Introduction to Azure Virtual Machines

Welcome to the introductory tutorial for Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)! This module will provide you with a foundational understanding of what Azure VMs are, why they are used, and the basic concepts you need to know to get started.

What are Azure Virtual Machines?

Azure Virtual Machines are on-demand, scalable computing resources that you can create and manage. They provide the flexibility of virtualization for a wide variety of computing workloads. With VMs, you can run applications and services in the cloud, host websites, and run development and test environments without the need to purchase and manage physical hardware.

Key benefits of using Azure VMs include:

• Flexibility: Choose from a wide range of operating systems, including Windows and Linux distributions.
• Scalability: Easily scale your resources up or down based on demand.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Pay only for the compute resources you consume.
• Global Reach: Deploy VMs in data centers around the world.
• Security: Benefit from Azure's robust security features.

Key Concepts

Before diving deeper, let's understand some core concepts:

• Resource Group: A logical container for Azure resources.
• Virtual Network (VNet): A representation of your own network in the cloud.
• Subnet: A range of IP addresses within a VNet.
• Public IP Address: Allows your VM to be accessed from the internet.
• Network Interface (NIC): Connects your VM to a virtual network.
• Disk: Used for storing the operating system and data. Azure offers managed disks for increased reliability and performance.

Use Cases for Azure VMs

Azure VMs are incredibly versatile and can be used for numerous scenarios:

• Hosting Applications: Run custom or off-the-shelf applications.
• Development and Testing: Create isolated environments for developers and testers.
• Website Hosting: Deploy and manage web servers.
• Data Analytics: Run powerful analytics workloads.
• Disaster Recovery: Provide a backup and recovery solution.

Getting Started

In the following sections of this tutorial, you will learn how to:

• Create your first Azure Virtual Machine.
• Connect to your VM.
• Manage your VM's resources.
• Secure your VM.

Let's begin by exploring how to create a Linux virtual machine in the Azure portal.