I am a CSA — What can I do with Azure Arc?
You can use Azure Arc in many ways:
FinTech Solutions is a midsize financial services company based in Singapore with a branch office in San Francisco. Most of the FinTech Solutions compute environment runs on-premises on Windows Server.
FinTech Solutions’ IT director realizes that the company has an outdated operational model with limited automation and reliance on dated technology. The FinTech Solutions IT Engineering team has started exploring Azure capabilities and plans to migrate some workloads to Azure. However, FinTech Solutions will continue to operate an on-premises environment for some time, so their ability to apply Azure policies to on-premises Windows Server workloads is important, as well as to review these on-premises Windows Server instances alongside Azure VMs in the Azure portal. It’s also important that administrators can use the Azure portal to manage the various distributions of Kubernetes clusters that FinTech Solutions uses today.
As FinTech Solutions moves to a modern cloud computing environment, it wants to understand how Azure services might help with modernizing the current operational model through automation and virtualization, even though they’ll need to maintain some on-premises resources.
As part of the initial design, the FinTech Solutions IT team asked Anita, the lead system engineer and server administrator, to evaluate how Azure services can help modernize FinTech Solutions’ IT infrastructure and meet business goals, including the use of Azure Arc.
Azure Arc provides a centralized way to manage Windows Server instances, Linux instances, Kubernetes clusters, and connected data sources. By projecting non-Azure and/or on-premises resources into Azure Resource Manager, hybrid environments can be managed efficiently and consistently.
1. Inventory of Assets using Azure Arc
Anita, the lead system engineer at FinTech Solutions, was tasked with modernizing the company’s IT infrastructure. With a mix of on-premises and cloud resources, managing the environment had become increasingly complex. Anita knew that a unified approach was essential for efficiency and compliance.
She turned to Azure Arc to bridge the gap between their on-premises and cloud environments. One of the first features she explored was the inventory of assets. Using Azure Arc, Anita could tag and query across both hybrid and Azure assets, providing a comprehensive view of the entire infrastructure.
This capability was a game-changer. Anita could now easily identify and categorize resources based on various attributes, such as location, department, and compliance status. This tagging system allowed her to quickly generate reports and insights, which were crucial for audits and strategic planning.
Moreover, the ability to query across all assets meant that Anita could swiftly pinpoint any issues or discrepancies, ensuring that both on-premises and cloud resources were aligned with the company’s policies and standards. This not only improved operational efficiency but also enhanced security and compliance.
With Azure Arc, Anita successfully streamlined FinTech Solutions’ IT operations, paving the way for a more agile and responsive infrastructure. The company was now better equipped to meet its business goals and adapt to future challenges.
2. Consolidate views of management services in the Azure portal
Anita, the lead system engineer at FinTech Solutions, faced the challenge of managing a sprawling IT environment that spanned both on-premises and cloud resources. The lack of a unified management interface made it difficult to maintain consistency and efficiency.
Anita discovered Azure Arc and its ability to consolidate views of management services in the Azure portal. This feature allowed her to review and configure Azure Arc resources using a consistent interface, simplifying the management process.
With Azure Arc, Anita could now see all resources, whether on-premises or in the cloud, in one place. This consolidation meant she no longer had to switch between different tools and interfaces to manage various parts of the infrastructure. The consistent interface provided by Azure Arc made it easier to apply policies, monitor performance, and ensure compliance across the entire environment.
Anita quickly realized the benefits of this unified approach. She could efficiently manage updates, troubleshoot issues, and optimize resources without the usual complexity. The streamlined management process also freed up her time to focus on strategic initiatives, such as improving security and enhancing service delivery.
Thanks to Azure Arc, FinTech Solutions’ IT operations became more cohesive and responsive. Anita’s ability to manage the hybrid environment through a single pane of glass transformed the company’s IT landscape, driving greater efficiency and innovation.
3. Azure Monitor to monitor and manage server resources
Anita, the lead system engineer at FinTech Solutions, was constantly seeking ways to enhance the monitoring and management of their diverse IT environment. With resources spread across on-premises datacenters and multiple cloud providers, maintaining visibility and control was a significant challenge.
Anita discovered Azure Arc and its integration with Azure Monitor, a core component of Microsoft’s strategy to extend comprehensive, cloud-based monitoring functionality beyond Azure. This feature allowed her to monitor and manage server resources across the entire hybrid environment seamlessly.
Using Azure Monitor, Anita could now collect and analyze telemetry data from both on-premises and cloud-based resources. This unified approach provided her with real-time insights into the performance and health of the infrastructure. She could set up alerts for critical issues, ensuring that potential problems were addressed before they could impact business operations.
The ability to visualize data through dashboards and reports made it easier for Anita to communicate the state of the IT environment to stakeholders. She could demonstrate how the infrastructure was performing and where improvements were needed, driving informed decision-making.
With Azure Monitor, Anita successfully enhanced the monitoring capabilities of FinTech Solutions. The comprehensive visibility and proactive management enabled by Azure Arc transformed the company’s IT operations, ensuring reliability and efficiency across the hybrid environment.
4. Azure Policy to audit Azure Arc resources
Anita, the lead system engineer at FinTech Solutions, was determined to ensure that the company’s IT environment adhered to strict compliance and configuration standards. With resources spread across on-premises and cloud environments, maintaining consistent configurations was a daunting task.
Anita discovered Azure Arc and its integration with Azure Policy, a powerful tool for auditing and enforcing configurations. This feature allowed her to validate the configurations of operating systems, applications, and environment settings across all Azure Arc resources.
Using Azure Policy, Anita could define and apply policies that ensured all resources met the company’s compliance requirements. She set up policies to audit configurations, such as ensuring that all servers had the latest security patches, applications were correctly configured, and environment settings adhered to best practices.
The ability to automate these audits saved Anita significant time and effort. She no longer had to manually check each resource for compliance. Instead, Azure Policy provided real-time insights and alerts for any non-compliant resources, allowing her to take corrective actions swiftly.
With Azure Policy, Anita successfully enhanced the governance and compliance of FinTech Solutions’ IT environment. The automated auditing and validation capabilities provided by Azure Arc transformed the company’s approach to IT management, ensuring a secure and compliant infrastructure that supported business goals.
Learn more
You can learn more by reviewing the following articles:
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