Creating a Windows VM in Microsoft Azure: A Comprehensive Step-by-Step Guide
Virtual Machine
Creating a Windows VM in Microsoft Azure is a key step toward leveraging cloud computing for various use cases such as development, testing, hosting applications, or learning cloud concepts. This step-by-step guide will walk you through setting up a Windows VM, covering all essential options available in the Azure Portal.
Step 1: Sign In to the Azure Portal
Visit the Azure Portal.
Log in using your Microsoft account credentials.
Once logged in, you will be taken to the Azure Dashboard.
Step 2: Create a New Virtual Machine
On the Azure Portal Dashboard, click on "Create a resource" from the left-hand menu.
In the "New" window, select "Virtual Machine" under the "Compute" category.
Step 3: Configure the Basics
In the Basics tab, you will set up fundamental details for your VM:
Subscription: Select your subscription type. If you’re on a free trial, choose Free Trial.
Resource Group: Create a new resource group or select an existing one. For this guide, we’ll create a new group named HCLTech.
Virtual Machine Name: Enter a name for your VM (e.g., VMWindows).
Region: Choose the geographic region where your VM will be hosted. We select Brazil South here. The region affects latency, pricing, and compliance.
Availability Options: Choose Availability zone for high availability. In this example, we pick Zone 2.
Security Type: Leave the setting as Standard for general use.
Image: Select your preferred operating system image. We choose Windows Server 2019 Datacenter - Gen2.
VM Architecture: Set this to x64, suitable for most Windows workloads.
Size: Click on Change Size and select Standard B2ms (2 vCPUs, 8 GiB memory), which is a cost-effective choice for small to medium workloads.
Step 4: Configure Disks
In the Disks tab, choose your operating system (OS) disk options:
OS Disk Size: Stick with the default size.
OS Disk Type: Choose Premium SSD LRS for better performance.
Use Managed Disks: Enabled by default, making disk management easier.
Delete OS Disk with VM: Enable this option to automatically delete the disk if the VM is deleted.
Ephemeral OS Disk: Keep this option disabled unless you want a temporary, non-persistent disk.
Step 5: Configure Networking
In the Networking tab, configure the following:
Virtual Network (VNet): Create a new VNet named VMWindows-vnet.
Subnet: Create a default subnet with the address range 10.0.0.0/24.
Public IP: Select Create New and name it VMWindows-ip.
Accelerated Networking: Leave this option Off unless you require high-performance networking.
Load Balancer: Select No to skip placing the VM behind a load balancer.
Delete Public IP and NIC with VM: Keep this disabled if you want the network components to remain after the VM is deleted.
Step 6: Configure Management Settings
In the Management tab:
Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Select Basic (free) for basic security recommendations and monitoring.
System Assigned Managed Identity: Keep this disabled unless you need to assign a managed identity to access other Azure resources securely.
Login with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD): Leave this disabled unless you need Azure AD integration for identity management.
Auto-shutdown: Disable this if you don’t want your VM to automatically turn off at a specific time.
Backup: Keep this disabled unless you want to configure regular backups for your VM.
Site Recovery: Disable this option if you don’t require disaster recovery configurations.
Enable Hotpatch: Keep this option off unless you need hotpatching to apply updates without rebooting the VM.
Step 7: Configure Monitoring
In the Monitoring tab:
Alerts: Disable this if you don’t need alert notifications.
Boot Diagnostics: Turn this off unless you need to capture boot logs and screenshots.
Enable OS Guest Diagnostics: Disable this if you don’t require in-depth OS performance metrics.
Enable Application Health Monitoring: Keep this off unless you want to monitor application health within the VM.
Step 8: Configure Advanced Options
In the Advanced tab:
Extensions: Skip adding any extensions unless you need specific tools or agents.
VM Applications: None, unless you want to pre-install certain applications.
Cloud Init/User Data: Disabled. Use this if you want to automate post-creation configuration scripts.
Disk Controller Type: Leave it set to SCSI for high-performance storage.
Proximity Placement Group: Keep this as None unless you need low-latency proximity.
Capacity Reservation Group: Set to None unless you want to reserve capacity for high availability.
Step 9: Review and Create
In the Review + Create tab:
Review all the configurations you’ve made.
The cost is displayed as 11.8136 INR/hr for this configuration. This is just an estimate; actual charges depend on your usage.
If everything looks good, click Create. Azure will validate your settings and begin deploying your VM.
