Azure Virtual Machines

Comprehensive Overview

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide on-demand, scalable computing resources. You can use virtual machines to deploy and run applications on infrastructure that you control. With Azure VMs, you have the flexibility to create and manage virtual machines that are equivalent to physical computers.

Choose from a wide range of Linux and Windows virtual machine images available in the Azure Marketplace, or bring your own custom images. Azure offers various VM series optimized for different workloads, including general-purpose, compute-optimized, memory-optimized, storage-optimized, and GPU-enabled machines.

Key Features

Common Use Cases

Development and Testing

Quickly set up development and test environments without the need for physical hardware. Deploy applications and test them in a cloud environment that closely mirrors production.

Hosting Websites and Applications

Host your websites, web applications, and APIs on reliable and scalable Azure infrastructure. Support varying traffic loads with ease.

Databases

Run various database workloads, from small relational databases to large enterprise data warehouses, using Azure VMs.

High-Performance Computing (HPC)

Tackle complex simulations, modeling, and data analysis tasks with Azure's HPC-optimized VM series and high-performance networking.

Virtual Desktops

Provide secure and accessible virtual desktops to your employees using Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows Server RDS.

Pricing Information

Azure Virtual Machines offer flexible pricing models to suit your budget and usage patterns. You can choose from pay-as-you-go, reserved instances for significant discounts on long-term commitments, and spot VMs for non-critical, interruptible workloads at lower costs.

The cost of a VM depends on factors such as the VM size, region, operating system, disk type, and any additional services used. It's recommended to use the Azure Pricing Calculator for detailed cost estimations.

Key pricing factors include:

• VM Size: Core count, memory, temporary storage, and network bandwidth.
• Operating System: Windows licenses may incur additional costs unless you use the Azure Hybrid Benefit.
• Storage: Cost of Managed Disks (Premium SSD, Standard SSD, Standard HDD) and their capacity.
• Networking: Data transfer costs, IP addresses, load balancers.
• Region: Pricing can vary by Azure region.

Getting Started

Deploying your first Azure Virtual Machine is straightforward. Here are the general steps:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal: Access your Azure account at portal.azure.com.
2. Create a resource: Click "+ Create a resource" and search for "Virtual machine".
3. Configure your VM:
   • Basics: Select your subscription, resource group, VM name, region, image (Linux or Windows), size, and administrator credentials.
   • Disks: Choose your operating system disk type (e.g., Premium SSD, Standard SSD) and configure data disks if needed.
   • Networking: Configure virtual network, subnet, public IP address, and network security group (NSG) rules.
   • Management, Advanced, Tags: Configure boot diagnostics, identity, auto-shutdown, extensions, and tags as required.
4. Review and create: Review your VM configuration and click "Create".
5. Connect to your VM: Once the deployment is complete, connect to your VM using SSH (for Linux) or Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) (for Windows).

Example: Deploying a Linux VM

Here's a simplified example of creating a VM using the Azure CLI:

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

This command creates a Linux VM in the specified resource group using the latest Ubuntu LTS image and generates SSH keys for secure access.

Best Practices for Azure VMs

• Choose the Right VM Size: Select a size that matches your workload's CPU, memory, and I/O requirements to avoid over-provisioning or under-performance.
• Utilize Availability Sets/Zones: For high availability, deploy VMs across multiple fault domains within an Availability Set or across different Availability Zones in a region.
• Implement Network Security: Configure Network Security Groups (NSGs) to restrict network traffic to only necessary ports and protocols. Use Azure Firewall for centralized network security.
• Regularly Patch and Update: Keep your VM's operating system and applications updated with the latest security patches and software updates.
• Monitor Performance: Use Azure Monitor to track VM performance metrics, set up alerts, and diagnose issues proactively.
• Automate Deployments: Leverage tools like Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, Bicep, or Terraform for infrastructure as code to automate VM deployments and management.
• Optimize Costs: Regularly review VM usage, consider Reserved Instances for stable workloads, and shut down non-production VMs when not in use. Utilize Azure Advisor for cost optimization recommendations.
• Secure Data: Encrypt VM disks using Azure Disk Encryption or managed disk encryption. Implement regular data backups using Azure Backup.