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Azure Locks

In this article, we will discuss Azure locks.

Purpose

The Azure locks apply locks to the subscription, resource group, or resource so that the resources are not deleted or modified accidentally.

Consider a scenario where you have a production virtual machine and you have accidentally deleted the virtual machine. Due to this, your production application will stop working and there will be a business loss.

To avoid this scenario, locks come into the picture.

Types Of Lock

Azure supports two types of locks: -

CanNotDelete lock → This type of lock allows the authorized user to modify the resource but does not have permission to delete the resource
ReadOnly lock → This type of lock does not allow the user to modify or delete the resource

Does The Lock Change The Behavior Of The Resource?

Locks prevent changes to a resource, but they do not restrict how resources perform their functions. For example, a ReadOnly lock on a SQL Database logical server prevents you from deleting or modifying the server. It doesn't prevent you from creating, updating, or deleting data in the databases on that server.

How To Apply The Lock?

In this example, we will apply a lock on the resource group. To do that: -

Go to the resource group where you want to apply the lock
On the left-hand side window, click on the Locks
On the right-hand side, click on the + Add button to add a new lock

Picture showing the Locks option inside the resource groups in Azure

Click to Enlarge

In the add screen, enter the Lock name, and Lock type and click on the Ok button. In the Lock Type field, we have two values i.e., Delete and Read-only

Picture showing the details screen for adding the lock information in azure

Click to Enlarge

A lock is created on the resource group

Picture showing the list of Azure locks in Azure

Click to Enlarge

Now, try to delete the virtual machine. You will get the following message.

Picture showing the error message when user tries to delete the Resource Group in Azure

Click to Enlarge

Who Has Access To Manage The Locks?

Only the owner and user access administrator can manage the locks.

Locks And Hierarchy

Consider the following hierarchy

Picture showing how locks can be applied on the hierarchy

Click to Enlarge

The lock applied to the parent scope will be applied to the child scope. For example, if you apply a delete lock on the resource group, then the delete lock will be applied to all the resources inside that resource group.

Posted By -	Karan Gupta

Posted On -	Friday, February 26, 2021

Updated On -	Tuesday, November 16, 2021

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