Configure and manage Azure Policy

Azure Policy is a service in Azure that enables you to create, assign, and manage policies that enforce different rules over your Azure environments, ensuring your resources stay compliant with your corporate standards and service level agreements. Azure Policy accomplishes this by evaluating your resources for non-compliance with assigned policies. As an Azure Administrator preparing for the AZ-104 exam, understanding how to configure and manage Azure Policy is crucial.

Understanding Azure Policy Definitions and Assignments:

Azure Policy Definitions express the rules that your resources need to comply with. They can enforce rules, like ensuring all resources are in a specific Azure region or that only certain types of virtual machines can be created.

Policy Assignments are the application of a Policy Definition to a specific scope. This scope could range from a single resource group to an entire subscription. When a Policy Assignment is made, Azure Policy will automatically evaluate the resources within the scope to validate compliance.

Creating and Assigning Policies:

To create a new policy definition:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
2. Navigate to the ‘Policy’ service.
3. Under ‘Authoring’, select ‘Definitions’.
4. Click on ‘+ Policy definition’.
5. Provide the necessary details for your policy, such as the name, description, and policy rule.
6. Once completed, click ‘Save’.

For example, if you want to ensure all virtual machines use managed disks, the policy rule might look like:

{
“if”: {
“field”: “type”,
“equals”: “Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines”
},
“then”: {
“effect”: “audit”,
“details”: {
“type”: “Microsoft.Compute/disks”,
“existenceCondition”: {
“field”: “Microsoft.Compute/disks/createOption”,
“equals”: “Managed”
}
}
}
}

To assign a policy:

1. Go to ‘Policy’ service in the Azure portal.
2. Under ‘Authoring’, select ‘Assignments’.
3. Click on ‘+ Assign policy’.
4. Select the scope (subscription, resource group, or resource).
5. Choose the Policy Definition you created earlier.
6. Set parameters if your policy definition requires them.
7. Click on ‘Review + create’ to confirm the assignment.

Managing Compliance:

Once policies are assigned, Azure Policy will evaluate the resources and identify if they are compliant. You can view the compliance status by:

1. Navigating to the ‘Policy’ service in the Azure portal.
2. Selecting ‘Compliance’ from the sidebar.
3. Here you can see the list of policies, their respective assignments, and the compliance state of each assignment.

For ongoing compliance management, it’s often useful to enable the remediation of non-compliant resources automatically. To do this:

1. Select the non-compliant policy assignment.
2. Click on ‘Remediation’.
3. Select the non-compliant resources and click ‘Remediate’.

Advanced Features of Azure Policy:

Azure Policy also supports advanced features like:

• Policy Initiatives (PolicySets): Grouping of policies that makes it easier for you to manage and assign collections of policies.
• Exemptions: Allows specific resources to be exempt from one or more policy assignments.
• Parameterization: Enables the creation of flexible policies that can take parameters for certain fields when they’re assigned.

For example, an initiative might encompass policies to ensure audit logs are enabled for all services and that resources reside in specific regions.

Monitoring and Reporting:

For reporting purposes, Azure Policy integrates with Azure Monitor and Azure Activity Log. This lets administrators track policy assignments, changes, and compliance states.

Example of Policy Management with Azure PowerShell:

You can also manage Azure Policy through Azure PowerShell. For example, to create a new policy definition:

$policyRule = @{
“if” = @{
“field” = “type”
“equals” = “Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines”
}
“then” = @{
“effect” = “deny”
}
}

$policyRuleJson = $policyRule | ConvertTo-Json

New-AzPolicyDefinition -Name “EnforceManagedDisks” -DisplayName “Ensure Managed Disks” -Policy $policyRuleJson

And to assign this policy definition to a resource group, you would use:

$rg = Get-AzResourceGroup -Name “MyResourceGroup”
New-AzPolicyAssignment -Name “ApplyManagedDisksPolicy” -PolicyDefinition “EnforceManagedDisks” -Scope $rg.ResourceId

Best Practices:

• Regularly review and update policy definitions.
• Use policy exemptions judiciously.
• Organize initiatives for easier management and assignment.
• Start with audits before enforcing with ‘deny’ effects to understand impact.
• Utilize built-in policies for common scenarios.

In conclusion, Azure Policy is an essential tool for Azure Administrators; it ensures governance and compliance across Azure resources. By understanding how to create, assign, and manage policies and initiatives in Azure, administrators can effectively monitor and enforce organizational standards.