Businesses require more and more instances of virtual machines (VMs) to launch new products and achieve a beneficial marketplace position. As a result, users are increasingly looking for a solution that allows for efficiently deploying VMs, suited to various workloads ranging from small, developers’ workstations to massive, enterprise-scale applications, and Microsoft Azure is a perfect hybrid cloud computing platform for that purpose. In this article, we will go through a step-by-step process of how to provision a VM in Azure, so that you can take advantage of having the clouds in your pocket, with best practices.
Why Azure for Virtual Machines?
Azure’s Virtual Machines (VM) are on-demand, scalable computer resources backed by the ability to run both Windows and Linux. Serving as the first block in a larger layer cake of development platforms – which spread towards storage and networking and down towards security – such VMs become appliances that organizations can build up from the bottom to suit their own needs, whether for dev/test or product usage.
Step 1: Define Your Requirements
Before provisioning a VM, it’s crucial to clearly define your requirements. Consider the following:
- Workload Type: Determine the type of workload (e.g., web server, database, development environment).
- Performance Needs: Assess the CPU, memory, and storage requirements.
- Scalability: Plan for future growth by selecting an appropriate VM size and resource configuration.
- Compliance: Consider data residency, security, and compliance needs when choosing a region and configuring your VM.
Step 2: Access the Azure Portal
Start by accessing the Azure Portal. Ensure that you are logged in with an account that has sufficient privileges to create and manage resources.
Navigate to the Azure Portal Home.
Select Create a resource from the left-hand menu.
In the search bar, type Virtual Machine and choose Virtual Machine from the dropdown.
Step 3: Configure Basic Settings
In this step, you will configure the fundamental settings that define your VM’s identity and resource allocation.
- Subscription: Choose the appropriate Azure subscription.
- Resource Group: Select an existing resource group or create a new one to logically group related resources.
- VM Name: Assign a meaningful name to your VM that adheres to your organization’s naming conventions.
- Region: Select the Azure region closest to your users or where compliance requirements are met.
- Availability Options: Choose availability zones or sets based on your high availability and redundancy needs.
- Image: Select an OS image from the Azure Marketplace. Options include Windows Server, Ubuntu, CentOS, and more.
- VM Size: Choose a VM size based on the workload’s performance requirements. Azure provides recommendations based on your selected image.
Step 4: Configure Authentication and Access
Properly configuring authentication and access is critical for security and operational efficiency.
Administrator Account:
For Windows VMs, set a username and password.
For Linux VMs, choose between password or SSH public key authentication.
Inbound Port Rules: Define which ports should be open. Common options include SSH (22) for Linux and RDP (3389) for Windows.
Step 5: Configure Storage Options
Selecting the right storage for your VM is key to ensuring performance and reliability.
OS Disk Type:
- Standard HDD: Cost-effective, suitable for less critical workloads.
- Standard SSD: Balances cost and performance for general workloads.
- Premium SSD: High-performance, recommended for production environments.
- Data Disks: Add additional disks if your application requires separate data storage.
Step 6: Networking Configuration
Networking configuration connects your VM to the rest of your infrastructure, both on-premises and in the cloud.
- Virtual Network (VNet): Select an existing VNet or create a new one to isolate and manage your VM’s traffic.
- Subnet: Assign the VM to a subnet within the chosen VNet.
- Public IP: Assign a public IP if the VM needs to be accessible from the internet.
- Network Security Group (NSG): Define inbound and outbound rules to secure traffic to and from your VM.
Step 7: Management, Monitoring, and Advanced Options
Azure offers a suite of management and monitoring tools to optimize and safeguard your VM.
- Boot Diagnostics: Enable to capture boot logs and screenshots for troubleshooting.
- Auto-shutdown: Configure automatic shutdown schedules to reduce costs.
- Monitoring: Integrate with Azure Monitor and Azure Security Center for continuous oversight.
- Backup: Consider enabling Azure Backup for automated and secure data protection.
Step 8: Review and Create
Before finalizing the VM, Azure allows you to review all configurations.
Click Review + create.
Ensure all configurations meet your requirements and address organizational policies.
Click Create to deploy the VM. Azure will initiate the provisioning process, which may take several minutes.
Step 9: Access and Manage Your VM
Once provisioning is complete, your VM is ready for use.
From the Virtual Machines section, select your newly created VM.
Use Connect to access your VM:
For Windows, download the RDP file and connect using the credentials set earlier.
For Linux, connect via SSH using the command provided or your preferred SSH client.
Best Practices for Managing Azure VMs
- Cost Management: Use Azure Cost Management tools to monitor and control spending.
- Security: Regularly update the OS and applications, apply NSGs, and use Azure Defender for threat detection.
- Scaling: Use Azure VM Scale Sets to scale your VM instances based on demand automatically.
- Backup and Recovery: Regularly back up your VMs and test your recovery plan to ensure business continuity.
Conclusion
Provision a VM in Azure by selecting and creating a Virtual Machine by following various steps. This requires authentication and then deploying a VM using various Azure Portal services to enable you to launch a scalable and secure environment within a short span of time. This Azure subscription is a powerful management solution that enables organizations to provision scalable and secure environments as per their business needs. By following these steps, you can create a secure environment by using all the features offered by the Azure management services. The business requirement for cloud adoption is exploding worldwide, and the skills to manage VMs in Azure will be instrumental in driving digital transformation.
