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There are two types of managed identities:
To create and manage a system-assigned managed identity on an Azure service like a virtual machine or a web app, follow these steps:
The application running on the service instance can now access Azure resources using its managed identity. This is done through Azure AD Authentication without having to manage credentials.
To create a user-assigned managed identity, use the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell:
Same as with system-assigned identities, assign roles to the managed identity to grant it access to other Azure resources.
It’s important to monitor and audit the usage of managed identities:
Feature | System-Assigned | User-Assigned |
---|---|---|
Lifecycle | Tied to the Azure resource | Independent of any Azure resource |
Assignability | Can only be assigned to one resource | Can be assigned to multiple resources |
Creation/Deletion | Automatic with resource creation/deletion | Manually created/deleted |
Complexity | Simpler to set up | More complex, but flexible |
Use Cases | Good for resources that only need one identity | Useful for scenarios where one identity is used by multiple resources |
Managed identities for Azure resources simplify the process of securing credentials for applications that need to access other Azure services. By following the steps outlined above and understanding the differences between system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities, you can securely manage your application’s identity and access in Azure, enhancing your security posture according to best practices highlighted by the AZ-500 Microsoft Azure Security Technologies exam.
Managed identities in Azure provide an identity for applications to use when connecting to resources that support Azure Active Directory (AD) authentication, automatically managing the credentials.
Managed identities can be used within Azure Virtual Machines (VMs), Azure App Services, and other Azure services that support managed identities.
Azure RBAC is used to manage access to Azure resources, including the resources a managed identity can access.
Azure automatically rotates the credentials associated with a managed identity, relieving the user from manual management and rotation.
Azure offers two types of managed identities, System-assigned, which is tied to a single resource, and User-assigned, which can be shared across multiple resources.
User-assigned managed identities are standalone Azure resources that can be associated with one or more Azure services.
Azure services like VMs can access system-assigned managed identity credentials using Azure Instance Metadata Service (IMDS).
Managed identities are designed for managing credentials within the Azure environment and cannot be used directly to access external resources outside of Azure.
Scopes for permission levels are set using Azure RBAC, which can be used to restrict the resources that managed identities can access.
Since a system-assigned managed identity is tightly bound to its associated Azure resource, deleting the resource will also delete the managed identity and its credentials.
Managed identities are used to securely access resources that support Azure AD authentication, without the need to embed credentials in code.
Managed identities are a feature of Azure AD and do not incur additional costs when used with Azure resources.
A managed identity is an automatically managed identity in Azure AD that is used to authenticate to services that support Azure AD authentication.
Managed identities simplify the authentication process for applications and services by eliminating the need for storing and managing credentials.
How does a managed identity work?
The managed identity is used to authenticate to other Azure services or resources, which can grant the managed identity access based on its associated permissions.
Azure provides two types of managed identities system-assigned managed identity and user-assigned managed identity.
User-assigned managed identities are created and managed separately from the Azure resources they are associated with.
Use managed identities instead of service principal credentials to authenticate to Azure resources.
Enable just-in-time access to limit the exposure of the managed identity.
No, managed identities can only be used to authenticate to Azure resources that support Azure AD authentication.
A system-assigned managed identity is automatically created and managed by Azure for a supported resource, while a user-assigned managed identity is created and managed separately by the user.
A user-assigned managed identity can be created using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or Azure Resource Manager templates.
When a managed identity is deleted, it can no longer be used to authenticate to Azure resources.
What is the difference between an Azure AD application and a managed identity?
A managed identity is a built-in Azure AD identity that is used to authenticate to Azure resources.
Managed identities eliminate the need for storing and managing credentials, reducing the risk of credentials being compromised.
Can a managed identity be used to authenticate to resources in a different Azure AD tenant?
What happens if a managed identity’s permissions are too broad?
It is important to restrict the permissions of the managed identity to only the resources it needs to access.
No, managed identities cannot be used to authenticate to Azure AD B2C.
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