Deploy Windows Server on Azure

Learn how to quickly provision a Windows Server virtual machine in Microsoft Azure, configure networking, and secure your deployment.

Prerequisites

Azure subscription with Contributor role.
Azure CLI installed (az version 2.50+).
Basic familiarity with PowerShell or Bash.

Step 1 – Log in to Azure

az login

This opens a browser window for authentication. After successful login you’ll see a list of subscriptions.

Step 2 – Choose a Resource Group

az group create --name MyResourceGroup --location eastus

If the resource group already exists, you can skip this step.

Step 3 – Create the Windows Server VM

az vm create \
  --resource-group MyResourceGroup \
  --name WinServerVM \
  --image Win2022Datacenter \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --admin-password MySecureP@ssw0rd! \
  --size Standard_DS2_v2 \
  --location eastus \
  --public-ip-sku Standard

This command creates a VM with Windows Server 2022 Datacenter, a public IP, and a standard D2 v2 size.

Step 4 – Open RDP Port (3389)

az vm open-port --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name WinServerVM --port 3389

Ensures you can connect via Remote Desktop.

Step 5 – Connect to the VM

Use the public IP displayed after the VM creation. Open mstsc (Remote Desktop Connection) and enter the IP address.

Optional – Install IIS via PowerShell

Invoke-Command -ComputerName <PublicIP> -Credential (Get-Credential) -ScriptBlock { Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server }

This runs a remote PowerShell command to install Internet Information Services (IIS) on your server.