What is Azure Arc?
Azure Arc projects resources outside of Azure into the Azure control plane. Servers, Kubernetes clusters, and databases can run anywhere: on-premises, with other cloud providers, or at the edge. They can still be managed centrally through the Azure Portal.
With Arc, the same governance policies, security standards, and management tools apply to all resources, regardless of location.
Core Features
- Azure Arc-enabled Servers for Windows and Linux
- Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes for any Kubernetes cluster
- Azure Arc-enabled Data Services for SQL Managed Instance and PostgreSQL
- Azure Policy for unified compliance rules
- Azure Monitor for centralized logging and metrics
- GitOps-based configuration management for Kubernetes
Typical Use Cases
Hybrid cloud governance: Unified policies and compliance checks for all servers, whether in Azure, AWS, GCP, or your own data center.
Multi-cloud Kubernetes: Central management of all Kubernetes clusters through Azure, including automated GitOps deployments and monitoring.
Edge computing: Deployment and management of Kubernetes workloads on edge devices with limited connectivity.
Benefits
- One portal for all resources, regardless of location
- Consistent security and governance across all environments
- Gradual cloud migration without lock-in
- Azure services usable in non-Azure environments
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Azure Arc cost?
Registration of servers and Kubernetes clusters is free. Costs arise for additional Azure services like Azure Monitor, Microsoft Defender, or Azure Policy Guest Configuration.
Does the infrastructure need to be permanently connected to Azure?
Servers and Kubernetes clusters require regular connection to Azure for heartbeat and policy updates. Short interruptions are tolerated. For completely offline scenarios, functionality is limited.
Which Kubernetes distributions are supported?
Azure Arc supports all CNCF-certified Kubernetes distributions, including EKS, GKE, OpenShift, Rancher, and k3s.
How does security work for Arc-enabled servers?
The Azure Connected Machine Agent communicates encrypted with Azure. For enhanced security, Private Link endpoints can be used. The agent requires no inbound firewall rules.
Integration with innFactory
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, innFactory supports you with Azure Arc: hybrid strategy, Kubernetes integration, governance setup, and multi-cloud management.
