Table of Contents
IT:AD:Azure:Subscription
Summary
An IT:AD:Azure:Subscription is a Billing and Security Container (whereas IT:AD:Azure:Active Directory (AD) is an Identity Container) 1).
An Azure Subscription is an association between an Account and an Service of some kind.
In the case of IT:AD:Azure, a Subscription gives the end user access to create Azure resources, services, etc. depending on its Roles.
An Account can have multiple types of Subscriptions: * IT:AD:Azure Subscription, * IT:AD:Office 365 (O365) Subscription, * IT:AD:Visual Studio Team Services Subscription * etc.
Here we are talking only about Azure Subscriptions.
MISC
- Typically Business Heads, IT Division Heads.
- Can view Usage Data for the Account.
- Under EA usage, can sign up for Preview features.
- can have n Subscription.
- Can update the Service Administrator and Service Co-Administrator.
- By default, all subscriptions are created with the updateable name 'Enterprise'.
- Recommend accounts be created on functional, business or geographic divisions.
Notes
Subscription Management
Depending on the Subscription Type (see below), the subscription is managed from the following portals:
* http://ea.azure.com
* manage.windowsazure.com ← old ea portal
Subscription Billing
Billing is explorer in further detail here: * IT:AD:Azure:Billing
Relationship between Azure Subscription and Accounts
As stated elsewhere, an Account can be related to 0-* Subscriptions.
But a Subscription always has at least one IT:AD:Azure:Account associated to it as its IT:AD:Azure:Security:Role:BuiltIn Roles:Owner (and its Service Administrator (SA)).
Whereas only the Account Administrator (AA) can see billing information (Credit Card info, etc.) any of the above Accounts can create services/resources (including Azure AD instances, which we'll get back to later).
Azure Subscriptions Types
The various types of Azure Subscriptions are:
- Free one, offered to try out Azure.
- MSDN based Subscriptions:
- Every MSDN account gets a free Azure Subscription, as well as free Azure credits.
- Get 5 MSDN (see above) accounts for free.
- Each MSDN Account comes with one Azure Subscription, which in turn is associated to one Account.
- VERIFY…
- Pay as you go:
- Attach a CC or debit card to the account.
- If you are an Org, you also can be approved for invoicing
- A Subscription is associated to one Account.
- you commit to using a certain amount of services in Azure over the next year,
- you pay it ahead of time.
- If you exceed the amount, you pay the difference quarterly/annually.
- In return you get:
- Best prices. Beat Amazon.
- Access to the IT:AD:Azure:Portal:Enterprise Portal
Relationship with Azure Active Directory
- Subscription have a trust relationship with a single Azure AD Directory instance, to authenticate users, services, and devices.
- Multiple subscriptions can trust the same directory.
- You can see (and edit) which directory is trusted by your subscription under the Settings tab.
* This trust relationship that a subscription has with a directory is unlike the relationship that a subscription has with all other resources in Azure (websites, databases, and so on), which are more like child resources of a subscription.
- If a subscription expires, then access to those other resources associated with the subscription also stops.
- But the directory remains in Azure, and you can associate another subscription with that directory and continue to manage the directory users.
Constraints
- You can be an Account Owner ( in only a single Enrollment).
- A Department Administrator can be for multiple Departments.