Azure PowerShell Quick Start Guide

This guide will walk you through the essential steps to get started with Azure PowerShell, enabling you to manage your Azure resources efficiently from the command line.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

Step 1: Install Azure PowerShell Modules

The Azure PowerShell module contains all the cmdlets you'll need to interact with Azure. You can install it using PowerShell.

Install-Module -Name Az -Scope CurrentUser -Repository PSGallery -Force

This command installs the latest version of the Az module for the current user. If you need to install it for all users, you might need administrator privileges.

Verify Installation

After installation, you can verify it by importing the module and checking its version:

Import-Module Az
Get-Module Az

Step 2: Connect to Your Azure Account

Once the module is installed, you need to connect to your Azure account to authorize Azure PowerShell to access your subscription.

Connect-AzAccount

This command will open a browser window or prompt you to sign in with your Azure credentials. After successful authentication, you'll be connected.

Selecting a Subscription

If you have multiple Azure subscriptions, you can select the one you want to use:

# List all subscriptions
Get-AzSubscription

# Set the context to a specific subscription by its ID
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionId "your-subscription-id"

Step 3: Create Your First Azure Resource

Let's create a resource group, which is a logical container for your Azure resources.

  1. Create a Resource Group

    Use the New-AzResourceGroup cmdlet to create a new resource group.

    New-AzResourceGroup -Name "MyResourceGroup" -Location "East US"

    Replace MyResourceGroup with your desired name and East US with your preferred Azure region.

  2. Create a Virtual Machine

    Now, let's deploy a simple virtual machine within the resource group.

    Note: Creating a VM involves several parameters. This example creates a basic Ubuntu VM. Refer to the official documentation for more advanced configurations.

    $rgName = "MyResourceGroup"
$vmName = "MyVM"
$location = "East US"
$vmSize = "Standard_DS1_v2"
$osType = "Linux"
$adminUser = "azureuser"
$sshKey = "ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2E..." # Replace with your actual SSH public key

# Create a public IP address
$publicIp = New-AzPublicIpAddress -Name "${vmName}-pip" -ResourceGroupName $rgName -Location $location -AllocationMethod Dynamic

# Create a virtual network
$vnet = New-AzVirtualNetwork -Name "${vmName}-vnet" -ResourceGroupName $rgName -Location $location -AddressPrefix "10.0.0.0/16"
$subnet = Add-AzVirtualSubnet -VirtualNetwork $vnet -Name "default" -AddressPrefix "10.0.0.0/24"

# Create a network interface card (NIC)
$nic = New-AzNetworkInterface -Name "${vmName}-nic" -ResourceGroupName $rgName -Location $location -SubnetId $subnet.Id -PublicIpAddressId $publicIp.Id

# Create a Linux virtual machine
$vmConfig = New-AzVMConfig -VMName $vmName -VMSize $vmSize
$vmConfig = Set-AzVMOperatingSystem -VM $vmConfig -Linux -ComputerName $vmName -Credential (Get-Credential) # You will be prompted for password if not using SSH key
$vmConfig = Set-AzVMSourceImage -VM $vmConfig -PublisherName Canonical -Offer UbuntuServer -Sku 18.04-LTS -Version latest
$vmConfig = Add-AzVMNetworkInterface -VM $vmConfig -Id $nic.Id

# Create the VM
New-AzVM -ResourceGroupName $rgName -Location $location -VM $vmConfig

Write-Host "Virtual machine '$vmName' created successfully in resource group '$rgName'."
Write-Host "Public IP address: $($publicIp.IpAddress)"

    This script performs the following:

    • Defines variables for resource names, location, and VM size.
    • Creates a public IP address.
    • Sets up a virtual network and subnet.
    • Configures a network interface with the public IP and subnet.
    • Defines the VM configuration, including OS image (Ubuntu 18.04 LTS in this case) and network interface.
    • Creates the virtual machine using New-AzVM.

    You will be prompted to enter credentials for the VM's administrator user. If you want to use SSH keys, you'll need to generate them and provide the public key content.

Step 4: Manage Your Resources

Once your resources are deployed, you can manage them using various Azure PowerShell cmdlets.

List Resources

To list resources in a resource group:

Get-AzResource -ResourceGroupName "MyResourceGroup"

Stop and Start a VM

To stop a virtual machine:

Stop-AzVM -ResourceGroupName "MyResourceGroup" -Name "MyVM" -Force

To start a virtual machine:

Start-AzVM -ResourceGroupName "MyResourceGroup" -Name "MyVM"

Delete Resources

To delete the resource group and all its contents:

Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name "MyResourceGroup" -Force -AsJob

Using -AsJob allows the deletion to run in the background.

Next Steps

This quick start guide provides a basic introduction. Azure PowerShell offers a vast array of cmdlets for managing every aspect of your Azure environment.

Further Resources