Intro to Graph for Azure Admins
What is Microsoft Graph?
Microsoft Graph is a REST API that provides a unified endpoint to the vast array of Microsoft 365 data and services in the cloud.
But what is a REST API?
An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and interact with each other.
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REST stands for Representational State Transfer. It is the most common standard used by APIs to communicate over the internet.
REST is a loose set of rules but a RESTful API will generally:
Use HTTP calls
Organise its resources into a set of unique URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers)
Perform CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)
All represented in JSON or XML formats.
Before Graph, interacting with Microsoft services required different PowerShell modules and APIs for each service.
Microsoft Graph was designed to simplify this process, providing a unified endpoint to interact with multiple services in a consistent manner.
Instead of juggling multiple admin centers or API endpoints, you have a single API gateway [graph.microsoft.com] to data and intelligence in Microsoft 365.
When constructing a request to Microsoft Graph, it will help to understand the components involved:
1. The HTTP method
2. The URI
3. The headers
4. The query parameters
5. The request body
Each of these elements plays a specific role in defining the request and ensuring it interacts correctly with the Graph API.
GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users?$filter=startswith(displayName,'John')
POST https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users
Authorization: Bearer {access-token}
Content-Type: application/json
{
"accountEnabled": true,
"displayName": "Robert Johnson",
"mailNickname": "robjohnson",
"userPrincipalName": "robjohnsone@example.com",
"passwordProfile": {
"forceChangePasswordNextSignIn": true,
"password": "password123"
}
}
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