Tutorial / Cram Notes
Here’s how to configure Azure AD authentication for an Azure Storage account:
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure the following requirements are met:
- You have an Azure subscription.
- You have permissions to manage access to the storage account.
- Azure AD is set up with at least one user or group.
Steps to Configure Azure AD Authentication for a Storage Account
Step 1: Enable Azure AD Authentication
- Go to the Azure portal.
- Navigate to your storage account.
- Under the “Settings” section, click on “Access Control (IAM)”.
- Here, you can assign the appropriate roles to the Azure AD users or group by clicking on “Add a role assignment”.
Step 2: Assign Roles for Access Control
Azure offers various predefined roles for controlling access:
| Role Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Storage Blob Data Contributor | Grants read, write, and delete permissions to blob objects and containers. |
| Storage Blob Data Reader | Grants read-only permission to blob objects and containers. |
| Storage Blob Data Owner | Grants full control over blob objects and containers, including setting access policies. |
| Storage Queue Data Contributor | Grants read, write, and delete permissions on queue messages. |
| Storage Queue Data Reader | Grants read-only permission to queue messages. |
- Select the role you want to assign to users or groups.
- Search for the Azure AD user/group and select it.
- Click “Save” to apply the role assignment.
Step 3: Configure Azure AD User Delegation SAS
Shared Access Signatures (SAS) with user delegation are secured with Azure AD credentials and provide a secure way to grant limited access to your storage resources.
- Navigate to your storage account and go to “Shared access signature” under “Settings.”
- Under “User delegation SAS,” select the Azure AD user you wish to delegate.
- Configure the allowed services, resource types, permissions, and start/end time for the SAS.
- Click on “Generate SAS token and URL” to create the SAS with user delegation.
Example: Using Azure AD Authentication in a .NET Application
Here’s a code snippet demonstrating how to authenticate using Azure AD in a .NET application:
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Storage.Blobs;
// Storage account details
var accountName = “yourstorageaccount”;
var containerName = “yourcontainer”;
// Create a BlobServiceClient that will authenticate through Active Directory
var blobServiceClient = new BlobServiceClient(new Uri($”https://{accountName}.blob.core.windows.net/”),
new ClientSecretCredential(tenantId, clientId, clientSecret));
// Get a reference to a container in the storage account
var blobContainerClient = blobServiceClient.GetBlobContainerClient(containerName);
Replace tenantId, clientId, and clientSecret with your Azure AD tenant ID, client ID, and secret.
Benefits of Using Azure AD Authentication for Storage Accounts
- Enhanced security with Azure’s identity management.
- Fine-grained access control to resources.
- Support for conditional access policies.
- Ability to audit and track access via Azure AD’s logs.
Monitoring Access and Activity
Azure AD’s access and sign-in logs enable you to monitor and audit access to the storage account. You can access the sign-in logs in the Azure AD section of the Azure portal under “Monitoring.”
With Azure AD authentication set up for your storage account, you can benefit from the integration of identity management and access control for more robust security and easier management of your Azure resources.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Azure AD authentication can be used for accessing blobs and queues in an Azure Storage Account.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: A
Explanation: Azure AD authentication provides an alternative to the Shared Key authorization method and can be used for accessing Blob and Queue services in a storage account.
Which Azure service needs to be enabled to use Azure AD authentication with a storage account?
- (A) Azure Key Vault
- (B) Azure Active Directory
- (C) Azure Information Protection
- (D) Azure Security Center
Answer: B
Explanation: Azure AD must be used to configure Azure AD authentication for accessing Azure Storage accounts.
True or False: Azure AD authentication for Azure Storage is currently available for all storage services, including Files and Tables.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: B
Explanation: As of the knowledge cutoff date, Azure AD authentication is available for Blob and Queue services, but not for Azure Files and Table services.
Which Azure role must be assigned to a user or a group for granting access to a storage account using Azure AD authentication?
- (A) Contributor
- (B) Owner
- (C) Storage Blob Data Contributor
- (D) Reader
Answer: C
Explanation: The Storage Blob Data Contributor role is one of the specific roles for granting access permissions to blob containers and data using Azure AD.
True or False: Managed identities can be used with Azure AD authentication for accessing Azure Storage without storing credentials in code.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: A
Explanation: Managed identities can be utilized to provide an Azure service with an automatically managed identity in Azure AD, thereby avoiding the need to manage credentials.
Which PowerShell cmdlet can be used to acquire an Azure AD token for storage account access?
