Identity in Azure -- Azure Active Directory
This section highlights important and common questions around security in Azure that are asked during interviews.
What is the difference between Azure AD and Windows Server AD?
# Windows Server AD Azure Active Directory
1 Windows AD offers 5 core services -- ADCS, ADRMS, ADFS, ADDS, ADLDS. Azure AD provides only one solution -- "Identity management throughout the internet". 2 Designed to operate in corporate network where companies have full control over topology. This exposes services exposed through various protocols like LDAP, Kerberos, DNS, AD replication etc. Type of communication is Http or Https and authentication protocols supported are OAuth, WS-Federation, SAMP-P. 3 Operations/ information can be retrieved from AD are performed through LDAP queries. Azure AD provides Graph API which is REST API. 4 The management of devices are limited to corporate assets. Http and https enables support for any device that can talk over http/ (s) hence enabling true Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scenario. 5 Can't be integrated with enterprise ready SaaS applications. The nature of Azure AD enables to integrate with enterprise grade SaaS applications such as Salesforce, Facebook at work, dropbox and so on. 6 You have access to underlying Domain controller as this is Infra offering. No access to underlying servers as this is PaaS offering and communication happens using internet facing endpoints.
References
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/get-started/
