Lecture: Managing Identities with Microsoft Entra

Introduction to Microsoft Entra

• Purpose: Protect identities and secure network access everywhere.
• Entra ID: Foundation for all Microsoft cloud services (Azure, Intune, M365, Dynamics).
• Admin Center: Manage IDs at entra.microsoft.com.

Understanding the Tenant

• Tenant: The environment for Entra ID, similar to renting property.
  • Tenant ID: Unique identifier for your tenant.
  • Domain Name: Customizable domain.
  • License Types: Multiple levels (e.g., P1 for general users, P2 for admins).

Privileged Identity Management (PIM)

• PIM: Just-in-time access for admins to elevate permissions temporarily.
• Benefits: Enhances security by limiting admin access duration.

Overview Tab

• Counts: Shows users, groups, apps, and devices managed in the tenant.
• Alerts Section: Highlights issues to be aware of.
• Highlighted Features: To optimize tenant usage.

Properties Tab

• Customization: Name your tenant, set region, and data location.
  • Data Location: Critical for data sovereignty.

Access Management for Azure Resources

• Purpose: Global admins control permissions inside Azure subscriptions.
• Identity Source: All Azure identities come from Entra ID.
• User Access Administrator Role: For setting up and reclaiming subscriptions.

User Management

• User Types: Cloud-native, synced, guest users (B2B and B2C).
• Metadata Assignment: Assign permissions, roles, and administrative units to users.

Creating Users

• UPN, Display Name, Password: Basic requirements for new user creation.
• Permissions Assignment: By administrative unit, group, or direct role.

Syncing Users

• Cloud Sync vs. Connect Sync:
  • Connect Sync: Older, server-installed, on-premises management.
  • Cloud Sync: Newer, cloud-managed, lightweight agent.

Group Management

• Group Types: Security (permissions) and M365 (collaboration).
• Group Creation: Name, description, role assignment, and ownership.
• Dynamic Groups: Automatically populated groups based on queries.

Authentication and Security

• Deep Dive Available: Further details on authentication and security provided in additional resources.