs when you need scalability and centralized security.
BYOIP is an advanced feature with additional requirements (ownership validation, routing, and support processes). Consider it when you need to retain your public address space for compliance or customer-facing services.
A slide titled "Learning Objectives" with a vertical timeline of four numbered items. The items cover how public IP addresses work in Azure, choosing the right SKU, configuring/assigning public IPs for Azure services, and exploring custom IP prefixes (BYOIP).
References and further reading:

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