Tag: Azure Cloud Architect

Adding a separate email account as an owner subscription

My friend has created the Azure subscription using this email address, foo.inc@outlook.com. Azure has created a domain fooincoutlook.onmicrosoft.com in Azure Active Directory.

Me and my friend share same subscription with same foo.inc@outlook.com email address to provision services Azure. There are occasional disruptions in my sign-in and I see a login pop up window. It asks me to type-in our shared email address to get a code and authenticate in Azure. I contact my friend and solve login issue. This is a waste of time.

To solve this issue, navigate to Active Directory -> Manage -> User and create a new user;

adam@fooincoutlook.onmicrosoft.com

Navigate to Azure subscription -> Access control (IAM) -> Add -> Add role assignment;

By using adam@fooincoutlook.onmicrosoft.com, We can share a single subscription but can use our own email accounts to provision resources.

There are other ways to manage identities but I have found this an easier and quicker fix.

VM Reserved instance

I have configured Azure VM for development environment from an image and running it for the past 3 weeks. Today, Azure advisor recommended that upgrading Pay-As-You-Go to reserved instance will save us 25% yearly that’s estimated 1,031.67 USD.

Here is how you can do that;

Go to Home -> <Your Subscription> -> Buy reserved instances -> Virtual machine

I came here for one year (25%) discount but if commit for three year i can get 48% discounts. Not bad.

The monthly estimated prices for a 3 years commitment is 130.61 USD.

Does Azure commercial follow FEDRAMP guidelines?

This is the first question that will always be asked if you are setting up Azure for a client that works with government.

Both Azure and Azure Government uses same security controls. They are accessed and authorized at the FedRAMP high impact level. Azure Government provides an additional layer of protection to customers to screened US persons. This is used to store and process data subject to US export control regulation’s such as EAR, ITAR, and DoE 10 CFR Part 810.

Refer to this Microsoft article for details;

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/all-us-azure-regions-now-approved-for-fedramp-high-impact-level/

Take time to see which environments meet your needs.  Many people are surprised at how robust the Azure [commercial] compliance space is.  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/compliance/complianceofferings

Resources;

Choosing the right Azure Environment – Should I use the Public or the Government Cloud?