Traffic Manager routing methods in Azure - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Traffic Manager routing methods

User DNS Request

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Traffic Manager receives request

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Evaluate routing method

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Priority?

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Weighted?

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Performance?

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Geographic?

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Multivalue?

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Subnet?

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Return selected endpoint IP to user

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User connects to endpoint

Traffic Manager receives a DNS request and selects an endpoint based on the configured routing method, then returns the endpoint IP to the user.

Execution Sample

Azure

User DNS request -> Traffic Manager -> Routing method evaluation -> Endpoint IP returned

This flow shows how Traffic Manager routes user requests based on different routing methods.

Process Table

Step	Routing Method	Condition Evaluated	Selected Endpoint	Reason
1	Priority	Is highest priority endpoint healthy?	Endpoint A	Endpoint A is highest priority and healthy
2	Priority	Is highest priority endpoint healthy?	Endpoint B	Endpoint A unhealthy, Endpoint B next priority healthy
3	Weighted	Random weighted selection	Endpoint C	Endpoint C selected based on weight 70%
4	Weighted	Random weighted selection	Endpoint D	Endpoint D selected based on weight 30%
5	Performance	Measure latency from user to endpoints	Endpoint B	Endpoint B has lowest latency
6	Geographic	User IP in Europe region?	Endpoint E	User located in Europe region
7	Multivalue	Return multiple healthy endpoints	Endpoints A, B	Both endpoints healthy, returned together
8	Subnet	User IP in subnet 10.0.0.0/24?	Endpoint F	User IP matches subnet assigned to Endpoint F
9	End	No more routing decisions	N/A	Routing complete, endpoint IP returned

💡 Routing method selects endpoint based on health and method rules; process ends after endpoint IP is returned.

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	After Step 4	After Step 5	After Step 6	After Step 7	After Step 8	Final
Selected Endpoint	None	Endpoint A	Endpoint B	Endpoint C	Endpoint D	Endpoint B	Endpoint E	Endpoints A, B	Endpoint F	Endpoint F

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why does Traffic Manager choose Endpoint B in step 2 instead of Endpoint A?

Because Endpoint A is unhealthy at that time, so Traffic Manager selects the next highest priority healthy endpoint, Endpoint B, as shown in execution_table row 2.

How does the Weighted routing method decide which endpoint to select?

It uses random selection weighted by configured percentages. For example, Endpoint C has 70% weight and Endpoint D 30%, so Endpoint C is more likely selected, as shown in rows 3 and 4.

What happens if multiple endpoints are healthy in Multivalue routing?

Traffic Manager returns multiple healthy endpoints together to the user, allowing client-side load balancing, as shown in row 7.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, which endpoint is selected at step 5 using Performance routing?

A Endpoint A

B Endpoint B

C Endpoint C

D Endpoint D

💡 Hint

Check execution_table row 5 under Selected Endpoint column.

At which step does Traffic Manager return multiple endpoints together?

A Step 7

B Step 6

C Step 3

D Step 8

💡 Hint

Look for Multivalue routing in execution_table and see which step returns multiple endpoints.

If Endpoint A becomes healthy again, which step would select it in Priority routing?

A Step 2

B Step 4

C Step 1

D Step 6

💡 Hint

Priority routing selects highest priority healthy endpoint as in step 1.

Concept Snapshot

Traffic Manager routes user DNS requests to endpoints based on routing methods:
- Priority: chooses highest priority healthy endpoint
- Weighted: selects endpoint randomly by weight
- Performance: chooses lowest latency endpoint
- Geographic: routes by user location
- Multivalue: returns multiple healthy endpoints
- Subnet: routes by user IP subnet
Each method evaluates health and rules before returning endpoint IP.

Full Transcript

Traffic Manager receives a DNS request from a user. It evaluates the configured routing method to decide which endpoint to send the user to. For Priority routing, it picks the highest priority endpoint that is healthy. If that endpoint is unhealthy, it picks the next priority. Weighted routing randomly selects an endpoint based on assigned weights. Performance routing chooses the endpoint with the lowest latency from the user. Geographic routing selects an endpoint based on the user's location. Multivalue routing returns multiple healthy endpoints to the user. Subnet routing selects an endpoint based on the user's IP subnet. After selecting the endpoint, Traffic Manager returns its IP address to the user, who then connects to that endpoint. This process ensures users are routed efficiently and reliably based on the chosen method.