Azure Documentation

Azure Linux Virtual Machines

This section provides comprehensive documentation for deploying, managing, and optimizing Linux virtual machines (VMs) on Microsoft Azure.

Getting Started

Learn how to create your first Linux VM in Azure:

• Creating a Linux VM using the Azure portal
• Deploying Linux VMs with Azure CLI
• Using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates for Linux deployments

Supported Linux Distributions

Azure supports a wide range of Linux distributions. Here are some of the most popular:

• Ubuntu Server LTS
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• CentOS
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)
• Debian

For a full list and specific requirements, see supported Linux distributions on Azure.

Managing Your Linux VMs

Discover best practices for managing your Linux VMs:

• Connecting to Linux VMs via SSH
• Configuring networking and firewalls
• Monitoring VM performance and health
• Automating VM management with custom scripts and extensions
• Disk management: creating, attaching, and detaching disks

Advanced Topics

• Azure VM Scale Sets for Linux: Automate the deployment and management of a group of identical VMs.
• High Availability and Disaster Recovery: Strategies for ensuring your Linux workloads are resilient.
• Performance Tuning: Optimizing your Linux VM for specific workloads.
• Security Best Practices: Securing your Linux VMs in Azure.

Command-Line Examples

Here are some common Azure CLI commands for managing Linux VMs:

# Create a Linux VM
az vm create \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --name myLinuxVM \
  --image UbuntuLTS \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --generate-ssh-keys

# Connect to the VM
ssh azureuser@

# List all VMs in a resource group
az vm list --resource-group myResourceGroup --output table
            

For more detailed command examples, visit the Azure CLI documentation.