# Joining Services via Azure Managed Identity This guide will explain how to use the **Azure join method** to configure Teleport instances to join your Teleport cluster without sharing any secrets when they are running in an Azure Virtual Machine. The Azure join method is available to any Teleport process running in an Azure Virtual Machine. For other methods of joining a Teleport process to a cluster, see [Joining Teleport Services to a Cluster](https://goteleport.com/docs/ver/17.x/enroll-resources/agents.md). ## How it works Under the hood, Teleport processes prove that they are running in your Azure subscription by sending a signed attested data document and access token to the Teleport Auth Service. The VM's identity must match an allow rule configured in your Azure joining token. ## Prerequisites - A running Teleport cluster. If you want to get started with Teleport, [sign up](https://goteleport.com/signup) for a free trial or [set up a demo environment](https://goteleport.com/docs/ver/17.x/get-started/deploy-community.md). - The `tctl` and `tsh` clients. Installing `tctl` and `tsh` clients 1. Determine the version of your Teleport cluster. The `tctl` and `tsh` clients must be at most one major version behind your Teleport cluster version. Send a GET request to the Proxy Service at `/v1/webapi/find` and use a JSON query tool to obtain your cluster version. Replace teleport.example.com:443 with the web address of your Teleport Proxy Service: ``` $ TELEPORT_DOMAIN=teleport.example.com:443 $ TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl -s https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/find | jq -r '.server_version')" ``` 2. Follow the instructions for your platform to install `tctl` and `tsh` clients: **Mac** Download the signed macOS .pkg installer for Teleport, which includes the `tctl` and `tsh` clients: ``` $ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-${TELEPORT_VERSION?}.pkg ``` In Finder double-click the `pkg` file to begin installation. --- DANGER Using Homebrew to install Teleport is not supported. The Teleport package in Homebrew is not maintained by Teleport and we can't guarantee its reliability or security. --- **Windows - Powershell** ``` $ curl.exe -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-windows-amd64-bin.zip Unzip the archive and move the `tctl` and `tsh` clients to your %PATH% NOTE: Do not place the `tctl` and `tsh` clients in the System32 directory, as this can cause issues when using WinSCP. Use %SystemRoot% (C:\Windows) or %USERPROFILE% (C:\Users\) instead. ``` **Linux** All of the Teleport binaries in Linux installations include the `tctl` and `tsh` clients. For more options (including RPM/DEB packages and downloads for i386/ARM/ARM64) see our [installation page](https://goteleport.com/docs/ver/17.x/installation.md). ``` $ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-linux-amd64-bin.tar.gz $ tar -xzf teleport-v${TELEPORT_VERSION?}-linux-amd64-bin.tar.gz $ cd teleport $ sudo ./install Teleport binaries have been copied to /usr/local/bin ``` * An Azure Virtual Machine running Linux with the Teleport binary installed. The Virtual Machine must have a [Managed Identity](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/managed-identities-azure-resources/overview) assigned to it. * To check that you can connect to your Teleport cluster, sign in with `tsh login`, then verify that you can run `tctl` commands using your current credentials. For example, run the following command, assigning teleport.example.com to the domain name of the Teleport Proxy Service in your cluster and email\@example.com to your Teleport username: ``` $ tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com --user=email@example.com $ tctl status Cluster teleport.example.com Version 17.7.20 CA pin sha256:abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678 ``` If you can connect to the cluster and run the `tctl status` command, you can use your current credentials to run subsequent `tctl` commands from your workstation. If you host your own Teleport cluster, you can also run `tctl` commands on the computer that hosts the Teleport Auth Service for full permissions. ## Step 1/5. Set up a Managed Identity Every virtual machine hosting a Teleport process using the Azure method to join your Teleport cluster needs a Managed Identity assigned to it. **Azure Portal** To set up a Managed Identity: 1. Navigate to [Virtual machines view](https://portal.azure.com/#view/hubsextension/browseresource/resourcetype/microsoft.compute%2fvirtualmachines) if you're hosting Teleport on an Azure VM, or navigate to [Virtual machine scale sets view](https://portal.azure.com/#view/hubsextension/browseresource/resourcetype/microsoft.compute%2fvirtualmachinescalesets) if you're hosting Teleport on an Azure VMSS. 2. Select the VM or VMSS hosting your Teleport Service. 3. In the right-side panel, click the **Security/Identity** tab. 4. Under the **Identity** section, select the **System assigned** tab. 5. Toggle the **Status** switch to **On**. 