Enterprise Management - GitHub Administration¶
Overview¶
Enterprise management covers 15% of the exam. This domain focuses on GitHub Enterprise setup, billing, support tiers, GitHub Connect, and the differences between Server and Cloud.
📖 GitHub Enterprise Documentation - Enterprise admin guide
GitHub Enterprise Products¶
GitHub Enterprise Cloud (GHEC) vs GitHub Enterprise Server (GHES)¶
📖 About GitHub Enterprise - Plan comparison
| Feature | GHEC | GHES |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | GitHub.com (SaaS) | Self-hosted (on-premises or cloud VM) |
| Maintenance | GitHub manages | Customer manages (upgrades, backups) |
| Authentication | SAML SSO, EMU | SAML, LDAP, CAS, built-in |
| IP allow lists | Yes | Firewall-based |
| Data residency | GitHub data centers | Customer controls |
| GHAS | Add-on license | Add-on license |
| Audit log streaming | Yes | Syslog or file-based |
| GitHub Connect | Optional | Optional |
| GitHub Actions | GitHub-hosted or self-hosted runners | Self-hosted runners only |
| GitHub Packages | Hosted | Self-hosted registry |
GitHub Enterprise Cloud Features¶
📖 Enterprise Cloud - GHEC documentation
- Enterprise account manages multiple organizations
- Centralized billing across all organizations
- Enterprise-level policies override organization settings
- Audit log with API access and streaming
- SAML SSO at organization or enterprise level
- Enterprise Managed Users (EMU) option
- IP allow lists for network restrictions
GitHub Enterprise Server Features¶
📖 Enterprise Server - GHES documentation
- Installed on customer infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP, VMware, Hyper-V)
- Full control over data location and network access
- LDAP or SAML authentication
- Management console for server administration
- High availability: Primary-replica configuration
- Backup utilities:
backup-utilsfor automated backups - Upgrade path: Feature releases every ~3 months, patch releases as needed
Enterprise Account Structure¶
📖 Enterprise Accounts - Account hierarchy
Hierarchy¶
Enterprise Account
├── Organization 1
│ ├── Team A
│ │ └── Repository 1, Repository 2
│ └── Team B
│ └── Repository 3
├── Organization 2
│ └── Team C
│ └── Repository 4
└── Enterprise Policies (override org settings)
Enterprise Roles¶
| Role | Capabilities |
|---|---|
| Enterprise owner | Full control - billing, policies, orgs, users |
| Billing manager | View and manage billing only |
| Member | Default access based on org membership |
| Guest collaborator | External contributor (GHEC with EMU) |
Enterprise Policies¶
📖 Enterprise Policies - Policy management
Policies set at enterprise level can: - Enforce: All organizations must follow this setting - Allow: Organizations can configure their own setting - Key policy areas: - Repository creation permissions - Repository visibility (public/private/internal) - Repository forking - Base permissions for organization members - GitHub Actions allowed actions - GitHub Copilot access - GitHub Pages visibility
Billing and Licensing¶
📖 Billing - Billing documentation
License Types¶
- Per-seat licensing: Each user consumes one seat
- Metered billing: Actions minutes, Packages storage, Copilot, LFS
- Seats are consumed when user is a member of any organization in the enterprise
Key Billing Concepts¶
- GitHub Actions: Free minutes per plan, then per-minute billing (varies by runner OS)
- GitHub Packages: Storage and data transfer costs
- GHAS: Per active committer license for private repos
- Copilot: Per-seat monthly billing
- LFS: Storage and bandwidth overage charges
Cost Management¶
- Set spending limits for Actions and Packages
- Monitor usage via enterprise billing page
- Use GitHub-hosted larger runners for faster builds (metered)
- Self-hosted runners: No per-minute cost (you provide infrastructure)
GitHub Support¶
📖 GitHub Support - Support documentation
Support Tiers¶
| Feature | GitHub Support | GitHub Premium Support |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | Web, email | Web, email, phone, Slack |
| Response time | 8 hours (critical) | 30 min (urgent), 4 hours (high) |
| Availability | 24/5 | 24/7 |
| Named contacts | No | Yes (dedicated support manager) |
| Training credits | No | Yes |
| Health checks | No | Yes |
Support Tickets¶
- Submit via GitHub Support Portal
- Include: Account name, affected users, steps to reproduce
- Priority levels: Urgent, High, Normal, Low
- Escalation path available for critical issues
GitHub Connect¶
📖 GitHub Connect - Bridge GHES and GHEC
Purpose¶
- Connect GitHub Enterprise Server to GitHub.com
- Enable select features that require GitHub.com connectivity
Features Enabled¶
- Unified search: Search GitHub.com repos from GHES
- Unified contributions: Show GHES contributions on GitHub.com profile
- GitHub.com Actions: Use actions from GitHub.com Marketplace on GHES
- Dependabot alerts: Receive vulnerability alerts from GitHub Advisory Database
- Server statistics: Share anonymized usage data with GitHub
- Automatic user license sync: Sync license usage between GHES and GHEC
Configuration¶
- Requires outbound HTTPS from GHES to GitHub.com
- Enterprise owner enables in Management Console
- Select which features to enable individually
- Does not expose GHES code or data to GitHub.com
Common Exam Patterns¶
- "Self-hosted, full data control" - GitHub Enterprise Server
- "SaaS, no infrastructure management" - GitHub Enterprise Cloud
- "Centralized policy across organizations" - Enterprise-level policies
- "GHES needs GitHub.com Actions" - GitHub Connect
- "License cost for GHAS" - Per active committer on private repos
- "30-minute response time" - Premium Support
- "GHES backup strategy" - backup-utils for automated backups
- "Enterprise owner vs billing manager" - Owner has full control; billing manager is billing only