How deeply does Microsoft Azure in Action cover Microsoft Entra ID?

Explains tenants and identity types, outlines user creation, and gives an Azure CLI administration example without detailing MFA setup.

Microsoft Entra ID

As explained in Microsoft Azure in Action

Entra ID is Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access management service.

Who can sign in to Azure, and what can they access once they do? Microsoft Entra ID is Azure’s identity and access management service—the bouncer checking identities and permissions at the door. It was called Azure Active Directory until 2023, so you may still encounter the old name. section 6.6 section 6.1.1

An Azure account comes with an Entra ID tenant. The tenant holds identities for people as well as applications and processes; subscriptions contain the Azure resources those identities may need to use. An identity needs credentials in Entra ID before it can seek access to Azure resources. section 6.3 section 6.9

Entra ID helps put a zero-trust approach into practice: start with no access, then grant only what is needed.

Create an identity. A new user starts with a name and username; other settings, including group membership and permissions, can be added later. section 6.3
Verify sign-ins. Entra ID supports multifactor authentication (MFA) and passwordless login. section 6.6
Limit authorization. Role-based access control (RBAC) determines access through a security principal, role definition, and scope. section 6.9

Not every identity belongs to a person. A service principal lets an application access Azure resources, while a managed identity lets code authenticate without managing its own secrets. Both address the awkward question of how to give an app access without handing it a human’s password. section 6.6 section 6.9

Give a known identity access to Azure SQL

Suppose a team wants database access tied to an Entra ID user rather than separate SQL Server credentials. Using Azure CLI, designate that user as an Azure SQL Server administrator with their display name and object ID. Access can then be managed through the known identity and its permissions. section 10.6.1

C:/> az sql server ad-admin create --resource-group BanningRG 
--server-name BanningBooksServer --display-name <EntraIDDisplayName> 
--object-id <EntraIDObjectId>

The Azure CLI command shows the resource group, server name, display name, and object ID needed to designate an Entra ID account as Azure SQL Server administrator. section 10.6.1

How Microsoft Azure in Action covers it

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Also explained in

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Azure SecurityMicrosoft Entra ID is Microsoft’s cloud identity and access management service for authenticating identities and controlling access to resources.
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Architecting an Apache Iceberg LakehouseAzure Active Directory is Microsoft's cloud identity and access management service for authenticating identities and enforcing authorization policies.

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Related concepts

identity and access managementkind of · Identity and access management is the discipline and set of policies and systems for managing digital identities and controlling their authentication, authorization, and access to resources.
authenticationused by · Authentication is the process of establishing or verifying the identity of a user, service, device, or other communicating entity.
multifactor authenticationuses · Multifactor authentication is an authentication method that verifies identity using evidence from at least two distinct authentication-factor categories.
Azure Data Lake Storageused by · Azure Data Lake Storage is a cloud storage service optimized for scalable storage and analysis of large datasets with hierarchical organization.
identity protectionhas part · Identity protection is a Microsoft Entra capability that detects identity and sign-in compromise risk using behavioral analysis and supports protective responses.
managed identityhas part · A managed identity is a nonhuman digital identity whose credentials and lifecycle are administered by a cloud or infrastructure service, allowing workloads to authenticate to supported resources without managing credentials directly.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Microsoft Azure in Action. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.