6. Click **Save**. If you're using VMSS and it is configured with manual upgrade mode, you must update the VM instances for the identity changes to take effect: - Click the **Instances** tab in the right panel. - Select the VM instances to update. - Click **Restart**. **Azure CLI** To attach a system-assigned identity to a regular VM, run: ``` $ az vm identity assign --resource-group --name ``` To attach a system-assigned identity to an Azure VMSS, run: ``` $ az vmss identity assign --resource-group --name ``` If you're using VMSS and it is configured with manual upgrade mode, you must update the VM instances for the identity changes to take effect. Run the following command to propagate the identity change: ``` $ az vmss update-instances --resource-group --name --instance-ids * ``` ## Step 2/5. Create the Azure joining token Create the following `token.yaml` with an `allow` rule specifying your Azure subscription and the resource group that your VM's identity must match. ``` # token.yaml kind: token version: v2 metadata: # the token name is not a secret because instances must prove that they are # running in your Azure subscription to use this token name: azure-token spec: # use the minimal set of roles required roles: [Node] join_method: azure azure: allow: # specify the Azure subscription which Teleport processes may join from - subscription: 11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 # multiple allow rules are supported - subscription: 22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222 # resource_groups is optional and allows you to restrict the resource group of # joining Teleport processes - subscription: 33333333-3333-3333-3333-333333333333 resource_groups: ["group1", "group2"] ``` The token name `azure-token` is just an example and can be any value you want to use, as long as you use the same value for `join_params.token_name` in Step 3. Run the following command to create the token: ``` $ tctl create -f token.yaml ``` ## Step 3/5 Install Teleport Install Teleport on your Azure Linux VM. To install a Teleport Agent on your Linux server: The easiest installation method, for *Teleport versions 17.3 and above*, is the cluster install script. It will use the best version, edition, and installation mode for your cluster. 1. Assign teleport.example.com:443 to your Teleport cluster hostname and port, but not the scheme (https\://). 2. Run your cluster's install script: ``` $ curl "https://teleport.example.com:443/scripts/install.sh" | sudo bash ``` On *older Teleport versions*: 1. Assign edition to one of the following, depending on your Teleport edition: | Edition | Value | | --------------------------------- | ------------ | | Teleport Enterprise Cloud | `cloud` | | Teleport Enterprise (Self-Hosted) | `enterprise` | | Teleport Community Edition | `oss` | 2. Get the version of Teleport to install. If you have automatic agent updates enabled in your cluster, query the latest Teleport version that is compatible with the updater: ``` $ TELEPORT_DOMAIN=teleport.example.com:443 $ TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/automaticupgrades/channel/default/version | sed 's/v//')" ``` Otherwise, get the version of your Teleport cluster: ``` $ TELEPORT_DOMAIN=teleport.example.com:443 $ TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/ping | jq -r '.server_version')" ``` 3. Install Teleport on your Linux server: ``` $ curl https://cdn.teleport.dev/install.sh | bash -s ${TELEPORT_VERSION} edition ``` The installation script detects the package manager on your Linux server and uses it to install Teleport binaries. To customize your installation, learn about the Teleport package repositories in the [installation guide](https://goteleport.com/docs/ver/17.x/installation/linux.md). ## Step 4/5. Configure your Teleport process The Azure join method can be used for Teleport processes running the SSH, Proxy, Kubernetes, Application, Database, or Desktop Service. Configure your Teleport process with a custom `teleport.yaml` file. Use the `join_params` section with `token_name` matching your token created in Step 2 and `method: azure` as shown in the following example config: ``` # /etc/teleport.yaml version: v3 teleport: join_params: token_name: azure-token method: azure azure: # client_id is the client ID of a user-assigned managed identity. # Omit this value when using a system-assigned managed identity. client_id: 11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111 proxy_server: teleport.example.com:443 ssh_service: enabled: true auth_service: enabled: false proxy_service: enabled: false ``` ## Step 5/5. Launch your Teleport process Start Teleport on the Azure VM. Configure your Teleport instance to start automatically when the host boots up by creating a systemd service for it. The instructions depend on how you installed your Teleport instance. **Package Manager** On the host where you will run your Teleport instance, enable and start Teleport: ``` $ sudo systemctl enable teleport $ sudo systemctl start teleport ``` **TAR Archive** On the host where you will run your Teleport instance, create a systemd service configuration for Teleport, enable the Teleport service, and start Teleport: ``` $ sudo teleport install systemd -o /etc/systemd/system/teleport.service $ sudo systemctl enable teleport $ sudo systemctl start teleport ``` You can check the status of your Teleport instance with `systemctl status teleport` and view its logs with `journalctl -fu teleport`. Confirm that your Teleport process is able to connect to and join your cluster. You're all set!