Azure Virtual Machines (Linux)
This section provides comprehensive documentation for deploying, managing, and optimizing Linux virtual machines (VMs) on Microsoft Azure.
Getting Started with Linux VMs
Creating a Linux VM
You can create a Linux VM using various methods:
- Azure Portal: A user-friendly graphical interface for creating and managing resources.
- Azure CLI: A powerful command-line interface for scripting and automation.
- Azure PowerShell: Another scripting option for Windows-centric environments.
- ARM Templates/Bicep: For infrastructure as code (IaC) deployments.
Here's an example of creating a basic Ubuntu VM using Azure CLI:
az vm create \
--resource-group MyResourceGroup \
--name MyLinuxVM \
--image UbuntuLTS \
--admin-username azureuser \
--generate-ssh-keys
Connecting to your Linux VM
Once your VM is deployed, you can connect to it using SSH. You'll need the public IP address of your VM.
ssh azureuser@<PUBLIC_IP_ADDRESS>
Replace <PUBLIC_IP_ADDRESS> with the actual public IP address of your VM.
Managing Linux VMs
Updating and Patching
Keeping your Linux VM's operating system and software up-to-date is crucial for security and stability. Azure provides several options:
- Manual Updates: Use package managers like
apt(for Debian/Ubuntu) oryum/dnf(for RHEL/CentOS/Fedora). - Azure Update Management: A feature within Azure Automation that allows centralized management of updates for multiple VMs.
- Distribution-specific tools: Some distributions offer their own update mechanisms.
Resizing and Scaling
You can easily resize your VM to adjust its CPU, memory, and storage configurations based on your workload requirements.
To resize using Azure CLI:
az vm deallocate --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyLinuxVM
az vm resize --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyLinuxVM --size Standard_D4s_v3
az vm start --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyLinuxVM
Disk Management
Learn how to attach, detach, and manage data disks for your Linux VMs to store persistent data separately from the OS disk.
- Managed Disks: Azure's recommended approach for VM storage, offering high availability and durability.
- Unmanaged Disks: An older approach, generally not recommended for new deployments.
Advanced Topics
Networking for Linux VMs
Configure network security groups (NSGs), virtual networks (VNets), public IP addresses, and load balancers to secure and manage network traffic for your Linux VMs.
Monitoring and Diagnostics
Utilize Azure Monitor and the VM diagnostics extension to collect performance metrics, logs, and system events. This helps in troubleshooting and performance tuning.
Automation and Orchestration
Explore tools like Azure Automation, custom script extensions, and cloud-init for automating the configuration and management of your Linux VMs.