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GSA combines Microsoft Entra Private Access and Microsoft Entra Internet Access, with a separate Microsoft traffic profile. Microsoft recommends a proof of concept before deployment; use that process to test your applications, branches, protocols, licensing and coexistence requirements rather than assuming either architecture will fit without changes.
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What Microsoft Global Secure Access actually provides
Global Secure Access is a cloud-delivered access service built around Microsoft Entra identity, device signals and Conditional Access policy. Its components handle different traffic categories, so “GSA” does not describe one undifferentiated tunnel. Microsoft documents the service and its profiles in its Global Secure Access overview.
| Profile | Primary purpose | How traffic is selected | Important scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft traffic | Microsoft services and destinations covered by Microsoft’s profile | Matches the Microsoft profile first | The Internet Access profile does not include these destinations, so complete coverage may require both profiles |
| Private Access | Access to defined private applications and resources | Administrators publish resources through Quick Access or per-application definitions | Traffic is acquired through the Global Secure Access client; it cannot be assigned to remote networks |
| Internet Access | Public internet and SaaS traffic | Matches after Microsoft and Private Access profiles | Microsoft documents a UDP limitation and filtering assumptions for standard HTTP/S ports 80 and 443 |
The forwarding order is Microsoft traffic, then Private Access, then Internet Access. Traffic that matches none of those profiles is not forwarded through GSA. Administrators assign users, devices and platforms, choose what is forwarded, and attach the relevant Conditional Access policies. This explicit matching is different from treating every packet from a connected device as part of one corporate network.
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Private Access is therefore resource-focused. An administrator can publish only the applications a group needs instead of giving that group broad reachability across an entire address space. That narrower model is useful for least-privilege access, but it also means every required application, name, address range and protocol must be identified and tested.
Traditional VPN and GSA solve different connectivity problems
A traditional VPN commonly establishes a network connection from a user device or site to a corporate gateway. Whether that results in broad subnet access, application-specific routes, split tunneling or other behavior depends on the organization’s design and product. Do not assume that every VPN has identical capabilities. The relevant comparison is your current VPN’s actual routes, protocols, authentication, branch topology and device support against the behavior you configure in GSA.
| Decision area | GSA characteristics to evaluate | Questions for your existing VPN design |
|---|---|---|
| Access scope | Private Access publishes defined resources or applications; Internet Access forwards selected public traffic | Does the VPN provide broad network reachability that applications or administrators still require? |
| Identity and policy | Entra identity, device context and Conditional Access can be applied to the configured profiles | Which users, devices, certificates and network conditions does the VPN enforce today? |
| Endpoint coverage | Private Access requires the Global Secure Access client | Which unmanaged, shared, server, mobile or specialist devices cannot install that client? |
| Branches | Remote-network IPsec supports Microsoft and Internet Access profiles, not Private Access | How do branch devices reach private applications, and can that path remain during migration? |
| Protocols | IPv6 is not supported by the client; Internet Access does not support UDP | Do voice, discovery, gaming, legacy or custom applications depend on UDP or IPv6? |
| Operations | Traffic follows explicit forwarding profiles and can coexist with another tunnel according to Microsoft’s client architecture | What routing, DNS, failover, logging and support procedures are built around the VPN? |
This is an architecture comparison, not a claim that all VPN products behave the same way. Test the particular gateway, client and applications in your environment.
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Users need a small set of private applications
GSA is well suited when access can be expressed as “this user on this device may reach these applications.” Define the resources in Quick Access or create per-application definitions, then assign the appropriate users, devices and platforms. You can avoid exposing unrelated subnets when the application inventory is accurate.
Identity and Conditional Access are central requirements
If access decisions must use Entra identities, device state or Conditional Access conditions, GSA places those controls alongside traffic forwarding. Policy design still matters: a profile can forward traffic, but Conditional Access determines whether an identity or device is allowed to use the service.
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You want controlled internet and SaaS egress
Internet Access can route selected public and SaaS traffic through Microsoft’s edge for policy and visibility. Review the documented port and protocol limits first, especially for applications that use UDP, nonstandard ports or traffic other than standard HTTP/S.
You are moving toward least-privilege access
Private Access can support a gradual move from network membership to application entitlement. That approach is most practical when owners can document each application’s destinations, DNS names, ports and dependencies.
