Creating a Virtual Machine in Azure: A Comprehensive Tutorial

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) are a key component of Microsoft Azure, offering scalable computing resources in the cloud. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the process of creating a virtual machine in Azure, from start to finish. We’ll cover everything from creating a resource group to configuring the virtual machine and accessing it remotely.

Step 1: Sign in to the Azure Portal

The first step is to sign in to the Azure portal at portal.azure.com. If you don’t have an Azure account, you can create a free account that includes credits to explore Azure services.

Step 2: Create a Resource Group

A resource group is a logical container for resources deployed in Azure. To create a resource group, follow these steps:

1. In the Azure portal, click on “Create a resource” in the left-hand menu.
2. In the search box, type “Resource group” and select “Resource group” from the results.
3. Click on “Create” to open the “Create a resource group” blade.
4. Enter a name for your resource group, select a subscription, and choose a region.
5. Click on “Review + create” and then “Create” to create the resource group.

Step 3: Create a Virtual Machine

Now that you have a resource group, you can create a virtual machine:

1. In the Azure portal, click on “Create a resource” in the left-hand menu.
2. In the search box, type “Windows Server” (or “Ubuntu Server” for a Linux VM) and select the desired image from the results.
3. Click on “Create” to open the “Create a virtual machine” blade.
4. Enter the basic details for the virtual machine, such as name, region, availability options, and image.
5. Choose the size of the VM based on your requirements. You can use the default size for this tutorial.
6. Configure the settings for the virtual machine, such as authentication type (password or SSH key), username, and password.
7. In the “Disks” section, you can configure additional settings such as disk type and size.
8. In the “Networking” section, configure the network settings for the VM, such as virtual network, subnet, and public IP address (if required).
9. Click on “Review + create” and then “Create” to create the virtual machine.

Step 4: Access the Virtual Machine

Once the virtual machine is created, you can access it using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for Windows VMs or Secure Shell (SSH) for Linux VMs:

For Windows VMs:

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to the virtual machine you created.
2. Click on “Connect” to open the “Connect to virtual machine” blade.
3. Note down the public IP address of the virtual machine.
4. Open the Remote Desktop Connection application on your local machine.
5. Enter the public IP address of the virtual machine and click “Connect.”
6. Enter the username and password you specified when creating the VM.

For Linux VMs:

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to the virtual machine you created.
2. Click on “Connect” to open the “Connect to virtual machine” blade.
3. Note down the public IP address of the virtual machine.
4. Open a terminal on your local machine.
5. Use the SSH command to connect to the virtual machine:
   bashCopy code

   ssh username@public-ip-address


   Replace username with your username and public-ip-address with the public IP address of the virtual machine.

6. Enter the password you specified when creating the VM.

Step 5: Manage the Virtual Machine

Once you have accessed the virtual machine, you can manage it using the Azure portal or other tools such as Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell. You can start, stop, restart, resize, and delete the virtual machine as needed.

Conclusion

Creating a virtual machine in Azure is a straightforward process that allows you to quickly deploy computing resources in the cloud. By following this tutorial, you should now have a basic understanding of how to create and manage virtual machines in Azure.