Databricks launched Private Network Gateway (PNG) in public preview on Microsoft Azure on October 16, 2026, with private preview underway on Amazon Web Services. Google Cloud Platform support is in development. The feature gives Databricks serverless compute — cloud processing that runs without an always-on virtual server — a single, managed private path into a customer's own network, replacing the multiple individual connections, load balancers, and proxy virtual machines that were previously required.
The practical problem PNG addresses is significant: Databricks reported that more than 75% of surveyed users cited networking complexity as the main reason certain workloads stayed on traditional (non-serverless) compute rather than moving to the more flexible serverless option. With PNG, an organization delegates one subnet — a defined segment of its internal network — to Databricks, which then runs and maintains the gateway. Traffic can be filtered to specific destinations or routed through the customer's own firewall, depending on the configuration chosen. The gateway also connects to networks reachable through that subnet, including on-premises systems linked via ExpressRoute or a VPN.
Organizations using Azure Databricks for analytics, AI, or data engineering workloads should note that while the feature is currently free during preview, billing is scheduled to begin on or after December 1, 2026. IT and data teams evaluating a move to serverless compute may want to test PNG before that date to understand what costs to expect. AWS customers interested in the feature currently need to contact their Databricks account team to request access.
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