Azure Virtual Machines

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide on-demand, scalable computing resources with the flexibility of virtualization. Use VMs for development, testing, hosting applications, and extending your data center to the cloud.

VM Sizes

Select from a broad range of VM sizes that are optimized for different workloads.

Series	Purpose	Typical CPUs / RAM
A-series	General purpose	1‑8 vCPU / 2‑56 GB
D-series	Compute‑optimized	2‑64 vCPU / 8‑256 GB
E-series	Memory‑optimized	2‑64 vCPU / 16‑432 GB
F-series	High‑CPU	2‑72 vCPU / 4‑144 GB
G-series	Storage‑optimized	4‑32 vCPU / 28‑864 GB

Operating System Images

Choose from a catalog of supported OS images, including Windows Server, Ubuntu, Red Hat, and custom images.

az vm create \
    --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
    --name MyVM \
    --image UbuntuLTS \
    --admin-username azureuser \
    --generate-ssh-keys

Creating a Virtual Machine

Use the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or ARM templates. Below is a quick Azure CLI walkthrough.

Log in: az login
Select subscription: az account set --subscription "SUB_ID"
Create resource group: az group create -n MyRG -l eastus

Deploy VM (example):

az vm create \
    --resource-group MyRG \
    --name WebServer01 \
    --image Win2019Datacenter \
    --size Standard_B2s \
    --admin-username azureadmin \
    --admin-password Password123! \
    --authentication-type password

Open port 80: az vm open-port --resource-group MyRG --name WebServer01 --port 80

Managing Virtual Machines

Azure provides tools for monitoring, scaling, and automating VM lifecycle.

Azure Monitor: Collect metrics and logs.
Auto‑scale: Adjust VM count based on demand.
Azure Automation: Runbooks for start/stop schedules.

Security & Networking

Secure your VMs with Azure Security Center, Network Security Groups (NSG), and Azure Bastion.

Enable Azure Disk Encryption.
Use Managed Identities for Azure resources.
Configure NSG rules to restrict inbound traffic.

Pricing

Pay for VMs per second with the ability to reserve instances for up to 3 years at a discount.

VM Size	Pay‑as‑you‑go (USD/hr)	1‑yr Reserved (USD/hr)
Standard_B2s	0.046	0.028
Standard_D2s_v3	0.096	0.062
Standard_E2s_v3	0.121	0.080

Use the Azure Pricing Calculator to estimate costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I migrate on‑premises VMs to Azure?: Yes, using Azure Migrate or Azure Site Recovery.
What is the difference between Spot VMs and regular VMs?: Spot VMs use unused Azure capacity at a discounted rate but can be evicted when needed.
How do I backup a VM?: Enable Azure Backup or use snapshots for point‑in‑time recovery.