Mohit Kanojia shares his field-tested approach for deploying Microsoft Fabric as a private-only SaaS platform within highly regulated Azure enterprise networks, tackling analytics, governance, and security integration.

Architecting Private-Only Microsoft Fabric in Zero-Trust Azure Environments

Mohit Kanojia presents a comprehensive field-tested strategy for deploying Microsoft Fabric inside tightly controlled, enterprise Azure networks with full private connectivity.

Business and Technical Requirement

Enterprise infrastructure must operate through private network boundaries. The data engineering team needed Microsoft Fabric to run exclusively on private access—no public endpoints allowed.

Key Fabric Components in Secure Deployments

Workspaces (security, lifecycle boundaries)
Lakehouse (backed by Azure Data Lake Storage)
Warehouse (dedicated SQL compute)
Spark (big data workloads)
Pipelines, KQL Databases, Real-Time Analytics
Capacities (performance/isolation)

Hub–Spoke Azure Architecture

Hub VNet: firewall, private DNS, DNS resolver, deep inspection
Spoke VNets: application, data, compute, gateway
Private endpoints for all PaaS services
Hybrid connectivity (ExpressRoute)
Routing via central NVA

The Four Pillars of Private Fabric Connectivity

Private Access to Fabric Workspaces: Utilizing private endpoints so all traffic stays internal.
Managed Private Endpoints (MPE): Enabling Fabric components (Lakehouse, Dataflows, Pipelines) to connect into private Azure resources in customer’s VNets.
VNet Data Gateways: Facilitating private ingestion from on-premises SQL and hybrid sources.
DNS as a Security Control: Ensuring all Fabric FQDNs resolve privately (e.g., privatelink.fabric.microsoft.com).

Designed Private-Only Architecture

The solution integrates:

Hub VNet for central network controls
Spoke VNets housing core workloads (ADLS, SQL, Spark, APIs)
Private endpoints and VNet gateways for secure communication
External Microsoft Fabric service, connecting solely via managed private endpoints

This design achieves:

Full network inspection & control
Private, isolated data ingestion/egress
Logical workspace and performance boundaries
No public traffic exposure
Predictable governance and compliance

Component-Specific Scenarios

Lakehouse: Private ADLS connectivity via Managed Private Endpoints Warehouse: Private SQL ingestion with VNet Data Gateways and DNS Spark: Outbound egress exclusively through private DNS and hub-controlled route tables

Workspace as Security Boundary

Each team/domain owns a dedicated workspace
Network rules reinforce isolation
Managed identities maintain clear team boundaries
Capacities ensure granular resource allocation

Governance and Automation Best Practices

Enforce private-only configurations
Validate CI/CD pipelines for public exposure risks
Integrate centralized private DNS
Build auto-approval workflows for MPE
Monitor through Firewall and NSG flow logs

Provisioning via Terraform & AzAPI

Automate creation of Fabric workspaces, capacities, Lakehouse items, managed endpoints
Use AzAPI provider for advanced workspace/network configurations and API surface upgrades
Accelerate adoption of new Fabric features without waiting for official Terraform releases

Deployment Outcomes

Secure, private-only workspace activation
Lakehouse, Warehouse, and Spark operating entirely through private connectivity
Hybrid SQL ingestion via VNet Gateway
Private, centralized DNS resolution
Firewall logs confirm absence of public traffic

Final Insights

Successful private Microsoft Fabric deployment demands:

Deep architectural alignment of network controls (hub–spoke, private endpoints, DNS, gateways)
Careful governance for production readiness
Automation (Terraform/AzAPI) to keep pace with evolving platform features

With this structured approach, Fabric becomes an integrated, trusted analytics solution for regulated environments.

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