Thankfully, over a hundred thousand IT organizations have taken a holistic look at identity management and sought a different path when it comes to macOS systems altogether. This centralized cloud directory could alleviate the burden of authentication of non-Windows resources to Azure AD – or, even Active Directory for that matter. An ideal solution would take one set of credentials and propagate them across a user’s entire lineup of IT resources, including systems (Windows, Mac, Linux), cloud infrastructure (AWS ®, GCE™, or Azure), web or on-prem applications, WiFI and VPN networks, physical or virtual file servers, and more. The disparity between Azure Active Directory and macOS systems has given IT admins a reason to step back and look at the bigger picture of identity management. To better understand how Microsoft thinks about AD and AAD working together, see the diagram below: That’s a lot of work to sort of get AAD to work with Macs, and they don’t even authenticate with Azure AD.
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Essentially, they’ll need to figure out how to have the AAD credentials match those within AD, and then subsequently use a directory extension tool to connect the Mac to the on-prem Active Directory. Similar to Microsoft’s on-prem directory service, Active Directory, IT admins trying to join Macs to AAD are stuck with a complex task. Of course, you’ll need to make sure that the Mac is set up properly to authenticate through the AAD domain, which is yet another issue that needs to be solved. In fact, they actively discourage IT admins from connecting non-Windows, on-prem devices to an Azure AD domain. Unfortunately, though, this VPN approach is not condoned by Microsoft. Then, IT admins will need to set up a VPN connection between their Macs and the Azure AD domain. IT admins will need to start with not only Azure AD but also Azure AD Domain Services, which creates a domain within Azure.
Learn More About Zero-Touch A Cobbled Approach But, the best option might be a next-generation cloud directory platform that integrates tightly with Azure AD and Macs and eliminates the need for AD on-prem (which, as you can see from the post above, is required according to Microsoft’s reference architecture). That said, there are ways that IT organizations can cobble together an identity management approach to join Macs to an Azure AD domain. Of course, Microsoft hasn’t been motivated to make it easier for IT organizations to use non-Windows platforms, such as Mac or Linux devices, AWS, or Google Cloud, for that matter.
Azure AD wasn’t set up to be a core directory service, as seen in the link to a Spiceworks post by a Microsoft representative. The short answer to, “Can you join Macs to an Azure AD domain?” is: No, not easily. Let’s dive into how Macs work in AAD, and find an answer to the question.
Specifically, for IT organizations that use cross-platform infrastructure, they want to know if they can join Macs to an Azure AD domain. With Microsoft trying to shift organizations to Azure cloud infrastructure platform, many IT admins want to figure out whether Azure Active Directory (AAD or Azure AD) or another cloud directory service is right for them.
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