# Cloud for Sovereignty Landing Zone Architecture **Last Updated**: 2025-01-27 **Management Group**: SOVEREIGN-ORDER-OF-HOSPITALLERS **Framework**: Azure Well-Architected Framework + Cloud for Sovereignty **Status**: Planning Phase ## Executive Summary This document outlines a comprehensive Cloud for Sovereignty landing zone architecture for The Order, designed using Azure Well-Architected Framework principles. The architecture spans all non-US Azure commercial regions to ensure data sovereignty, compliance, and operational resilience. ## Management Group Hierarchy ``` SOVEREIGN-ORDER-OF-HOSPITALLERS (Root) ├── Landing Zones │ ├── Platform (Platform team managed) │ ├── Sandbox (Development/testing) │ └── Workloads (Application workloads) ├── Management │ ├── Identity (Identity and access management) │ ├── Security (Security operations) │ └── Monitoring (Centralized monitoring) └── Connectivity ├── Hub Networks (Regional hubs) └── Spoke Networks (Workload networks) ``` ## Well-Architected Framework Pillars ### 1. Cost Optimization **Principles:** - Right-sizing resources per region - Reserved instances for predictable workloads - Spot instances for non-critical workloads - Cost allocation tags for chargeback - Budget alerts and governance **Implementation:** - Cost Management budgets per management group - Azure Advisor recommendations - Resource tagging strategy - Reserved capacity planning ### 2. Operational Excellence **Principles:** - Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) - Automated deployments (GitHub Actions) - Centralized logging and monitoring - Runbooks and playbooks - Change management processes **Implementation:** - Terraform modules for repeatable deployments - CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure - Azure Monitor and Log Analytics - Azure Automation for runbooks ### 3. Performance Efficiency **Principles:** - Regional proximity for low latency - CDN for global content delivery - Auto-scaling for dynamic workloads - Performance monitoring and optimization - Database query optimization **Implementation:** - Multi-region deployment - Azure Front Door for global routing - Azure CDN for static assets - Application Insights for performance tracking ### 4. Reliability **Principles:** - Multi-region redundancy - Availability Zones within regions - Automated failover - Disaster recovery procedures - Health monitoring and alerting **Implementation:** - Primary and secondary regions - Geo-replication for storage - Traffic Manager for DNS failover - RTO: 4 hours, RPO: 1 hour ### 5. Security **Principles:** - Zero-trust architecture - Defense in depth - Data encryption at rest and in transit - Identity and access management - Security monitoring and threat detection **Implementation:** - Azure AD for identity - Key Vault for secrets management - Network Security Groups and Azure Firewall - Microsoft Defender for Cloud - Azure Sentinel for SIEM ## Cloud for Sovereignty Requirements ### Data Residency - **Requirement**: All data must remain within specified regions - **Implementation**: - Resource location policies - Storage account geo-replication controls - Database replication restrictions ### Data Protection - **Requirement**: Encryption and access controls - **Implementation**: - Customer-managed keys (CMK) - Azure Key Vault with HSM - Private endpoints for services ### Compliance - **Requirement**: GDPR, eIDAS, and regional compliance - **Implementation**: - Compliance policies and initiatives - Audit logging and retention - Data classification and labeling ### Operational Control - **Requirement**: Sovereign operations and control - **Implementation**: - Management group hierarchy - Policy-based governance - Role-based access control (RBAC) ## Regional Architecture ### Supported Regions (Non-US Commercial) 1. **West Europe** (Netherlands) - Primary 2. **North Europe** (Ireland) - Secondary 3. **UK South** (London) - UK workloads 4. **Switzerland North** (Zurich) - Swiss workloads 5. **Norway East** (Oslo) - Nordic workloads 6. **France Central** (Paris) - French workloads 7. **Germany West Central** (Frankfurt) - German workloads ### Regional Deployment Pattern Each region follows the same pattern: ``` Region ├── Hub Network (VNet) │ ├── Gateway Subnet (VPN/ExpressRoute) │ ├── Azure Firewall Subnet │ └── Management Subnet ├── Spoke Networks (Workloads) │ ├── Application Subnet │ ├── Database Subnet │ └── Storage Subnet ├── Key Vault (Regional) ├── Storage Account (Regional) ├── Database (Regional) └── AKS Cluster (Regional) ``` ## Landing Zone Components ### 1. Identity and Access Management - **Azure AD Tenant**: Single tenant per sovereignty requirement - **Management Groups**: Hierarchical