Azure maintenance mess disrupted hybrid clouds, VPNs, cloudy VMware services
Microsoft broke its own cloud but isn’t sure how
Microsoft has issued a warning that its ExpressRoute Gateway, VPN Gateway, and Azure VMware service users may experience degraded or interrupted network connectivity, and struggle with certain network management tasks. The issue began on September 30th, 2026 at 20:30 UTC and impacts 18 different Azure regions. ExpressRoute Gateway links on-premises networks to virtual networks in Azure, making it crucial for hybrid cloud setups.
Azure VPN Gateway enables a secure connection between on-premises infrastructure and Azure, while Azure VMware Service is designed to help build hybrid clouds using VMware. The company has paused infrastructure servicing activities due to the event, which appears to be self-inflicted. As of 23:13 UTC, Microsoft reports ongoing recovery efforts for ExpressRoute gateways, but acknowledges some VPN Gateways have reduced redundancy instead of a full loss of connectivity.
Engineering teams are actively restoring these components using alternate healthy instances. The cause of the incident remains unknown, but Microsoft's investigation suggests a connection to infrastructure operating system servicing activity. Redmond has confirmed the impact extends to additional products such as Azure Firewall, Application Gateways, and Web Application Firewall. They have promised to provide more information as additional updates become available.
Written by urgent.news from The Register's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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