Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
eWEEK.com
Search
eWEEK.com
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud

    Microsoft Enhances Azure Cloud Management, Security

    By
    PEDRO HERNANDEZ
    -
    October 12, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Azure cloud management

      One of the most sought-after user management and security features for Microsoft Azure has officially launched, the company said today.

      Azure Roles-Based Access Control (RBAC) is out of beta and is now generally available, said Alex Simons, director of program management at Microsoft’s Identity Division, in an Oct. 12 announcement. RBAC is the top request for customers evaluating Azure as the foundation for their enterprise cloud environments, the noted.

      As its name suggests, Azure Roles-Based Access Control allows administrators to selectively grant their users access to cloud services and production workloads. “Until now, to give people the ability to manage Azure you had to give them full control of an entire Azure subscription,” explained Dushyant Gill, a Microsoft Azure Active Directory program manager, in a blog post.

      “Now, using RBAC, you can grant people only the amount of access that they need to perform their jobs,” continued Gill. RBAC interfaces with Azure Active Directory (AD), Microsoft’s cloud-based identity management platform, to map users to their assigned Azure resources.

      “Once you extend your Active Directory to the cloud, using Azure AD—your employees can purchase and manage Azure subscriptions using their existing work identity,” said Gill. “These Azure subscriptions automatically connect to your Azure AD for single sign-on and access management.”

      If an AD account is disabled, access to all Azure subscriptions is automatically cut off, enhancing security. In addition, RBAC can provide teams and departments with a level of independence while remaining compliant with an organization’s IT policies.

      “Using Azure RBAC, you can enable self-service management of cloud resources for your project teams while retaining central control over security sensitive infrastructure,” Gill noted. “For example, a common setup is to allow project teams to create and manage their own virtual machines and storage accounts, but only allow them to connect to networks managed by a central team.”

      RBAC is currently available with several preset roles, but Microsoft is getting ready to flip the switch on custom roles within the coming weeks. According to Microsoft’s online documentation, they include API Management Service Contributor, SQL Security Manager and Virtual Machine Contributor, among several others.

      “If none of the built-in RBAC roles addresses your specific access need, you will be able to create a custom RBAC role composing the exact operations to which you wish to grant access,” teased Gill.

      Administrators can configure RBAC via command-line management tools for Azure PowerShell or the Azure Management Portal, currently in preview. However, not all capabilities are supported across both toolsets. For instance, authorizing external users involves using Azure’s management user interface (UI), said Microsoft.

      “The Configure tab of a directory includes options to control access for external users. These options can be changed only in the UI (there is no Windows PowerShell or API method) in the full Azure portal by a directory global administrator,” states RBAC’s support documentation.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      EWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      ZEUS KERRAVALA - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      WAYNE RASH - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Info

      © 2020 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×