What is a Control Plane?
A control plane is the system that determines how and where access is granted.
Traditionally, it controlled how network tra Ưic was routed.
Now:
In identity-based security, identity becomes the control plane — the central authority
that decides who gets access to what.
Why identity?
Because identity is the only common factor across users, devices, apps, and services.
Example Scenario:
An organization uses multiple systems—Azure, Salesforce, and internal servers. Instead of
managing access separately for each, Entra ID (identity control plane) governs all access
decisions centrally, ensuring consistent policy enforcement.
Core principle:
If we can’t confirm who the user is, we can’t trust any access request.