When a traditional VPN or another network design remains necessary
Applications require broad network-level reachability
Some environments depend on access to many dynamic hosts, subnet-wide administration, network discovery or infrastructure that cannot be represented cleanly as published resources. If those requirements are legitimate and cannot be redesigned, retain a connectivity method that supplies the required network reachability.
Branches must reach private resources without a client
Microsoft’s remote-network model uses an IPsec tunnel from on-premises equipment to Microsoft’s edge service. It supports the Microsoft and Internet Access profiles, but Private Access requires the endpoint client and cannot be assigned to a remote network. A branch whose devices need private application access therefore needs another path, a redesigned application location, or continued VPN connectivity.
Endpoints cannot run the Global Secure Access client
Servers, appliances, shared terminals, unmanaged devices and specialized operating systems may not meet client requirements. Inventory these endpoints before deciding that a user-based migration eliminates the VPN.
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Traffic depends on IPv6 or UDP
The client does not support IPv6: it tunnels IPv4 while IPv6 traffic goes directly to the local network. The Internet Access platform does not support UDP. Those facts can create a direct-connect path or an outright incompatibility, so test the actual application rather than relying on its name or vendor description.
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Client, branch and traffic-path details that change the decision
Managed endpoint path
For Private Access, the Global Secure Access client acquires matching traffic. Microsoft describes the client as using a lightweight filter driver and contrasts that architecture with security-service-edge implementations that integrate as VPN connections. Microsoft presents this design as enabling coexistence, but coexistence still requires routing, DNS, policy and support testing with your particular VPN client.
Remote-network path
Remote-network connectivity uses an IPsec tunnel from on-premises equipment to Microsoft’s edge. Microsoft documents Microsoft and Internet Access profiles for that path. Private Access is not available through the remote-network assignment, so a branch design that relies on private application publishing must be validated separately.
IPv4, IPv6 and local subnets
IP-based Private Access tunneling works only for ranges outside the endpoint’s local subnet. The client’s IPv6 limitation means IPv4 and IPv6 may follow different paths: IPv4 can be tunneled while IPv6 goes directly to the network. Applications that prefer IPv6, embed addresses, or select a path dynamically need testing under real DNS and operating-system conditions.
DNS and FQDN routing
Microsoft’s known-limitations documentation says FQDN-based Private Access forwarding requires DNS over HTTPS or Secure DNS to be disabled. If your browser, operating-system policy or endpoint security product enforces encrypted DNS, resolve that dependency before publishing FQDN-based applications.
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Internet ports and protocols
Internet Access filtering assumes standard HTTP/S ports 80 and 443, and the platform does not support UDP. Document every nonstandard port, long-lived connection, real-time stream and name-resolution method used by the applications in scope. Microsoft maintains additional platform limits and policy caps on its known-limitations page; recheck it because product behavior can change.
Licensing and prerequisites
Microsoft states that Entra ID P1 or P2 is a prerequisite for Microsoft Entra Private Access and Microsoft Entra Internet Access. The Microsoft traffic profile also has a P1/P2 prerequisite. The services can be licensed standalone or through Microsoft Entra Suite, and Microsoft says most Global Secure Access services use per-user licensing. Packaging and terms can change, so confirm the current requirements and entitlements in Microsoft’s licensing materials before purchase or rollout.
Licensing must be evaluated with deployment scope. Count the users who need each profile, include contractors and administrators, and separate users who need only Microsoft traffic from those who need Private Access or Internet Access. Check whether branch devices, shared devices and non-user workloads fit the licensing model and technical path you intend to use.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical proof-of-concept plan
Microsoft’s Global Secure Access deployment guide lists replacing an existing VPN with a zero-trust network-access approach as one possible scenario and recommends a proof of concept. It estimates that the described PoC steps may take up to seven hours, depending on which capabilities you deploy; that is a planning estimate, not a universal implementation benchmark.
- Inventory the current VPN. Record user and branch routes, private subnets, DNS zones, split-tunnel rules, authentication, device types, application owners, ports and protocols. Mark traffic that requires IPv6, UDP, discovery or broad subnet access.
- Classify traffic by profile. Separate Microsoft services, private applications and public internet/SaaS destinations. Remember that unmatched traffic will not be forwarded by GSA.
- Select a small representative cohort. Include managed and unmanaged candidates, different operating systems, remote users, a branch scenario and applications with different protocols. Exclude production-wide changes until the paths are proven.
