Deploying Your First Azure Virtual Machine

Navigate to the Azure Portal

Open your web browser and go to https://portal.azure.com. Sign in using your Azure account credentials.

Locate the Virtual Machines Service

Once logged in, you will see the Azure dashboard. In the search bar at the top, type "Virtual machines" and select "Virtual machines" from the results.

Start the Creation Process

On the Virtual machines page, click the + Create button and then select Virtual machine.

Configure Basic Settings

You will be presented with several tabs to configure your VM. Let's start with the 'Basics' tab:

• Subscription: Select your Azure subscription.
• Resource group: Click "Create new" and give it a descriptive name (e.g., myResourceGroup-VM). A resource group is a logical container for your Azure resources.
• Virtual machine name: Enter a unique name for your VM (e.g., myFirstVM).
• Region: Choose a region geographically close to you or your users.
• Availability options: For this tutorial, you can leave this as default ("No infrastructure redundancy required").
• Security type: Leave as "Standard".
• Image: Select an operating system image. For example, choose Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition - Gen2 or a Linux distribution like Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS - Gen2.
• Size: Choose a VM size that fits your needs and budget. For testing, a smaller size like Standard_B1s or Standard_D2s_v3 is often sufficient.
• Administrator account:
  • Username: Enter an administrator username (e.g., azureuser).
  • Password: Enter a strong password, confirm it. Alternatively, you can use SSH public key authentication for Linux VMs.
• Inbound port rules:
  • Public inbound ports: Select Allow selected ports.
  • Select inbound ports: For Windows, select RDP (3389). For Linux, select SSH (22). This allows you to connect to your VM.

Configure Disks

On the 'Disks' tab, you can configure the storage for your VM. The default settings are usually fine for a basic setup. You can choose the OS disk type (e.g., Premium SSD for better performance).

Configure Networking

On the 'Networking' tab, Azure automatically creates a virtual network, subnet, public IP address, and network security group (NSG). You can review these or customize them if you have specific requirements. Ensure the NSG allows inbound traffic on the port you selected (RDP or SSH).

Advanced and Tags (Optional)

The 'Advanced' tab allows for further customization like extensions, cloud-init data (for Linux), and management settings. The 'Tags' tab is useful for organizing your Azure resources. You can add tags like Environment: Development or Project: MyProject.

Review and Create

Click the Review + create button. Azure will validate your configuration. If validation passes, you'll see a summary of your VM settings. Review everything carefully, then click Create.

Deployment Progress

Azure will now start deploying your virtual machine. This process typically takes a few minutes. You can monitor the deployment progress on the deployment page.

Accessing the VM Overview

Once the deployment is complete, click on "Go to resource" or navigate back to the "Virtual machines" service and select your newly created VM. You will see the VM's overview page.

For Windows VM (RDP)

1. On the VM overview page, click the Connect button.
2. Select "RDP" and click "Download RDP File".
3. Open the downloaded RDP file.
4. When prompted, click "Connect".
5. Enter the username and password you created earlier.
6. You may see a certificate warning; click "Yes" to proceed.

For Linux VM (SSH)

1. On the VM overview page, click the Connect button.
2. Select "SSH". You will see connection instructions.
3. Open your terminal or SSH client.
4. Use the provided command, replacing placeholders with your VM's public IP address and your username. If using an SSH key, ensure the key file has the correct permissions (chmod 400 /path/to/your/private.key).
5. Example command: ssh azureuser@20.45.67.89 (replace with your details).
6. If prompted about the authenticity of the host, type yes.

You can find your VM's Public IP address on the VM overview page.

Starting and Stopping Your VM

On the VM overview page, you can use the Start, Stop, and Restart buttons to manage the VM's power state. Stopping a VM deallocates its resources, saving costs.

Monitoring Performance

The "Monitoring" section of the VM blade provides insights into CPU usage, network traffic, disk I/O, and more. This is crucial for understanding your VM's performance and identifying potential issues.

Deleting Your VM

When you no longer need the VM, it's important to delete it to avoid ongoing charges. Navigate to the VM's overview page, click Delete. You will typically also want to delete the associated resources like the Public IP address, Network Interface, and Disks if they are no longer needed. Deleting the resource group will also delete all resources within it.