Day-2: Identity & User Management – Step-by-Step (Hands-On)

This section provides practical admin steps for each Day-2 topic, exactly as performed in real Microsoft 365 environments.

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1️⃣ Entra ID (Azure AD) – Tenant & Identity Basics (Admin View)

Steps to Access Entra ID

1. Sign in to https://entra.microsoft.com
2. You are now in Microsoft Entra Admin Center
3. Observe:
   • Tenant name
   • Tenant ID
   • Primary domain
   • Directory type

Admin Understanding

• Tenant → Your organization boundary
• Directory → Identity store
• Subscription → Billing container (Azure side)

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2️⃣ Create Users in Microsoft 365 (Hands-On)

Steps to Create a User

1. Go to Entra Admin Center
2. Navigate to Users → All users
3. Click New user → Create new user
4. Enter:
   • User name
   • Display name
   • Username (UPN)
5. Set password:
   • Auto-generate or manual
6. Click Create

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Reset User Password

1. Select a user
2. Click Reset password
3. Generate new password
4. Save and share securely

📌 Real admin task: Password reset is the most common M365 ticket

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Block / Unblock Sign-In

1. Select user
2. Click Block sign-in
3. Save changes

Use case:

• Employee on leave
• Suspicious activity
• Security incident

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Delete & Restore User

Delete

1. Select user
2. Click Delete user

Restore

1. Go to Users → Deleted users
2. Select user
3. Click Restore user

📌 Deleted users can be restored within 30 days

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3️⃣ Group Management (Hands-On)

Create a Security Group

1. Go to Groups → New group
2. Group type: Security
3. Group name & description
4. Membership type: Assigned
5. Add members
6. Click Create

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Why Groups Matter (Admin Reality)

Instead of:
❌ Assigning access to individual users
Do this:
✅ Assign access to groups

This simplifies:

• Access management
• Audits
• Role assignment

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4️⃣ Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Assign Admin Role

1. Go to Roles & administrators
2. Select User Administrator
3. Click Add assignments
4. Choose user
5. Assign role

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Remove Global Admin (Best Practice)

1. Select Global Administrator
2. Remove unnecessary users
3. Keep minimum 2 Global Admins

📌 Interview Answer Ready:
“Global Admin should be limited to reduce security risk.”

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5️⃣ Authentication Basics (Admin View)

Check Authentication Methods

1. Go to Protection → Authentication methods
2. Review:
   • Password policy
   • MFA options
   • Registration status

📌 Configuration will be done in later days — Day-2 is understanding phase

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6️⃣ Audit Logs & Activity Tracking

View Audit Logs

1. Go to Monitoring → Audit logs
2. Filter by:
   • User
   • Activity
   • Date range

You can see:

• User creation
• Password resets
• Role assignments

📌 Admin Insight:
Audit logs are used during security investigations

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✅ End of Day-2 – Practical Outcome

After completing Day-2 steps, you can:

✔ Create and manage users
✔ Reset passwords & block access
✔ Create and use groups correctly
✔ Assign admin roles safely
✔ Understand identity security basics
✔ Track admin activities

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🔜 Day-3 Preview

Day-3: License Management & Service Assignments

• License types
• Assigning licenses
• Service-level controls
• Cost optimization