Apply and manage tags on resources

Manage Azure subscriptions and governance

📘Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)

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1. What Are Tags?

In Azure, a tag is a name-value pair that you can apply to resources, resource groups, or subscriptions. Think of it as a label you attach to a resource to describe it.

• Name: The key or category of the tag.
• Value: The description or detail for that tag.

Example:

• Name: Environment
• Value: Production

Purpose: Tags help you organize, manage, and report on resources. They don’t affect how a resource works, but they are critical for governance and management.

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2. Why Are Tags Important in an IT Environment?

Tags are widely used in IT for resource management, billing, and automation:

1. Cost Management:
   • You can group resources by tags like Department or Project to track costs.
   • Example: Tag all resources used by the “HR Department” with Department: HR.
2. Resource Organization:
   • With thousands of resources, tags help categorize by environment (Dev, Test, Prod) or application.
3. Automation & Governance:
   • Scripts or Azure Policies can automatically act on resources with specific tags.
   • Example: Automatically back up all resources with Backup: Daily.
4. Compliance & Reporting:
   • Tags help ensure resources meet organizational policies.
   • Example: Tag all resources that store sensitive data with Compliance: GDPR.

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3. How to Apply Tags

a) Azure Portal

1. Go to the resource or resource group.
2. Click Tags in the left-hand menu.
3. Add a Name and Value.
4. Click Save.

Note: You can tag individual resources, or apply the same tags to an entire resource group for efficiency.

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b) Azure CLI

# Add a tag to a resource
az tag create --name Environment --values Production

# Add a tag directly to a resource
az resource tag --tags Environment=Production --name MyVM --resource-group MyResourceGroup

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c) Azure PowerShell

# Set a tag on a resource
Set-AzResource -ResourceGroupName "MyResourceGroup" -ResourceName "MyVM" -Tag @{Environment="Production"} -Force

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4. Managing Tags

a) Update Tags

• You can modify existing tags to update values or change names.
• Example: Change Environment: Dev to Environment: Test.

b) Delete Tags

• Remove a tag completely from a resource.
• Example: If a project ends, remove Project: ProjectX.

c) Inheritance

• Tags do not automatically propagate to resources in a resource group, unless you explicitly apply them at the group level.
• Policies or scripts are used if you want automatic tagging for all resources.

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5. Best Practices for Tags

1. Use a Standard Naming Convention:
   • Keep it consistent, e.g., Environment, Owner, CostCenter.
2. Limit Tag Count:
   • Azure allows 50 tags per resource. Don’t overuse tags.
3. Use for Cost and Management:
   • Always use tags to track cost, ownership, and environment.
4. Automate with Policies:
   • Use Azure Policy to enforce tagging rules. Example: Every resource must have a CostCenter tag.

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6. Tag Reporting

• Azure Cost Management + Billing allows you to filter and group costs by tags.
• Example: See total cost of resources for Department: Finance.
• This is exam-relevant because Microsoft tests your ability to use tags for management and governance.

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✅ Key Exam Points to Remember

1. Tags are name-value pairs for resources.
2. Tags help with organization, cost tracking, and automation.
3. Tags can be applied using:
   • Azure Portal
   • Azure CLI
   • PowerShell
4. Tags can be added, updated, or removed.
5. Tags don’t automatically propagate unless policies or scripts are used.
6. Best practice: use consistent naming, limit number, and enforce with Azure Policy.
7. Cost Management and governance heavily rely on tagging.

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