An account for software rather than people, letting scripts or applications call an API; in VCF Automation, for example, such accounts sign in using a refresh token.
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Terms in this definition
- API
Short for application programming interface: a contract that client code calls programmatically, for example a web API secured with tokens or the Files, Images or Responses APIs.
- VCF Automation
Self-service platform in VCF for provisioning VM, Kubernetes and AI workloads. Providers manage regions and tenants in one portal, while tenants handle projects and consumption in theirs.
- AGDLP
Nesting pattern: users go into global groups, which go into domain local groups, which receive the permissions. AGUDLP adds universal groups for forests with several domains.
- Refresh token
Clients trade this in for new access tokens, and it lives far longer than they do (by default 90 days, or 24 hours in a single-page app). Revoking someone's sessions kills it, yet any access token they already hold keeps working until its own expiry.
Related terms
- dMSA
A delegated managed service account, new in Windows Server 2025, that takes over from an older service account. Sign-in is bound to the computer's identity, so the previous password stops working.
- Microsoft Sentinel Automation Contributor
An Azure built-in role given to the Microsoft Sentinel service account on the resource group holding a playbook, so that automation rules are able to trigger it. It has no other purpose and should not be assigned to users.