{"id":7204,"date":"2023-11-13T11:52:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T16:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jumpcloud.com\/blog\/?p=7204"},"modified":"2024-11-08T16:50:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T21:50:39","slug":"ad-to-the-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/ad-to-the-cloud","title":{"rendered":"Can I Move Active Directory to the Cloud?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A question we\u2019ve heard many IT admins ask is, \u201cCan I move my Active Directory to the cloud?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This question has become even more relevant due to the ongoing desire of employees to continue to work from home<\/a> (at least part of the week) on a regular basis. Likewise, some admins want to bring Active Directory (AD) into their cloud resources, because it\u2019s the User Access Management system that they’re most familiar with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, it\u2019s not that easy to move AD to the cloud, nor have it function properly if you do. Microsoft sought to address this problem by modernizing Active Directory<\/a> with a prescribed architecture<\/a> for cloud identity and access management (IAM) and security services. It positions AD as legacy technology that\u2019s \u201cbaked in\u201d but vulnerable to attack \u2026 without adding multiple Microsoft services. The Entra ID<\/a> directory service, which extends AD to the cloud, is at the center of it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modernizing AD to support remote workers, all of the devices that they use, and cloud resources can be done without locking you into Microsoft\u2019s expansive new architecture. This article describes how Microsoft says AD can work with cloud environments, but also outlines how you can meet those requirements (and more) with JumpCloud\u2019s open directory platform. JumpCloud syncs\/federates with AD and all of the cloud providers where your workloads run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note:<\/strong> \n

Check out JumpCloud\u2019s Active Directory to cloud translation guide<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You Can\u2019t Easily & Fully Move Active Directory to the Cloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s examine some use cases for running AD in the cloud. AD can run as a managed service or as infrastructure-as-a-service in a virtual private cloud, which is a private environment that\u2019s isolated within a public cloud. It can solve problems in a familiar way, but keep in mind that AD was never intended to work for the cloud. The approach has numerous pros and cons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n