Azure AD Domain Services is a managed domain service that provides domain join, group policy, LDAP, and Kerberos/NTLM authentication to Azure virtual machines and Azure AD applications. It allows organizations to leverage their existing Active Directory (AD) infrastructure in the cloud without the need to deploy domain controllers.
Key Features
Some of the key features of Azure AD Domain Services are:
Domain Join
Azure AD Domain Services allows you to join Azure virtual machines to a domain, providing centralized identity management for users and devices. You can use the same domain join process that you use for on-premises AD, and you can use Group Policy to manage the virtual machines.
LDAP and Kerberos/NTLM Authentication
Azure AD Domain Services provides LDAP and Kerberos/NTLM authentication, allowing applications and services that rely on these protocols to work seamlessly in the cloud. This enables you to use existing applications and tools that use LDAP or Kerberos/NTLM authentication without having to modify them.
Group Policy
Azure AD Domain Services supports Group Policy, which enables you to manage and enforce policies for Azure virtual machines and applications using the same Group Policy tools used on-premises. You can create Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and apply them to virtual machines to configure settings such as password policies, software deployment, and security settings.
Integration with Azure AD
Azure AD Domain Services integrates with Azure AD, which enables users to sign in to Azure AD-joined virtual machines using their Azure AD credentials. This provides a seamless sign-in experience for users and enables administrators to manage access to resources using Azure AD security features such as conditional access and multi-factor authentication.
High Availability
Azure AD Domain Services is designed for high availability, with multiple domain controllers deployed across different availability zones to ensure resilience and availability. This means that if one domain controller fails, there are other domain controllers available to handle requests. Azure AD Domain Services also includes automatic failover to ensure that the service remains available even in the event of a datacenter outage.
Secure LDAP
Azure AD Domain Services also supports secure LDAP, which uses SSL/TLS to encrypt LDAP traffic. This ensures that LDAP traffic is secure and cannot be intercepted by attackers. Secure LDAP is enabled by default in Azure AD Domain Services, and you can also configure it to use a custom SSL/TLS certificate if required.
Custom Domain Names
Azure AD Domain Services allows you to use custom domain names for your managed domain. This means that you can use your own domain name instead of the default domain name provided by Azure AD Domain Services. This can be useful if you want to use a domain name that is already registered to your organization, or if you want to use a domain name that is easier for your users to remember.
Secure LDAPS
Azure AD Domain Services supports secure LDAPS, which uses SSL/TLS to encrypt LDAP traffic. This provides an additional layer of security for LDAP traffic and helps to protect against eavesdropping and other types of attacks.
Managed Service
Azure AD Domain Services is a fully managed service, which means that Microsoft handles the underlying infrastructure and management of the service. This means that you do not have to worry about deploying or maintaining domain controllers, which can save you time and resources.
Low Latency
Azure AD Domain Services provides low latency access to domain services, which means that domain authentication and authorization requests are processed quickly. This can help to improve the performance of applications that rely on domain services, particularly those that require frequent authentication and authorization requests.
Multi-Forest Support
Azure AD Domain Services also supports multi-forest environments, which means that you can use Azure AD Domain Services to manage multiple forests in the cloud. This can be useful if you have multiple AD forests on-premises that you want to extend to the cloud, or if you want to create a new forest in the cloud for a specific project or application.
Use Cases
Azure AD Domain Services can be used in a variety of scenarios, including:
Lift-and-Shift of On-Premises Applications to Azure
One common use case for Azure AD Domain Services is to lift-and-shift on-premises applications to Azure. By joining the Azure virtual machines running the on-premises applications to the domain managed by Azure AD Domain Services, you can provide centralized identity management for users and devices without having to redesign the applications. This can help to simplify the migration of on-premises applications to the cloud and reduce the overall cost and complexity of the migration.
Integration with Azure Virtual Machines
Azure AD Domain Services also integrates with Azure virtual machines, which allows you to use the same domain join process that you use for on-premises AD to join the virtual machines to the domain. This provides centralized identity management for the virtual machines and enables you to use Group Policy to manage and enforce policies for the virtual machines. You can also use Azure AD Domain Services to manage access to resources on the virtual machines using Azure AD security features such as conditional access and multi-factor authentication.
Modernization of Legacy Applications
Another use case for Azure AD Domain Services is to modernize legacy applications. By joining the virtual machines running the legacy applications to the domain managed by Azure AD Domain Services, you can enable modern authentication protocols such as OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, which can improve the security and user experience of the applications. You can also use Azure AD Domain Services to manage access to the applications using Azure AD security features such as conditional access and multi-factor authentication.
Hybrid Cloud Environments
Azure AD Domain Services can also be used to manage hybrid cloud environments, where some resources are hosted in Azure and others are hosted on-premises. By extending the on-premises AD to Azure using Azure AD Domain Services, you can provide centralized identity management for both on-premises and cloud-based resources. This can help to simplify the management of hybrid cloud environments and improve the security of the overall environment.
Development and Test Environments
Azure AD Domain Services can also be used to provide centralized identity management for development and test environments. By joining the virtual machines used for development and test to the domain managed by Azure AD Domain Services, you can enable developers and testers to use their existing AD credentials to sign in to the virtual machines. This can help to simplify the management of development and test environments and improve the security of the overall environment.
Federated Authentication with On-Premises AD
Another use case for Azure AD Domain Services is to enable federated authentication with on-premises AD. By extending the on-premises AD to Azure using Azure AD Domain Services, you can enable users to sign in to cloud-based applications using their on-premises AD credentials. This can help to improve the user experience and simplify the management of authentication for cloud-based applications.
Getting Started
To get started with Azure AD Domain Services, you need to perform the following steps:
- Create an Azure AD Domain Services instance:
- In the Azure portal, click “Create a resource” and search for “Azure AD Domain Services”.
- Click “Create” to start the creation process.
- Choose the subscription, resource group, and region for your domain services instance.
- Configure the DNS domain name for your domain services instance.
- Configure network settings:
- Choose a virtual network that will host your domain services instance.
- Choose whether to use a dedicated subnet for your domain services instance.
- Configure DNS settings for your virtual network.
- Configure identity and access management:
- Choose a user and group administrator account that will have full access to your domain services instance.
- Choose whether to enable secure LDAP access for your domain services instance.
- Join virtual machines to your domain:
- Configure the DNS settings of your virtual machines to use the IP address of your domain services instance.
- Join the virtual machines to your domain using the same process as you would for an on-premises AD domain.
- Configure security settings:
- Use Azure AD security features such as conditional access and multi-factor authentication to manage access to resources on your virtual machines.
- Use Azure Security Center to monitor and manage security across your hybrid cloud environment.
- Monitor and manage your domain services instance:
- Use the Azure portal to monitor the health and performance of your domain services instance.
- Use Azure Log Analytics to monitor and analyze logs and performance metrics for your domain services instance.
These steps should help you get started with Azure AD Domain Services. It’s important to note that there may be additional steps or configurations required based on your specific use case. It’s also recommended to review Microsoft’s documentation and best practices for Azure AD Domain Services to ensure you are following the most up-to-date guidance.
Conclusion
Azure AD Domain Services is a powerful and flexible managed domain service that provides domain join, group policy, LDAP, and Kerberos/NTLM authentication to Azure virtual machines and Azure AD applications.