- (A) Get-AzStorageAccount
- (B) Get-AzAccessToken
- (C) New-AzStorageContext
- (D) Connect-AzAccount
Answer: B
Explanation: The Get-AzAccessToken cmdlet can be used to obtain an Azure AD token for authenticating with Azure services.
What is required to configure a storage account to accept requests from Azure AD authenticated users only?
- (A) Disable shared key access.
- (B) Enable multi-factor authentication.
- (C) Enable Azure AD Domain Services.
- (D) Configure network rules to allow access only from specific networks.
Answer: A
Explanation: Disabling shared key access and setting the `–azure-active-directory` parameter would ensure that a storage account accepts requests only from Azure AD authenticated users.
True or False: A user-assigned managed identity can be used to set up Azure AD authentication for a storage account.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: A
Explanation: Both system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities can be used with Azure services such as Azure Storage for Azure AD authentication.
Which of the following methods can be used to grant access to an Azure AD user for a storage account?
- (A) Assigning a role using the Azure portal.
- (B) Assigning a role using the Azure CLI.
- (C) Assigning a role using Azure PowerShell.
- (D) All of the above.
Answer: D
Explanation: Access to a storage account can be granted to an Azure AD user or group by assigning an appropriate role using any of the tools mentioned – the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell.
True or False: Azure AD authorization for storage uses OAuth 0 tokens to control access to storage account services.
- (A) True
- (B) False
Answer: A
Explanation: Azure AD authorization leverages OAuth 0 access tokens for authentication and authorization to the storage services.
Role assignments for Azure AD authentication to access blobs or queues are scoped to what levels in Azure Storage?
- (A) Subscription level only
- (B) Storage account level only
- (C) Container or queue level
- (D) Both storage account level and container or queue level
Answer: D
Explanation: Role assignments can be made at both the storage account level and at a more granular level such as the container or queue.
Interview Questions
What is Azure AD authentication for storage accounts?
Azure AD authentication for storage accounts allows users and applications to authenticate with Azure Storage using their Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) credentials.
What are the benefits of Azure AD authentication for storage accounts?
Azure AD authentication provides an alternative to shared access signatures (SAS) and Azure Storage account keys for accessing storage accounts, which provides several benefits such as eliminating the need to manage and rotate storage account keys, improved security, and centralized access control management.
What types of applications can use Azure AD authentication for storage accounts?
Any application that supports OAuth 2.0 can use Azure AD authentication for storage accounts, including web applications, mobile applications, and desktop applications.
How do I enable Azure AD authentication for a storage account?
To enable Azure AD authentication for a storage account, you need to create an Azure AD application and grant it permission to access your storage account.
How do I configure Azure AD authentication for a storage account?
You can configure Azure AD authentication for a storage account by setting the “minimum TLS version” and “secure transfer required” properties to their required values, creating a storage account key, and then configuring the Azure AD application to use the storage account key.
Can I use Azure AD authentication for storage accounts with multiple Azure AD directories?
Yes, you can use Azure AD authentication for storage accounts with multiple Azure AD directories by configuring the storage account to allow access from any Azure AD tenant.
How does Azure AD authentication for storage accounts work with Azure role-based access control (RBAC)?
Azure AD authentication for storage accounts works with Azure RBAC by allowing you to assign roles to users and groups in Azure AD, which provides fine-grained access control to your storage account.
How do I revoke access for an Azure AD application to a storage account?
To revoke access for an Azure AD application to a storage account, you can remove the application’s access to the storage account or delete the application entirely.
What are the different methods of authenticating with a storage account using Azure AD?
There are two methods of authenticating with a storage account using Azure AD interactive authentication, which requires the user to enter their Azure AD credentials, and non-interactive authentication, which uses a client ID and secret to authenticate the application.
How does Azure AD authentication for storage accounts help improve security?
Azure AD authentication for storage accounts improves security by eliminating the need to manage and rotate storage account keys, providing centralized access control management, and enabling granular role-based access control.
Great guide! Configuring Azure AD authentication for storage accounts was quite challenging for me until I found this post.
I followed the steps, but I’m getting an error at the ‘Grant Access’ step. Any suggestions?
When setting up the managed identity for Azure AD, do I need to create a new identity for each storage account?
How can I verify if the Azure AD integration is working correctly with my storage account?
Thanks! This guide really saved my time.
I think this post could benefit from including some troubleshooting tips for common errors.
For those who passed AZ-104, did you get a lot of questions about Azure AD integration with storage accounts?
Just a note: If you have strict security policies, configuring conditional access in Azure AD is essential.