tagging strategy implementation

Question

Hello, when the Azure Data Lake design is done, partitioning and tagging are key performance factors as they ensure smooth transaction patterns. I am not quite clear on the tagging aspects, where and what all components should be covered, and what needs to be tagged. I looked at Microsoft documentation with CAF which covers it, but I am still not clear enough on this.

Storage Account 

Container Level

Directory Level 

Blob Level

Please let me know how I should tag the above resources, and anything else I am missing that should also be considered. Please help me with examples.I also read tagging accrues costs. Is it a significant cost or marginal? Please help. Thank you

Answer 1

Hello Azure leaner, Welcome to MS Q&A

When designing an Azure Data Lake, partitioning and tagging are indeed crucial for ensuring smooth transaction patterns and optimal performance. Here are some best practices and examples for tagging your Azure Data Lake resources:

Key Components to Tag

1. Data Lake Storage Accounts
2. Data Lake Containers
3. Data Lake Files and Directories
4. Data Lake Analytics Jobs
5. Data Lake Pipelines

Recommended Tags

• Environment: Indicates the environment (e.g., Development, Testing, Production).
• Department: Specifies the department responsible for the resource (e.g., Finance, HR, IT).
• Project: Identifies the project associated with the resource.
• Owner: The person or team responsible for the resource.
• Cost Center: The cost center to which the resource's usage should be billed.
• Data Sensitivity: Indicates the sensitivity level of the data (e.g., Confidential, Public

Example Tagging Strategy

{
  "Environment": "Production",
  "Department": "Finance",
  "Project": "YearEndReporting",
  "Owner": "FinanceTeam",
  "CostCenter": "CC1234",
  "DataSensitivity": "Confidential"
}

Steps to Tag Resources

Tagging Storage Accounts:

• Navigate to the Azure portal.
  • Select your Data Lake Storage account.
    • Go to the "Tags" section and add the relevant tags.
    Tagging Containers:

        - Within the Data Lake Storage account, select the container.
        
        
           - Go to the "Tags" section and add the relevant tags.
        
           
           **Tagging Files and Directories**:
        
           
              - Use Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 REST API or Azure CLI to apply tags to files and directories.
        
              
              **Tagging Analytics Jobs**:
        
              
                 - When submitting jobs, include tags in the job properties.
        
                 
                 **Tagging Pipelines**:
        
                 
                    - In Azure Data Factory, go to the pipeline settings and add tags.
        ```Additional Considerations
    
    

• Consistency: Ensure that tags are applied consistently across all resources.
• Automation: Use Azure Policy and Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates to automate the tagging process.
• Governance: Implement a governance strategy to enforce tagging policies and monitor compliance.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your Azure Data Lake resources are well-organized, easily manageable, and optimized for performance.

References:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/tag-resources?tabs=json

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/data-lake-storage-best-practices?wt.mc_id=knwlserapi_inproduct_azportal#best-practices-for-using-azure-data-lake-storage

Please let us know if any further questions

Kindly accept answer if it helps

Thanks
Deepanshu