Create an Azure Service Principal

An Azure service principal is an identity you can create for automated tools and systems like scripts, apps, and CI/CD platforms. You can configure a service principal to authenticate certain Observability agents.

The following summarizes steps provided by Microsoft's documentation, with notes specific to Observability agents. Refer to Microsoft's documentation for more technical details.

Warning

This step requires technical knowledge about your tools and higher-level permissions. A DevOps Engineer or IT Manager from your team may be needed. And don't forget, we're always here to help. Contact DataKitchen if you have more questions.

Compatible Observability agents

• Azure Synapse
• Databricks
• Microsoft Power BI

Step 1: Create a service principal

Follow these steps to create a service principal (also referred to as an application or app) with client secret.

1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
2. Search for and select App registrations.
3. Select New registration.
4. Fill in the required information.
5. Click Register.
6. Navigate to the app's Overview tab.

7. Copy and save the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID for use when configuring the Observability agent.

   Note, not every Observability agent requires both values.

8. Navigate to the app's Certificates & secrets tab.

9. Click + New client secret.
10. Enter a description, specify an expiry, and click Add.

11. Copy the client secretValue for use when configuring the Observability agent.

    Warning

    After you close this window, the client secret value is hidden and cannot be copied.

After the service principal app and client secret are created in Azure, you must then link the service principal with the Microsoft tool that you want to monitor.

Step 2: Link the service principal

• Azure Synapse: Continue with the steps in the Microsoft documentation, How to manage Synapse RBAC role assignments in Synapse Studio , to create a workspace-scoped role assignment for the service principal.
  • Set the Role to Synapse Artifact User.
• Azure Databricks: Continue with the following steps as outlined in the Microsoft documentation, Manage service principals in your workspace to add the service principal to your workspace.
  • Assign the Workspace access entitlement.
• Microsoft Power BI: Continue with the steps in the Microsoft documentation, Embed Power BI content with service principal and an application secret .
  1. Create an Azure AD security group for the service principal.
  2. Enable the Power BI service admin settings.
  3. Add the service principal to your workspace.

Next steps

Once you create and link the service principal, you can then use this authentication method when you configure one of the Observability agents mentioned above.