Azure Hosted Domain Services in Preview

A new Azure service, Azure Active Directory (AAD) Domain Services, delivers most Windows Server Active Directory functionality available on-premises to Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) and services. Because AAD Domain Services runs as an Azure service, it removes the requirement for server applications to directly connect to an on-premises Active Directory or deployment of Active Directory domain controllers in Azure VMs. Although the service could simplify deployment of existing server-based applications in Azure, the service is currently in preview and will require an ongoing subscription cost.

AD-Compatible Directory as a Service

AAD Domain Services is a scalable, multitenant service to enable Azure VM hosting of applications that require traditional Windows Server AD functionality, such as NTLM and Kerberos-based authentication; full domain-join, Group Policy-based administration; and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) compatibility. For example, the use of this service could allow an organization to run a legacy SQL Server-based application that required such services, without having to configure and manage an Azure VM with AD just for this application.