Azure Virtual Machines Documentation

Last updated: October 26, 2023

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide on-demand, scalable computing resources. You can deploy Windows and Linux operating systems and applications to Azure VMs. With VMs, you get the flexibility of virtualization for a wide variety of computing workloads without the need to buy and maintain the physical hardware.

Key Features

Scalability: Easily scale your VMs up or down based on demand.
Availability: Utilize Availability Sets and Availability Zones for high availability.
Security: Leverage Azure Security Center, Azure Active Directory, and encryption.
Hybrid Capabilities: Seamlessly integrate with your on-premises infrastructure using Azure Arc and Azure Stack.
Cost-Effectiveness: Choose from various VM sizes and pricing options, including Reserved Instances.

Getting Started

Follow these steps to deploy your first Azure VM:

Create a Resource Group: Organize your Azure resources.
Choose a VM Image: Select from a gallery of Windows or Linux operating systems.
Select a VM Size: Pick the compute, memory, and storage configurations.
Configure Networking: Set up virtual networks, subnets, and public IP addresses.
Configure Storage: Choose between managed disks for OS and data.
Deployment: Review and create your virtual machine.

Explore related topics:

Tutorials

Learn how to perform common tasks with Azure VMs:

Reference

Detailed technical documentation and API references:

Supported Operating Systems

Azure supports a wide range of Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and Debian. Windows Server versions from 2008 R2 to the latest are also supported.

Pricing

Understand the costs associated with Azure Virtual Machines. Pricing is based on the VM size, region, and the duration your VM is running. Additional costs may apply for storage, networking, and other associated services.

View Azure VM pricing details.