organization - **RBAC**: Role-based access control - **Conditional Access**: Location-based policies - **Privileged Identity Management**: Just-in-time access ### 2. Network Architecture - **Hub-and-Spoke**: Centralized connectivity - **Azure Firewall**: Centralized security - **Private Endpoints**: Secure service access - **VPN/ExpressRoute**: Hybrid connectivity - **Network Watcher**: Monitoring and diagnostics ### 3. Security and Compliance - **Microsoft Defender for Cloud**: Security posture management - **Azure Sentinel**: SIEM and SOAR - **Key Vault**: Secrets and certificate management - **Azure Policy**: Governance and compliance - **Azure Blueprints**: Standardized deployments ### 4. Monitoring and Logging - **Log Analytics Workspaces**: Regional workspaces - **Application Insights**: Application monitoring - **Azure Monitor**: Infrastructure monitoring - **Azure Service Health**: Service status - **Azure Advisor**: Best practice recommendations ### 5. Backup and Disaster Recovery - **Azure Backup**: Centralized backup - **Azure Site Recovery**: DR orchestration - **Geo-replication**: Cross-region replication - **Backup Vault**: Regional backup storage ### 6. Governance - **Azure Policy**: Resource compliance - **Azure Blueprints**: Standardized environments - **Cost Management**: Budget and cost tracking - **Resource Tags**: Organization and chargeback - **Management Groups**: Hierarchical governance ## Resource Organization ### Naming Convention ``` {provider}-{region}-{resource}-{env}-{purpose} Examples: - az-we-rg-dev-main (Resource Group) - azwesadevdata (Storage Account) - az-we-kv-dev-main (Key Vault) - az-we-aks-dev-main (AKS Cluster) ``` ### Tagging Strategy Required tags for all resources: - `Environment`: dev, stage, prod - `Project`: the-order - `Region`: westeurope, northeurope, etc. - `ManagedBy`: terraform - `CostCenter`: engineering - `Owner`: platform-team - `DataClassification`: public, internal, confidential, restricted - `Compliance`: gdpr, eidas, regional ## Deployment Strategy ### Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-2) - Management group hierarchy - Identity and access management - Core networking (hub networks) - Key Vault setup - Log Analytics workspaces ### Phase 2: Regional Deployment (Weeks 3-6) - Deploy to primary region (West Europe) - Deploy to secondary region (North Europe) - Set up geo-replication - Configure monitoring ### Phase 3: Multi-Region Expansion (Weeks 7-10) - Deploy to remaining regions - Configure regional failover - Set up CDN endpoints - Implement traffic routing ### Phase 4: Workload Migration (Weeks 11-14) - Migrate applications - Configure application networking - Set up application monitoring - Performance optimization ### Phase 5: Optimization (Weeks 15-16) - Cost optimization - Performance tuning - Security hardening - Documentation and runbooks ## Cost Estimation ### Per Region (Monthly) - **Networking**: $500-1,000 - **Compute (AKS)**: $1,000-3,000 - **Storage**: $200-500 - **Database**: $500-2,000 - **Monitoring**: $200-500 - **Security**: $300-800 - **Backup**: $100-300 **Total per region**: $2,800-8,100/month ### Multi-Region (7 regions) - **Development**: ~$20,000/month - **Production**: ~$50,000/month ## Security Considerations ### Data Sovereignty - All data stored within specified regions - No cross-region data transfer without encryption - Customer-managed keys for encryption - Private endpoints for all services ### Access Control - Zero-trust network architecture - Conditional access policies - Multi-factor authentication - Just-in-time access - Privileged access management ### Compliance - GDPR compliance - eIDAS compliance - Regional data protection laws - Audit logging (90 days retention) - Data classification and handling ## Monitoring and Alerting ### Key Metrics - Resource health - Cost trends - Security alerts - Performance metrics - Compliance status ### Alert Channels - Email notifications - Azure Monitor alerts - Microsoft Teams integration - PagerDuty (for critical alerts) ## Disaster Recovery ### RTO/RPO Targets - **RTO**: 4 hours - **RPO**: 1 hour ### DR Strategy - Primary region: West Europe - Secondary region: North Europe - Backup regions: Other regional hubs - Automated failover for critical services - Manual failover for non-critical services ## Next Steps 1. **Review and Approve Architecture** 2. **Set Up Management Group Hierarchy** 3. **Deploy Foundation Infrastructure** 4. **Configure Regional Networks** 5. **Deploy Regional Resources** 6. **Set Up Monitoring and Alerting** 7. **Implement Security Controls** 8. **Migrate Workloads** 9. **Optimize and Tune** --- **Last Updated**: 2025-01-27 **Next Review**: After Phase 1 completion