Azure Data Box Gateway system requirements

This article describes the important system requirements for your Microsoft Azure Data Box Gateway solution and for the clients connecting to Azure Data Box Gateway. We recommend that you review the information carefully before you deploy your Data Box Gateway, and then refer back to it as necessary during the deployment and subsequent operation.

The system requirements for the Data Box Gateway virtual device include:

  • Software requirements for hosts - describes the supported platforms, browsers for the local configuration UI, SMB clients, and any additional requirements for the hosts that connect to the device.
  • Networking requirements for the device - provides information about any networking requirements for the operation of the virtual device.

Specifications for the virtual device

The underlying host system for the Data Box Gateway is able to dedicate the following resources to provision your virtual device:

Specifications Description
Virtual processors (cores) Minimum 4
Memory Minimum 8 GB. We strongly recommend at least 16 GB.
Availability Single node
Disks OS disk: 250 GB
Data disk: 2 TB minimum, thin provisioned, and must be backed by SSDs
Network interfaces 1 or more virtual network interface

Supported OS for clients connected to device

The following list contains supported operating systems for use by clients or hosts connected to your device. These operating system versions were tested in-house.

Operating system/platform Versions
Windows Server 2012 R2
2016
2019
Windows 8, 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 (x86_64)
Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS
CentOS 7.0
Mac OS 10.14.1

Supported protocols for clients accessing device

Here are the supported protocols for clients accessing your device.

Protocol Versions Notes
SMB 2.X, 3.X SMB 1 isn't supported.
NFS 3.0, 4.1 Mac OS is not supported with NFS v4.1.

Supported virtualization platforms for device

Operating system/platform Versions Notes
Hyper-V 2012 R2
2016
2019
VMware ESXi 6.7
7.0
8.0
VMware tools are not supported.

Supported storage accounts

Here is a list of the supported storage accounts for your device.

Storage account Notes
Classic Standard
General Purpose Standard; both V1 and V2 are supported. Both hot and cool tiers are supported.

Supported storage types

Here is a list of the supported storage types for the device.

File format Notes
Azure block blob
Azure page blob
Azure Files

Supported browsers for local web UI

The following list of browsers are supported for the virtual device's local web UI:

Browser Versions Additional requirements/notes
Google Chrome Latest version
Microsoft Edge Latest version
Internet Explorer Latest version If Enhanced Security features are enabled, you might not be able to access local web UI pages. Disable enhanced security, and restart your browser.
FireFox Latest version

Networking port requirements

The following table lists the ports that need to be opened in your firewall to allow for SMB, cloud, or management traffic. In this table, in or inbound refers to the direction from which incoming client requests access to your device. Out or outbound refers to the direction in which your Data Box Gateway device sends data externally, beyond the deployment: for example, outbound to the Internet.

Port no. In or out Port scope Required Notes
TCP 80 (HTTP) Out WAN No Outbound port is used for internet access to retrieve updates.
The outbound web proxy is user configurable.
TCP 443 (HTTPS) Out WAN Yes Outbound port is used for accessing data in the cloud.
The outbound web proxy is user configurable.
UDP 123 (NTP) Out WAN In some cases
See notes
This port is required only if you're using an internet-based NTP server.
UDP 53 (DNS) Out WAN In some cases
See notes
This port is required only if you're using an internet-based DNS server.
We recommend using a local DNS server.
TCP 5985 (WinRM) Out/In LAN In some cases
See notes
This port is required to connect to the device via remote PowerShell over HTTP.
TCP 5986 (WinRM) Out/In LAN In some cases
See notes
This port is required to connect to the device via remote PowerShell over HTTPS.
UDP 67 (DHCP) Out LAN In some cases
See notes
This port is required only if you're using a local DHCP server.
TCP 80 (HTTP) Out/In LAN Yes This port is the inbound port for local UI on the device for local management.
Accessing the local UI over HTTP will automatically redirect to HTTPS.
TCP 443 (HTTPS) Out/In LAN Yes This port is the inbound port for local UI on the device for local management.
TCP 445 (SMB) In LAN In some cases
See notes
This port is required only if you are connecting via SMB.
TCP 2049 (NFS) In LAN In some cases
See notes
This port is required only if you are connecting via NFS.

URL patterns for firewall rules

Network administrators can often configure advanced firewall rules based on the URL patterns to filter the inbound and the outbound traffic. Your Data Box Gateway device and the Data Box Gateway service depend on other Microsoft applications such as Azure Service Bus, Microsoft Entra Access Control, storage accounts, and Microsoft Update servers. The URL patterns associated with these applications can be used to configure firewall rules. It is important to understand that the URL patterns associated with these applications can change. This in turn will require the network administrator to monitor and update firewall rules for your Data Box Gateway as and when needed.

We recommend that you set your firewall rules for outbound traffic, based on Data Box Gateway fixed IP addresses, liberally in most cases. However, you can use the information below to set advanced firewall rules that are needed to create secure environments.

Note

  • The device (source) IPs should always be set to all the cloud-enabled network interfaces.
  • The destination IPs should be set to Azure datacenter IP ranges.
URL pattern Component or functionality
https://*.databoxedge.azure.com/*
https://*.servicebus.windows.net/*
https://login.windows.net
Azure Stack Edge / Data Box Gateway service
Azure Service Bus
Authentication Service
http://*.backup.windowsazure.com Device activation
http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/*
http://www.microsoft.com/pki/*
Certificate revocation
https://*.core.windows.net/*
https://*.data.microsoft.com
http://*.msftncsi.com
Azure storage accounts and monitoring
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
http://*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com
https://*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com
http://*.update.microsoft.com
https://*.update.microsoft.com
http://*.windowsupdate.com
http://download.microsoft.com
http://*.download.windowsupdate.com
http://wustat.windows.com
http://ntservicepack.microsoft.com
http://go.microsoft.com
http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
https://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
http://*.ws.microsoft.com
https://*.ws.microsoft.com
http://*.mp.microsoft.com
Microsoft Update servers
http://*.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com Akamai CDN
https://*.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/* Support package
http://*.data.microsoft.com Telemetry service in Windows, see the update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry
https://(vault-name).vault.azure.net:443 Key Vault

URL patterns for Azure Government

URL pattern Component or functionality
https://*.databoxedge.azure.us/*
https://*.servicebus.usgovcloudapi.net/*
https://login.microsoftonline.us
Azure Stack Edge / Data Box Gateway service
Azure Service Bus
Authentication Service
http://*.backup.windowsazure.us Device activation
http://crl.microsoft.com/pki/*
http://www.microsoft.com/pki/*
Certificate revocation
https://*.core.usgovcloudapi.net/*
https://*.data.microsoft.com
http://*.msftncsi.com
Azure storage accounts and monitoring
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
http://*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com
https://*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com
http://*.update.microsoft.com
https://*.update.microsoft.com
http://*.windowsupdate.com
http://download.microsoft.com
http://*.download.windowsupdate.com
http://wustat.windows.com
http://ntservicepack.microsoft.com
http://*.ws.microsoft.com
https://*.ws.microsoft.com
http://*.mp.microsoft.com
Microsoft Update servers
http://*.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com Akamai CDN
https://*.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/* Support package
http://*.data.microsoft.com Telemetry service in Windows, see the update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry

Internet bandwidth

The devices are designed to continue to operate when your internet connection is slow or gets interrupted. In normal operating conditions, we recommend that you use:

  • A minimum of 10-Mbps download bandwidth to ensure the device stays updated.
  • A minimum of 20-Mbps dedicated upload and download bandwidth to transfer files.

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