Secure VM Access with Microsoft Entra Domain Services (Without Local Accounts)
Details
Managing local admin accounts across multiple Azure virtual machines can be a real headache — from password sprawl to inconsistent access controls. But what if you could eliminate local accounts entirely and still maintain secure, centralized authentication?
In this session, we’ll explore how Microsoft Entra Domain Services (Entra DS) enables you to securely domain-join Azure VMs without deploying or maintaining traditional domain controllers. You’ll learn how to configure, join, and manage VMs using existing Microsoft Entra credentials — all while improving security and reducing administrative overhead.
### What You’ll Learn
- How Microsoft Entra Domain Services works under the hood
- Step-by-step: How to domain-join an Azure VM to Entra DS
- How to manage VM access using Entra security groups
- DNS and networking prerequisites for successful domain joins
- How to disable local accounts and enforce secure policies
- Best practices for managing access at scale
### Who Should Attend
Azure Cloud Engineers, System Administrators, and IT professionals looking to:
- Simplify VM access management
- Eliminate local account dependencies
- Strengthen identity security in the cloud
- Support legacy or hybrid workloads with minimal complexity