Final Thoughts
This guide covers all the important settings and configurations you need to know while creating a Windows VM in Microsoft Azure. Once the deployment is complete, you can access your VM using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and begin your work. This setup is ideal for various use cases like hosting web applications, running development environments, or testing new software.
By understanding each configuration option, you can tailor your VM to meet your specific needs while optimizing cost and performance. Happy cloud computing!
Microsoft Azure involves several configuration steps
Creating a Virtual Machine (VM) in Microsoft Azure involves several configuration steps. Each option plays a crucial role in determining the functionality, performance, security, and cost of the VM. Here is a detailed explanation of the options you’ve encountered while setting up your Azure VM:
1. Basics Configuration
Subscription: Choose the subscription under which the VM will be created. In your case, it’s the Free Trial subscription.
Resource Group: A resource group is a logical container that holds related resources for your Azure solution. You can either use an existing group or create a new one. In your setup, you created a new resource group called HCLTech.
Virtual Machine Name: The name you assigned to your VM is VMWindows. This name will be used to identify the VM in your Azure Portal.
Region: This determines the physical location of your VM. You selected Brazil South, which is important for latency and compliance.
Availability Options: Availability zones protect your VM from data center failures. You chose Availability Zone 2 to ensure redundancy within a data center region.
Security Type: The security type is set to Standard.
Image: This is the operating system that will run on your VM. You chose Windows Server 2019 Datacenter - Gen2.
VM Architecture: The VM architecture is set to x64, which is common for Windows VMs.
Size: The VM size determines the CPU, memory, and storage capacity. You selected Standard B2ms (2 vCPUs, 8 GiB memory), which is suitable for small to medium workloads.
2. Disks Configuration
OS Disk Size and Type: The OS disk is where your operating system is installed. You chose the image default size with a Premium SSD LRS disk type, offering high performance and reliability.
Use Managed Disks: Managed disks simplify storage management. In your setup, this option is enabled.
Delete OS Disk with VM: You enabled this setting, meaning the OS disk will be deleted when the VM is deleted.
Ephemeral OS Disk: Disabled. Ephemeral disks are temporary and not intended for production use.
3. Networking Configuration
Virtual Network (VNet): A VNet is your private network in Azure. You created a new VNet named VMWindows-vnet.
Subnet: A subnet is a range of IP addresses in your VNet. You created a default subnet with the IP range 10.0.0.0/24.
Public IP: This is necessary to access your VM from the internet. You created a new public IP named VMWindows-ip.
Accelerated Networking: This feature improves networking performance by reducing latency. You left this setting Off.
Place VM Behind Load Balancer: You opted not to place this VM behind a load balancing solution.
Delete Public IP and NIC with VM: Disabled. This option ensures the network components remain even if the VM is deleted.
4. Management Configuration
Microsoft Defender for Cloud: This provides basic security recommendations and monitoring. You selected the Basic (free) tier.
System Assigned Managed Identity: Disabled. Managed identities are used to securely access other Azure resources.
Login with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD): Disabled. This is useful for identity and access management.
Auto-shutdown: Disabled. Auto-shutdown helps to control costs by turning off the VM at a set time.
Backup: Disabled. Backups are critical for disaster recovery, but you chose not to enable it.
Site Recovery: Disabled. Site Recovery replicates VMs for failover in case of a region failure.
Enable Hotpatch: Disabled. Hotpatching allows you to install updates without rebooting the VM.
Patch Orchestration: You opted for OS-orchestrated patching, where the OS handles patch updates.
5. Monitoring Configuration
Alerts: Disabled. Alerts notify you when certain thresholds are reached.
Boot Diagnostics: Disabled. This setting captures screenshots and logs during boot, useful for troubleshooting.
Enable OS Guest Diagnostics: Disabled. Guest diagnostics provide performance metrics and logs.
Enable Application Health Monitoring: Disabled. This feature monitors the health of your applications.
6. Advanced Configuration
Extensions: None. Extensions allow you to add additional capabilities to your VM, like monitoring agents or security solutions.
VM Applications: None. You didn’t add any pre-installed applications.
Cloud Init/User Data: Disabled. This setting is useful for automating post-creation scripts.
Disk Controller Type: Set to SCSI, which is typical for high-performance storage.
Proximity Placement Group: None. Proximity groups are used to ensure low latency by placing VMs close together.
Capacity Reservation Group: None. Capacity reservations guarantee VM availability within a region.
Price and Terms
- The estimated cost for this VM is 11.8136 INR/hr. You also agreed to the terms that authorize Microsoft to bill your payment method according to your subscription and share relevant data with the service provider.