Azure Containers built-in role

Azure Red Hat OpenShift Network Operator

Azure Red Hat OpenShift Network Operator is a service-agent role for the user-assigned managed identity associated with the Network operator. It allows that operator to install and upgrade OpenShift networking components and manage the Azure network interfaces, virtual-network associations, and load-balancer links they require. Azure Red Hat OpenShift creates a separate assignment of this role on the ARO managed resource group for the service-managed resources. Its published permissions are Azure control-plane Actions with no DataActions; it is not a human OpenShift administration role.

Control-plane actions (7)

• Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces/read
• Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces/write
• Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/read
• Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets/join/action
• Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/backendAddressPools/join/action
• Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/backendAddressPools/read
• Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/read

Data-plane actions (0)

None — this role grants no data-plane (data access) actions.

Excluded actions (0)

None

Assignable scopes (1)

• /

Practical scope

The ARO service creates the assignment on the managed resource group. For customer-owned resources outside that group, Microsoft documents customer-created assignments to the corresponding Network operator identity only at the ARO virtual network. Do not infer additional external assignment scopes from the role's Actions.

Common use cases (1)

• Allow the ARO Network operator identity to operate service-managed resources in the managed resource group and only the documented customer-owned resources required by the cluster architecture.

Prerequisites (2)

• Deploy an Azure Red Hat OpenShift cluster with managed identities and create the dedicated user-assigned identity for this operator.
• Prepare only the external network or storage resources named for this operator in the current ARO identity architecture and create the documented customer-owned role assignments before cluster creation.

Best practices (2)

• Use the service-created managed-resource-group assignment and reproduce the published external identity-to-role and scope table exactly when using existing identities and role assignments.
• Keep one managed identity per ARO core operator, create customer-owned assignments at the most limited documented external resource scope, and do not reuse these roles for people or application workloads.

Security considerations (2)

• Network-operator changes can alter cluster connectivity, load-balancer membership, and workload reachability throughout the virtual network.
• A broader customer-created external assignment or a human assignment would grant infrastructure permissions outside the documented ARO component boundary and bypass the separation among core operator identities.

Assignment guidance

Allow the ARO service to create Azure Red Hat OpenShift Network Operator on the managed resource group. For customer-owned infrastructure, assign it only to the dedicated Network operator identity at the ARO virtual network, exactly as listed in the current identity architecture and deployment examples. Do not duplicate the managed-resource-group assignment or extrapolate other external scopes from Actions, and do not grant the role to human administrators.

Related roles (1)

• Azure Red Hat OpenShift Federated Credential: Companion cluster-identity role used to create the federated credentials that let the operator identity authenticate.

Editorial sources (7)

• Azure built-in roles for Containers - Azure RBAC | Microsoft Learn →

  Supports: Description, Practical scope, Security considerations. Retrieved 2026-07-17.

• Understand Azure role definitions →

  Supports: Description, Security considerations. Retrieved 2026-07-17.

• Steps to assign an Azure role →

  Supports: Assignment guidance. Retrieved 2026-07-17.

• Understand scope for Azure RBAC →

  Supports: Practical scope, Assignment guidance. Retrieved 2026-07-17.

• Best practices for Azure RBAC →

  Supports: Best practices, Assignment guidance. Retrieved 2026-07-17.

• Understand managed identities in Azure Red Hat OpenShift →

  Supports: Description, Practical scope, Common use cases, Prerequisites, Best practices, Security considerations, Assignment guidance, Related roles. Retrieved 2026-07-17.

• Create an Azure Red Hat OpenShift cluster with managed identities →

  Supports: Description, Practical scope, Common use cases, Prerequisites, Best practices, Security considerations, Assignment guidance, Related roles. Retrieved 2026-07-17.

Official Microsoft Learn documentation →