Azure Arc extends Azure management to hybrid environments, allowing organizations to manage servers, Kubernetes clusters, and Azure data services across on-premises and third-party clouds, simplifying complex, distributed infrastructures.Azure Arc allows you to extend Azure management capabilities to hybrid environments, including on-premises datacenters and third-party cloud providers. You can use Azure Arc to manage and configure your Windows and Linux server machines and Kubernetes clusters that are hosted outside of Azure. You can also use Azure Arc to introduce Azure data services to hybrid environments. These capabilities enable organizations such as Contoso to simplify their complex and distributed environments.

With Azure Arc, you have the ability to oversee your dispersed IT resources, employing familiar Azure management tools and methodologies similar to those utilized for managing resources within Azure. Utilizing tools such as Azure Resource Manager, Azure Cloud Shell, the Azure portal, and Azure Policy remains consistent, irrespective of the resources’ physical location.

Azure Arc further expands the implementation of cloud practices like DevOps and Azure security across on-premises, multicloud, and edge environments. Beyond broadening the control plane for management, Azure Arc empowers organizations to deploy Azure data services anywhere.

What are the capabilities of Azure Arc?

Azure Arc offers support for various hybrid scenarios. You can utilize Azure Arc in the following manners:

1. Asset Inventory: With Azure Arc, you can tag and query assets across both hybrid and Azure environments.
2. Centralized Management: Consolidate management services in the Azure portal to review and configure Azure Arc resources using a unified interface.
3. Monitoring with Azure Monitor: Utilize Azure Monitor to monitor and manage server resources, extending monitoring capabilities beyond Azure to on-premises datacenters and various cloud providers.
4. Governance with Azure Policy: Audit Azure Arc resources using Azure Policy to validate configurations of the operating system, applications, and environment settings.

In the future, we will delve into specific strategies for leveraging Azure Arc, exploring its capabilities to centralize management, enforce consistent policies, and drive innovation across on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments.