Overview of Azure Virtual Machines

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) provide on-demand, scalable computing resources. You can use VMs to deploy and run applications, host websites, and develop solutions without the need to purchase and manage your own physical hardware.

Key Features

  • Flexibility: Choose from a wide range of Linux and Windows operating systems.
  • Scalability: Easily scale up or down your VM resources based on demand.
  • High Availability: Utilize features like availability sets and zones for fault tolerance.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: Pay only for what you use with various pricing options.
  • Security: Benefit from Azure's robust security infrastructure and tools.

Getting Started with Azure VMs

Here are some common starting points for working with Azure Virtual Machines:

  1. Create your first VM: Learn how to deploy a new virtual machine using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or PowerShell. Deploy a Windows VM | Deploy a Linux VM
  2. Connect to your VM: Understand how to establish a secure connection to your virtual machine. Connect via RDP (Windows) | Connect via SSH (Linux)
  3. Manage VM disks: Learn about managed disks, unmanaged disks, and how to attach or detach them. Disk Management Guide

Common Use Cases

Azure VMs are ideal for a variety of scenarios:

  • Running enterprise applications like SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server.
  • Hosting web applications and APIs.
  • Development and testing environments.
  • Disaster recovery solutions.
  • Big data analytics.

Advanced Topics

Explore more advanced concepts and best practices:

Example: Creating a VM with Azure CLI

Here's a simple example of how to create a Linux VM using the Azure Command-Line Interface:


az vm create \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --name myVM \
  --image UbuntuLTS \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --admin-password 'yourPassword123!'

Remember to replace placeholders with your actual values and ensure secure password management.