Azure Arc Cheat Sheet

• A hybrid cloud management platform for managing servers, Kubernetes clusters, and applications across on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments.
• Centralize resource management and deploy consistent Azure services anywhere.

Azure Arc Features

• You can deploy Azure services (Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Azure Defender) anywhere, allowing them to use the same tools and processes across their entire hybrid cloud estate.
• Enforce policies, audit logs, and detect threats to your servers and Kubernetes clusters.
• GitOps can be used to deploy configurations from Git repositories across one or more clusters.
• Using Azure Policy, you can achieve zero-touch compliance and configuration for Kubernetes clusters.
• Custom locations can be created on top of your Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters and used as target locations for deploying Azure services instances.
• You can configure Azure VM extensions to monitor, secure, and update your servers using Azure management services.

• You can manage the following resource types in Azure Arc:
  • • Servers (Windows and Linux)
    • Kubernetes Clusters
    • Azure Data Services
      • SQL Managed Instance
      • PostgreSQL
      • Azure Container Apps
    • SQL Server
    • Virtual Machines
      • Azure Arc-enabled VMware vSphere VMs.
      • Azure Stack HCI 
• It can be integrated with other Azure services, allowing users to automate tasks, backup data, and recover from disasters using the following services: 
  • • Azure Automation
    • Azure Backup
    • Azure Site Recovery
    • Azure Migrate (for resource discovery, Preview).
• Using Azure RBAC and Azure Lighthouse, you can delegate access and manage security policies for resources.
• Firmware analysis enabled by Azure Arc. 
• Azure Arc gateway for Arc-enabled servers.
• Workload Identity support for Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters.

Azue Arc Preview Features

• AKS enabled by Azure Arc.
• Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager for Arc-enabled clusters.
• Azure Arc Visual Studio Code Extension.
• Auto agent upgrade for Azure Arc-enabled servers.

Important Notices

• Azure App Service on Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes is retiring.
• Azure Linux 2.0 on AKS enabled by Azure Arc has reached End of Life (EOL).

Azure Arc Pricing

• You are charged for the license of Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server.
  • • Standard Edition
    • Enterprise Edition
• You are charged for the add-on use of Azure Policy (guest configuration), Azure Monitor, and Azure Defender.
• You are charged for the additional Kubernetes Configuration (6 vCPUs are free).
• You are charged for SQL Managed Instance tiers:
  • • General Purpose
    • Business Critical

Azure Arc Cheat Sheet References:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/azure-arc

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/overview