Some Azure services must be available to all employees for them to carry out their duties. When the administrator gives them a unique user id and password for each service, they can access services like SQL databases, machine learning, or Azure container services. It might be challenging for administrators and staff members to manage many user logins at once. For administrators employed by a company with more than 1,000 employees, it causes greater bother.
Azure Active Directory (AD) enters the scene in this situation. Administrators can easily manage numerous user logins with Azure AD. To access each service, administrators must provide a single login and password.
What is it?
Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directories and identity management service is called Azure Active Directory. With just one set of login credentials, employees of a company can sign up for numerous services and use them from anywhere via the cloud.
Windows Active Directory vs. Azure Active Directory
Azure AD’s predecessor was Windows Active Directory (AD). An OS directory service called Active Directory (AD) makes it easier to work with various, complicated, interrelated network resources in an unified manner. The fact that Windows AD had numerous levels that carried out different tasks was its main flaw. Below is a description of these layers:
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- Windows Active Directory Domain Services is known as ADDS: The administrator may handle user login information and other details with ADDS.
- Azure Data Lake Storage Services (ADLS): You can store any kind or amount of data with this layer.
- Active Directory Federation Services, or ADFS: With the help of this layer, you may sign up for all systems and applications using a single method.
- Active Directory and Certification Services, abbreviated ADCS: The public certificate management and issuance services can be tailored by administrators thanks to this layer.
- Active Directory Rights Management Services, or ADRMS: An instrument for data security is ADRMS. Inside the instance of Windows AD, administrators must manage numerous layers. This is where Azure AD completely altered the situation. It combines all five of these layers into two, which are as follows:
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- Windows Azure Active Directory, or WAAD
This layer connects all identity management-related issues.
- Windows Azure Access Control Service (WAACS)
This layer makes it possible to federate or divide all of an organization’s services. Attributing all of these functions to a users is what is meant by division here.
As a result, Azure AD uses just two layers to simplify many issues. Office 365, for instance, manages user IDs using Azure AD. The administrator will only need to enter an one username and password all of the Office 365 services, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.