Choosing right identity for Azure Services | Managed Identity vs Service Principal

In this video, we explore the differences between Service Principal Names (SPNs), Managed Identities (MIs), Service Accounts, and User Principal Names (UPNs) in Azure. Understanding these authentication mechanisms is crucial for managing access and securing your Azure resources effectively.
We start by explaining what SPNs are and how they are used by applications and services to authenticate and access Azure resources. We discuss the process of creating and managing SPNs, including the importance of securing the associated credentials.
Next, we introduce Managed Identities as an Azure-managed identity solution that eliminates the need for managing credentials manually. We explore the benefits of MIs, including simplified identity management and enhanced security.
We also delve into service accounts, traditional identities used for non-interactive services or applications. We discuss scenarios where service accounts are commonly used and highlight the potential security risks if they are not properly secured.
Lastly, we cover User Principal Names (UPNs), which represent individual users and are used for authentication and access control in Azure. We explain how UPNs are associated with user accounts in Azure Active Directory and stress the significance of managing and securing user credentials.
Throughout the video, we provide insights, comparisons, and real-world use cases to help you make informed decisions when choosing the appropriate identity type for your Azure deployments.
Join us in this informative video to gain a deeper understanding of SPNs, MIs, service accounts, and UPNs, and learn how to enhance security and manage access in your Azure environment.
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more Azure-related content and hit the like button if you find this video helpful. Share your thoughts and questions in the comments section below. Thank you for watching!

[@DanielWeikert]

Great work. I would also love to see MI practically with Azure/Fabric resources br

[@user-nw8oi9vn9y]

Nice video - but it's spelled 'principal' not 'principle.' That's referring to your MI Type diagram around 9:45 to 10:00. The word, 'principal' can be an adjective or a noun, whereas 'principle' can only be a noun.

[@SoftWizCircle]

Thank you for catching that typo and for the clarification! I appreciate your attention to detail. I'll make sure to pay closer attention to spelling in future diagrams to avoid any confusion. Thanks for watching and for your helpful comment!

[@devops-network]

Great video. Please create one more videos which will demonstrate MI practically.

[@SoftWizCircle]

That's the plan! and i have uploaded a small video for how to use MI for Key vault and storage. Here is link kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ-pdpepr8ufqac

[@ribz747]

Thanks for the full comparison across the various options available.

[@SoftWizCircle]

Glad it was helpful!

[@b.a1691]

Great explanation, the only video I found useful, thank you

[@SoftWizCircle]

Glad it helped

[@arunlouie]

Thanks for such clear and simple explanation!

[@SoftWizCircle]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mrrakeshreddy28]

Can I use managed identity from my API call out side azure eg: PCF to connect sql server instead of service principle ?

[@allanhouston22]

No. Managed identity is only for the apps running in Azure, I think MI works within one subscription as well

[@SoftWizCircle]

MI Can work in multiple subscription as long as they are same Azure Active directory instance

[@nandm9654]

Can we use managed identity to create connection from a m365 service to Azure service

[@SoftWizCircle]

right now m365 access generally we do via Graph AI . Depending upon scenario or platform you can see if MI is supported to access HTTP calls

[@0i0l0o]

Awesome video bro.

[@SoftWizCircle]

Thanks

[@lajapathyarun4329]

Great video :)

[@SoftWizCircle]

Thanks

[@user-yj9rv7us4x]

Can I use managed identity to connect Azure SQL database from AWS EC2 web app?

[@SoftWizCircle]

I dont think right now Managed Identity Support different cloud services

[@allanhouston22]

​@@SoftWizCircleif you don't know answer to this then you really didn't understand MSI. The answer is absolutely NO