Azure Virtual Machines Overview

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide on-demand, scalable computing resources. You can use Azure VMs to deploy and run applications. Choose Windows or Linux operating systems to run your code, apps, and services to meet your development and IT needs.

What are Azure Virtual Machines?

Azure VMs are on-demand, and scalable computing resources. The computing infrastructure that you access as a virtual machine from Azure is referred to as a virtual machine. You can think of this as a computer. When you scale up, you are renting computer space in an Azure data center.

Key Features and Benefits:

Flexibility: Choose from a wide range of VM sizes and operating systems, including Windows Server and various Linux distributions.
Scalability: Easily scale your compute resources up or down based on demand, either manually or through auto-scaling rules.
Cost-Effectiveness: Pay only for the resources you consume, with options for reserved instances and spot VMs to further optimize costs.
High Availability: Deploy applications with confidence using features like Availability Sets and Availability Zones for fault tolerance.
Global Reach: Deploy VMs in Azure regions worldwide to be closer to your users and ensure low latency.
Security: Leverage Azure's robust security features, including network security groups, Azure Security Center, and identity management.

Common Use Cases:

Running enterprise applications like SAP, Oracle, and SQL Server.
Developing and testing applications in a cloud environment.
Hosting websites and web applications.
Running high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.
Migrating existing on-premises workloads to the cloud.

Getting Started with Azure VMs

You can create and manage Azure VMs through the Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or ARM templates. Here's a simplified overview of the process:

Choose a VM Size: Select a size that matches your performance and cost requirements.
Configure Storage: Choose between Standard HDD, Standard SSD, or Premium SSD for your OS and data disks.
Set up Networking: Configure virtual networks, subnets, and network security groups.
Deploy: Launch your VM and connect to it.

Create a Linux VM Create a Windows VM

For more detailed information, explore the sub-sections on Linux VMs, Windows VMs, VM Scale Sets, and more.

Related Services:

Azure Storage for data persistence.
Azure Virtual Network for network isolation.
Azure Load Balancer for distributing traffic.
Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets for managing groups of identical VMs.