Azure Virtual Machine Templates

Discover how to use and create templates for deploying Azure Virtual Machines efficiently and consistently.

What are VM Templates?

Azure VM templates allow you to define the configuration of your virtual machines, including operating system, disks, networking, and extensions, in a declarative JSON format. This enables repeatable and automated deployments of your Azure infrastructure.

Benefits of Using Templates

Consistency: Ensure all deployed VMs adhere to your organization's standards.
Automation: Automate the provisioning process, reducing manual effort and errors.
Speed: Deploy complex environments rapidly.
Version Control: Manage your infrastructure as code, allowing for versioning and rollback.
Scalability: Easily scale your deployments by reusing templates.

Types of Templates

Microsoft Azure primarily uses Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates for defining and deploying infrastructure resources, including virtual machines.

Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Templates

ARM templates are JSON files that describe the desired state for your Azure deployment. They define the resources you want to deploy and the properties of those resources.

Key components of an ARM template for a VM include:

Parameters: Variables that can be passed to the template during deployment to customize the VM.
Variables: Used to simplify the template and define reusable values.
Resources: The actual Azure resources to be deployed, such as Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines, Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses, Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks, etc.
Outputs: Values returned from the deployment, such as the public IP address of the VM.

Example ARM Template Snippet for a VM


{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "parameters": {
    "vmName": {
      "type": "string",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Name of the virtual machine."
      }
    },
    "adminUsername": {
      "type": "string",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Admin username for the virtual machine."
      }
    },
    "adminPassword": {
      "type": "securestring",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Password for the admin user."
      }
    },
    "vmSize": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "Standard_DS1_v2",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Size of the virtual machine."
      }
    }
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines",
      "apiVersion": "2020-06-01",
      "name": "[parameters('vmName')]",
      "location": "[resourceGroup().location]",
      "properties": {
        "hardwareProfile": {
          "vmSize": "[parameters('vmSize')]"
        },
        "osProfile": {
          "computerName": "[parameters('vmName')]",
          "adminUsername": "[parameters('adminUsername')]",
          "adminPassword": "[parameters('adminPassword')]"
        },
        "storageProfile": {
          "imageReference": {
            "publisher": "MicrosoftWindowsServer",
            "offer": "WindowsServer",
            "sku": "2019-Datacenter",
            "version": "latest"
          },
          "osDisk": {
            "createOption": "FromImage",
            "managedDisk": {
              "storageAccountType": "Standard_LRS"
            }
          }
        },
        "networkProfile": {
          "networkInterfaces": [
            {
              "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', concat(parameters('vmName'), '-nic'))]"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
    // ... other resources like NIC, VNet, Public IP
  ]
}

Getting Started with ARM Templates

You can create ARM templates using:

Visual Studio Code: With the Azure Resource Manager Tools extension.
Azure Portal: Export existing deployments as templates.
Azure CLI or PowerShell: Programmatically generate templates.

Microsoft Azure Documentation