- Define private resources. Use Quick Access for an appropriate resource set or create per-application definitions. Specify names, addresses and required ports precisely; avoid publishing an entire network when only one service is needed.
- Configure assignments and policy. Assign users, devices and platforms to the relevant forwarding profiles. Apply Conditional Access policies that reflect your security requirements and test both allowed and denied cases.
- Install and validate the client. Confirm that Private Access traffic is acquired by the Global Secure Access client. Check DNS resolution, local-subnet behavior, IPv4/IPv6 paths, application authentication and logging.
- Test internet and Microsoft profiles separately. Verify that Microsoft destinations use the Microsoft profile, public destinations use Internet Access where intended, and traffic outside the profiles follows the expected direct or existing path. Test UDP and nonstandard HTTP/S applications explicitly.
- Test branch connectivity. Establish the IPsec remote-network path and verify Microsoft and Internet Access behavior. Test private applications from branch devices without assuming that the endpoint client is present.
- Run coexistence tests. With the existing VPN enabled, check route precedence, DNS, duplicate filtering, failover, sleep/wake, roaming between networks and support diagnostics. Repeat with the VPN disabled only after the expected GSA path is confirmed.
- Set acceptance criteria. Require successful access for each in-scope application, correct policy denial, acceptable performance, usable logs, a rollback path and an owner for every exception before expanding the pilot.
Migration patterns that avoid a risky cutover
Application-by-application migration
Publish one private application or dependency group at a time, assign a controlled user cohort, and keep the VPN route for applications that have not passed testing. This exposes missing DNS names and hidden dependencies early.
User-group migration
Move a department whose applications are well understood, while retaining the VPN for other groups. This works when identity and device assignments are reliable and the department does not depend on branch-only private resources.
Profile-first migration
Deploy Microsoft traffic or Internet Access for a defined scope while leaving Private Access and broad network routes on the VPN. This separates public-traffic policy testing from the more demanding private-application transition.
Permanent coexistence
Some organizations may use GSA for identity-aware application access and internet policy while retaining a VPN for infrastructure, branch connectivity or unsupported protocols. Document which system owns each destination, how conflicts are resolved and which help desk handles failures.
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Operational checks after deployment
- Routing: Confirm every published address has one intended path and that local-subnet destinations are not accidentally selected for IP-based Private Access.
- DNS: Verify internal names, FQDN forwarding and encrypted-DNS settings on each supported endpoint type.
- Protocol coverage: Re-test UDP, IPv6, nonstandard ports and long-lived connections after client or operating-system updates.
- Policy: Review Conditional Access results for successful and blocked sign-ins, device compliance changes and emergency access procedures.
- Client health: Monitor installation, upgrades, filter-driver status, sleep/wake recovery and behavior when another tunnel is active.
- Branch resilience: Test IPsec tunnel failure, internet outage, failback and the behavior of private applications that cannot use the remote-network profile.
- Change control: Revisit Microsoft’s traffic-forwarding documentation and limitations when adding destinations or changing profiles.
Questions to answer before choosing
- Can every required private application be defined by stable FQDNs, IP ranges and ports?
- Which users and devices can run the Global Secure Access client, and which cannot?
- Do branches need Private Access, or only Microsoft and public internet profiles?
- Are IPv6 or UDP mandatory for any business-critical application?
- Does the current VPN provide network reachability that would be expensive or impossible to model as per-application access?
- Can your team operate Entra assignments, Conditional Access, DNS exceptions, client health and IPsec branch tunnels?
- What is the rollback route if a published application fails during migration?
- Do current Entra licenses cover the users and profiles in the proposed design?
Decision guide
Choose GSA as the primary access layer when your target state is identity-aware, application-level access; your users and devices can run the client; your branches do not need Private Access through a network tunnel; and your applications pass IPv4, DNS, port and protocol testing. Use its Internet Access and Microsoft profiles deliberately rather than assuming one profile covers all destinations.
Keep a traditional VPN, or design a hybrid, when broad network reachability, clientless branch access to private resources, IPv6, UDP, unsupported endpoints or legacy dependencies are non-negotiable. A hybrid is not a failure: it can let GSA handle well-defined applications and internet policy while the VPN continues to serve infrastructure and traffic that GSA cannot acquire.
The right answer is the architecture that passes a documented proof of concept for your actual users, branches, devices and applications. Microsoft’s client, forwarding and limitation details provide the boundaries; your inventory and tests determine whether those boundaries fit.
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