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Azure Traffic Manager

Azure Traffic Manager is a DNS-based load balancer that routes users to the most appropriate endpoint using a chosen routing method. It doesn’t proxy traffic; it returns the best endpoint’s DNS so clients connect directly.

Key capabilities

  • DNS-level global load distribution across regions and endpoints
  • Endpoint health checks and automatic failover
  • Support for Azure and external endpoints
  • Flexible routing methods for latency, resilience, or controlled rollout

Routing methods

  • Priority: Active/passive failover; send all traffic to primary until unhealthy
  • Weighted: Distribute by weights (A/B testing, canary releases)
  • Performance: Route to lowest-latency region based on client DNS resolver
  • Geographic: Route based on user’s geographic location (compliance, data residency)
  • MultiValue: Return multiple healthy endpoints to support simple client-side balancing
  • Subnet: Map client IP ranges to specific endpoints (sticky routing)

Typical use cases

  • Regional failover and disaster recovery
  • Blue/green and A/B testing using weighted routing
  • Latency-based routing for global apps
  • Geo-based content or compliance routing

Notes

  • Because it operates at DNS, caching and TTL influence switchover time
  • Works well with Azure Front Door/Application Gateway/Load Balancer for layered resilience