What configuration is needed if you receive an access denied error due to Virtual Network/Firewall rules while connecting to Cognitive Services?

When encountering an access denied error related to Virtual Network or Firewall rules while trying to connect to Azure Cognitive Services, adding your client IP address to the Firewall allowed list is essential.

Cognitive Services can be configured to restrict access based on IP addresses for security reasons. This means that if your current IP address is not included in the allowed list, any connection attempt will be blocked, leading to an access denied error. By specifically adding the client IP address to the Firewall rules, you grant permission for that address to access the Cognitive Services resource, thereby resolving the error and enabling seamless connectivity.

The other options may not address the core issue directly. For instance, changing the subscription or plan doesn’t solve firewall-related access issues. Enabling public access may compromise security, as it could expose the service to unwanted traffic. Similarly, setting user permissions in Azure Active Directory relates more to role-based access control rather than network-level access, which is what is being denied in this scenario.