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Single Subscription Deployment Overview

Runbook Azure

DOCUMENT CATEGORY: Runbook SCOPE: Single subscription landing zone deployment PURPOSE: Deploy single management group, subscription, and resource group MASTER REFERENCE: Azure Landing Zones — Start Small and Expand

Status: Active


The Single Subscription Deployment model streamlines Azure governance by using a single management group, a single subscription, and a single resource group for all cluster resources. This is the fastest path to a working Azure Local deployment and aligns with the Azure Landing Zone "start small and expand" approach.

When to Use This Model

Choose Single Subscription Deployment when:

  • Deploying a single Azure Local cluster
  • Setting up a proof of concept (PoC) or lab environment
  • Your environment has limited scale requirements
  • You want the fastest path to deployment and can expand governance later

Architecture Overview

The example below uses Infinite azurelocal Corp (IIC). Replace names with values from your variables.yml.

Tenant Root Group
└── cmp-iic-root # azure.management_groups.tenant_root.name
└── cmp-landing-zones-iic # azure.management_groups.landing_zone.name
└── iic-lz-azurelocal-001 # azure.subscriptions.<env>.name
└── rg-c01-azl-eus-01 # azure_resources.resource_group_name

All cluster resources — Arc registration, Key Vault, storage accounts, cloud witness, and the cluster itself — reside in that single resource group. No multi-RG split is needed for this deployment model.

Key Characteristics

AspectImplementation
Management GroupsOrganization Root MG + Landing Zone MG (from variables.yml)
SubscriptionsSingle subscription for all resources
Resource GroupsSingle RG for all cluster resources
Policy ScopeSubscription-level policies
RBAC ScopeResource group-level access control
Cost TrackingTag-based cost allocation

Prerequisites

Before starting this deployment path:

  • Entra ID tenant established and accessible
  • Billing access — EA enrollment account owner, MCA billing profile owner, or Azure Portal access to create subscriptions
  • variables.yml configured with tenant, subscription, and resource group values
  • Authenticated Azure session — see Authentication
  • Permissions — Owner or User Access Administrator at tenant root scope (see Elevate Access)

Deployment Steps

TaskDescriptionEstimated Time
Task 01Configure Management Group15 minutes
Task 02Create Subscription30 minutes
Task 03Create Resource Groups15 minutes

Total Estimated Time: ~1 hour

Comparison with Full CAF/WAF Deployment

FeatureSingle SubscriptionFull CAF/WAF
Management Groups2 (root + landing zone)10+
Subscriptions16+
Resource Groups1 per clusterMultiple per function
Setup ComplexityLowHigh
Governance FlexibilityLimitedMaximum
Cost TrackingTag-basedSubscription-based
Best ForSingle cluster, PoCMulti-cluster, production at scale

Considerations

Single Subscription Considerations
  • No subscription-level isolation — all resources share billing and quota limits
  • Limited policy granularity — policies apply to the entire subscription
  • Shared resource quotas — all workloads compete for subscription limits
  • Migration path — you can expand to the Full CAF/WAF model later by adding management groups, creating additional subscriptions, and moving resources. See Start small and expand.

Deliverables

At the end of this phase, you will have:

  • Organization root management group created (azure.management_groups.tenant_root.name)
  • Landing zone management group created (azure.management_groups.landing_zone.name)
  • Subscription created and associated with the landing zone management group
  • Single resource group created (azure_resources.resource_group_name)

Next Steps

Start with Task 01: Configure Management Group


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Phase 01 — Landing ZonesTask 01 — Management Group

Version Control

  • Created: 2026-01-15 by Hybrid Cloud Solutions
  • Last Updated: 2026-03-19 by Hybrid Cloud Solutions
  • Version: 3.0.0