Is it sensible to set up Active Directory in Azure, purely for managing identities in the virtual environment? (update: identities as in log on to the vm not our software). We don't currently have an on-site AD installation. Should we be looking at integrating our on-site systems with this AD controller too?
Are there any alternatives to just installing it in a VM following the MSDN instructions here? (mainly in terms of scope for making bad decisions during initial configuration as someone with no real sysadmin or AD experience!)
There is a preview currently running which sounds like a better fit for your purposes. Whether you integrate with your on-prem AD is your call of course. To do so you can use ADFS to ACS to link through from your Azure app.
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/home/features/identity/
Related
can someone explain how access management on Azure differs from local on-prem Active Directory - DC? For example, on DC and AD we can have local security groups for application authentication and authorization and for share folders, but how this thing works in Azure for their SaaS and onedrive? Does Azure have the same security groups like AD has? Where can I learn more about this specific architecture?
Thanks!
Yep, it's called Azure Active Directory (AAD). Documentation is here. You can set up groups and policies similarly to how you would in an on-prem AD.
Here's a comparison of the two.
I have a little confusion about directory sync which is used for AD azure integration.
1) Can anyone let me know, whether we can integrate complete on premises AD to
windows azure AD using this? Or only users and groups?
2) If directory sync will not be helpful for complete AD integration what
method will be used?
Can anyone let me know, whether we can integrate complete on-premises AD to windows azure AD using this ? or only users and groups?
Yes, your on-premises AD can be integrated with Azure AD (AAD) with AAD Connect tool. The integration needs prerequisites you can refer here https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/connect/active-directory-aadconnect-prerequisites. It means not all the cases can be done. For example, if you need to use password writeback functionality, your on-premises AD domain controller must be at least Windows Server 2008. Another prerequisite is that if your on-premises is using single label domain, it is not supported. Best to check the link above before the integration.
IF directory sync will not be helpful for complete AD integartion what methord will be used ?
AAD Connect provides set of features to help you build a comprehensive hybrid identity between on-premises AD and AAD. However, if this doesn't meet your requirement, you can build some extensions programmatically to interact with AAD. I don't know your preferred programming language, but here is the Authentication Library (ADAL) which is pretty much preferred for AAD development https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/develop/active-directory-authentication-libraries
AAD not only supports user and group sync, but also for custom attributes, filtering, password sync & writeback or so on. Remember AAD Connect is purposely for synchronization. It does not offer too much for AAD interaction (saying that you need to manage, add more attributes or retrieve user attributes, 3rd integration...)
we would like to use Azure AD credentials to sign in Mac machines and we are aware of that could be achieved to use Azure AD credentials to sign in local machines via Azure AD join while it is currently only supported for Windows 10. Hence may I know is there a work around for us to achieve using Azure AD credentials to sign in Mac machines? And we figure out the possible solution that we could create ADDS service in our Azure Active directory, and join the Mac machine to Azure AD Domain Service then use our Azure AD credentials to sign in the Mac Machine. May I know is it possible for Mac machine to join Azure AD Domain Service? and is the whole process workable for us to achieve the requirement? Thanks a lot on any ideas on this issue!!!
may I know is there a work around for us to achieve using Azure AD
credentials to sign in Mac machines?
You cannot join Azure AD with Mac OS X. If this is important to you , you can upvote this in this Feedback forum.
May I know is it possible for Mac machine to join Azure AD Domain
Service?
it's possible for Mac to join Azure AD Domain Service.
One Identity Authentication Services enables Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X systems to use the access, authentication, and authorization of an organization’s existing Active Directory (AD) infrastructure. Authentication Services now supports Azure Active Directory Domain Services enabling non-Windows resources to utilize the same next-generation platform that your existing SaaS solutions already use.
Also, there is a guide to integrate Mac OS X with AD.
Due to that I don't have Mac OS X in my test lab, so I didn't test.
Hope this helps!
I'm looking to setup AD for our company. We have developed a cloud based app that needs robust permissions abilities, which AD easily can handle. The app is bases out of Heroku which runs on AWS. I really need AD to manage logins and organizational hierarchy.
I'd like to use a cloud based service to act as the primary Domain controller and in the future, setup on-premise servers to provide local authentication to manage file/print and computer services. This is a secondary need to the authentication needs for our app.
Does anyone know if this architecture is possible? That is, a AD's DC in Azure with replicated services to other on-premise servers, at a later time? This seems to be the reverse of most setups in Azure. I'm ok with using other cloud services than Azure. It just seems they have the most documentation for cloud AD setups.
Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
AT
Although I wouldn't go for Cloud to be my primary DC, here are some guidelines which might help you:
Guidelines for Deploying Windows Server Active Directory on Windows Azure Virtual Machines
Install a new Active Directory forest in Windows Azure
In order to fully validate your scenario, how do you think to join the Heroku computers to your domain controller? Because joining the server where your application runs will make the total sense of what you are trying to achieve.
If you just want to provide LDAP access from your application to the primary DC, and your app is not part of the Domain, then it makes no sense to install AD in Azure.
If you plan to just query the AD for organizational structure, I highly suggest that you take a look at the Windows Azure Active Directory and its Graph API. this is what you need, in the case you will not join any computers to the domain, because Windows Azure Active Directory is not a Domain Controller.
UPDATE
Please update your question with better description of simply to allow our Heroku based app to pull in the directory structure and login information to allow our users to authenticate to it. - I am afraid I can't really understand the application architecture and user login flow here.
Is it possible to use an Azure virtual machine as an Active Directory server with ADFS 2.0 and integrate it with ACS ?
Regards ,
James Roeiter
Having AD server (with RMS also) in cloud is an ask which I have heard time to time from Azure users and it sure is a great addition to have it running in Windows Azure or any cloud. Various organization's IT is asking the same as well however As of now with current Windows Azure it is not possible.
A few might suggest that using Windows Azure VM Role however, I would say that there are concern over that as well do to persistence and other issues so I would say it is not possible with Windows Azure VM Role as well and there are other issues related with Active Directory product as well to run in Cloud scenarios.
If I answer it directly, I would say as of now it is not supported and suggested scenario to have AD on Windows Azure and will not work due to various reasons.
You can now install AD on Azure in a persistent state. Its still preview but I have just got an standalone AD on a separate network on Azure. I haven't finished wiring up ADFS and ACS but given a little time to get my head around it and I will be there.
Why would you like to put your AD server in Azure? If it just for testing - you can. However the current state of Windows Azure only allows you to have a VM Role, which is Stateless. That means, you may prepare your VM with the AD, all configured for ACS and fill up with users. However you can't rely on any changes to be persisted (including password changed, user edits). VM Role is stateless, which means you will lose your changes once the role is recycled or rebooted, or healed.
So the final answer for the current Windows Azure offering would be - don't do that now, unless you want to just play around and see if it works.
** EDIT **
I am not an AD expert, what I managed to do and have an "in-house-virtualized" lab is to have ADFS on VM integrated with ACS. Another VM running Windows 7, which is domain joined to my AD. Then a web deployed application which leverage ACS with ADFS integration. Everything works fine.
As for storing AD data on external persistent storage - I don't know if it is possible, and how to configure that (already told you I am not AD expert). But if you know how to configure the storage for AD, and if you can store it in an SQL Azure, it is worth to give it a try.
And, finally, as Sandrino mentioned read the provided link to ZDNet's blog post, which has information you might find helpful.