Databricks Data Engineer Associate Question 526
Single answerYou are setting up a production Databricks workspace where multiple applications need to access a data lake using Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS). To ensure secure and scalable access, what is the best practice for configuring authentication?
- A
Use service principals with Azure Active Directory to authenticate and authorize access.
- B
Share access keys for the ADLS storage account with all applications.
- C
Allow users to authenticate directly with their personal Azure credentials.
- D
Use a shared generic user account with Azure Active Directory for all applications.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The use of service principals is a best practice for managing secure and scalable access to Azure resources, such as ADLS. Service principals allow automated applications to authenticate independently of user credentials, enabling better security, fine-grained access control, and compliance with enterprise policies.
- A. Correct.
This is the correct answer. Service principals are a best practice for secure, scalable, and automated access to resources in Azure, such as ADLS, without relying on user credentials.
- B. Incorrect.
This is not recommended as sharing access keys is insecure and does not follow best practices for access management.
- C. Incorrect.
This approach is not scalable or secure for production environments because user credentials can change or be revoked, and it increases operational complexity.
- D. Incorrect.
Using a shared generic user account violates security best practices, as it lacks accountability and traceability, and is not recommended for production workloads.