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Control Azure Savings Plan Creation with Specified Subscription Policies

Azure’s flexibility and vast ecosystem make it an attractive choice for organizations looking to optimize their cloud costs. A popular strategy to enhance cost efficiency is the Azure Savings Plan, which enables organizations to commit to consistent usage of an Azure service for one or three years, benefiting from significant discounts. However, flexibly creating savings plans across multiple subscriptions can quickly lead to budgetary mismanagement. Therefore, it’s crucial to establish policies that restrict where and how these plans are created.

Understanding Azure Management Groups and Subscriptions

Before diving into controlling the creation of savings plans, it’s essential to understand the structure of Azure’s management groups and subscriptions. Here are some key concepts:

• Management Groups: These are containers that help manage access, policies, and compliance across multiple Azure subscriptions. They form a hierarchy where each level can inherit policies and access controls from its parent.
• Subscriptions: These are individual accounts that are associated with a specific user’s Azure resources. They act as boundaries for billing, resources, and access management.

Why Restrict Savings Plan Creation?

Restricting savings plan creation based on subscriptions offers several benefits:

• Enhanced Cost Management: Organizations can control expenditures by assigning cost centers and budgets to specific subscriptions.
• Improved Security: Limits are placed on who can create savings plans, ensuring that only authorized personnel can commit significant financial resources.
• Compliance and Governance: Organizations can set governance policies aligned with regulatory requirements, helping avoid potential legal pitfalls.

Implementing Restriction Policies

To implement restriction policies for savings plan creation, Azure provides several robust solutions:

Azure Policy

Azure Policy is a powerful tool that helps enforce predefined rules and effects over Azure resources. To restrict savings plan creation, follow these steps:

{
  "if": {
    "allOf": [
      {
        "field": "type",
        "equals": "Microsoft.Compute/savingsPlans"
      },
      {
        "field": "subscriptionId",
        "notEquals": ""
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": {
    "effect": "deny"
  }
}

This policy checks if a savings plan is being created and denies the action if it is outside the specified subscription.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

RBAC enables fine-grained access management for Azure. By assigning permissions, Resource Group or Resource Level control can be effectively exerted:

az role assignment create --assignee  \
                          --role "Savings Plan Contributor" \
                          --scope "/subscriptions/"

This command ensures only specified users can create savings plans within the assigned subscription.

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Templates

ARM templates provide a way to declare the deployment and configuration of Azure resources. They can also be used to apply policies restricting savings plan creation.

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "resources": [],
  "outputs": {
    "restrictSavingsPlan": {
      "type": "string",
      "value": "[deployments('policyAssignment').outputs.result]"
    }
  }
}

Monitoring and Compliance

After setting the restrictions, it’s crucial to monitor compliance:

• Azure Audit Logs: Access audit logs to track actions and changes related to savings plan creation.
• Compliance Dashboard: Utilize Azure’s built-in compliance dashboard to continuously monitor policy compliance across your subscriptions.
• Alerts and Notifications: Configure alerts to notify administrators of policy violations or unauthorized savings plan attempts.

Conclusion

In summary, managing savings plan creation within specified subscriptions is key for effective cost management, compliance, and security in Azure. By leveraging tools like Azure Policy, RBAC, and ARM templates, organizations can enforce necessary controls, improve governance, and ensure that their cloud strategy aligns with business objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens if a savings plan is attempted to be created outside the allowed subscription?

If a savings plan creation is attempted outside the specified subscription, the policy will automatically deny the request, ensuring no unauthorized commitments are made.

2. Can I apply these restriction policies to other Azure resources?

Yes, Azure Policy and RBAC can be applied across various Azure resources to enforce compliance and governance.

3. How often should these policies be reviewed?

It’s good practice to review your policies quarterly to ensure they align with your organization’s evolving needs and compliance requirements.

4. Do these restrictions affect existing savings plans?

No, these restrictions only apply to the creation of new savings plans and won’t affect existing ones. However, modifying existing plans may be subject to these rules.

5. What are the prerequisites for implementing these strategies?

You’ll need access to Azure Policy, proper role assignments in RBAC, and possibly experience with ARM templates. Additionally, administrative permissions may be required.

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This blog post provides an overview of methods to restrict Azure Savings Plan creation to specified subscriptions using various Azure tools. Enhanced with best practices and a FAQ section tailored to common concerns, it delivers actionable insights to potential readers and optimizes for search engines.