Introduction to Azure Virtual Machines (VMS)

👨‍💻 Imagine this

You work at a medical research company and manage servers that power everything, including websites, databases, and data analysis tools. But… your servers are old and struggling to handle new, demanding applications.

You're considering an upgrade, but there are some challenges.

🚧 Problems with On-Premises Servers

• 🌍 Servers are everywhere: They're scattered across multiple locations, with very few staff to manage them.

• 🧩 Complex setups The company uses many versions of Windows and Linux with unique configurations that are difficult to understand fully.

• 📈 Fast business growth: Demand is increasing, especially for databases. Scaling up would mean purchasing a large amount of expensive hardware in advance.

💡 Solution: Move to the cloud, specifically, Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines (VMs).

☁️ Why Azure VMs?

• ⚙️ Total control: You can configure the VM however you want and install any software you need.

• 📦 No physical hardware needed: Scale up without buying more servers.

• 🔒 Built-in management: Azure offers tools to monitor, secure, and update your systems easily.

• 🚀 Test before migrating: You can try different configurations before moving everything to the cloud.

🔍 What We'll Cover?

1. 🏗️ Decisions before creating a VM: Choosing the proper setup.

2. ⚡ Options to create and manage a VM: Different ways to deploy and control VMs.

3. 🔧 Extensions and services: Extra tools to make management easier.

✅Bottom line: Azure Virtual Machines give you the flexibility of traditional servers without the hassle of physical hardware, making them perfect for a growing, global company.

📝 The Ultimate Checklist for Creating an Azure Virtual Machine (VM)

☁️ Moving servers to Microsoft Azure is a big step toward making your IT infrastructure more scalable, secure, and future-ready.

Instead of buying and managing physical servers, Azure lets you run virtual computers in the cloud that act just like your on-premises machines but with far more flexibility.

Here's a detailed, easy-to-follow checklist to plan and create your first VM with confidence.

🔍 What is an Azure Resource?

In Azure, everything you create, such as servers, networks, disks, and IP addresses, is referred to as a resource. A Virtual Machine (VM) is composed of multiple resources that work together.

• 💻 VM (Virtual Computer): Runs your OS and applications

• 💾 Disks: Stores system files, apps, and data

• 🌐 Virtual Network (VNet): Connects your VMs and services

• 🔌 Network Interface (NIC): Let's your VM communicate

• 🛡️ Network Security Group (NSG): Acts like a firewall to filter traffic

• 📡 IP Address: Public or private network identity

💡 Tip: If you let Azure create these for you, it names them automatically. Using consistent, clear naming will save time later!

✅ Detailed VM Creation Checklist

1️⃣ Plan Your Network First 🌐

Your network design is the foundation of your VM setup. Poor planning can lead to security risks and connectivity issues.

🔗 Map communication paths

• List all servers, applications, and databases your VM must talk to.

• Plan whether these connections stay private or require public access.

🔓 Plan ports and firewall rules

• Example: Port 22 (SSH) for Linux, Port 3389 (RDP) for Windows.

• Only open what's needed for security best practices.

🗺️ Choose network ranges carefully

Use private IP ranges

• 10.0.0.0/8

• 172.16.0.0/12

• 192.168.0.0/16

• Avoid overlapping addresses to prevent future connectivity issues.

🗂️ Segment your network with subnets

Example

• 10.1.0.0 for app servers

• 10.2.0.0 for back-end services

• 10.3.0.0 for databases

• Makes scaling and troubleshooting easier.

🛡️ Apply NSGs (firewall rules)

• Block unnecessary traffic.

• Apply security policies per VM or subnet.

• NSGs are software-based firewalls, easy to manage and cost-free!

2️⃣ Pick a Clear and Consistent VM Name 🏷️

Your VM's name is more than a label:

• It becomes the computer name inside the OS.

• Azure uses it for resource naming.

• Changing it later is not easy.

📌 Naming convention example: [Environment][Region]-[Role]VM[Number] → deveus-webvm01

This means,

• dev: Development

• eus: East US region

• web: Web server

• 01: First instance

💡 Pro Tip

• Max 15 characters for Windows VMs.

• Max 64 characters for Linux VMs.

• Use meaningful, descriptive names to simplify management.

3️⃣ Choose the Right Region 🌍

Azure has data centers worldwide. Picking the correct region is crucial.

• ⚡ Performance: Keep resources close to users to reduce latency.

• 📜 Compliance: Meet legal, tax, or data storage rules.

• 💰 Cost: Pricing varies between regions. Check before deploying.

• 🔄 Availability: Some VM sizes aren't available in every region.

💡 Example: Hosting a web app for Asian users? Deploy in Southeast Asia for faster access.

4️⃣ Select the Right VM Size ⚖️

Azure provides pre-built size options that combine CPU, memory, and storage to match workloads.

VM Type	Best For
🖥️ General Purpose	Small/medium workloads, testing, dev environments
🚀 Compute Optimized	App servers, batch processing, network appliances
🧠 Memory Optimized	Large databases, analytics, in-memory caching
💽 Storage Optimized	Heavy disk I/O, big data, large databases
🎨 GPU	Graphics rendering, AI training, ML workloads
⚡ High-Performance Compute (HPC)	Supercomputing, simulations, scientific apps

💡 Scalability: You can resize VMs anytime (upgrade/downgrade), but resizing causes a reboot .

5️⃣ Plan Your Storage Strategy 💾

VM storage is separate from compute and billed independently.

🔹 Disk Types

Disk Type	Best Use Case	Max IOPS
🔥 Ultra Disk	Enterprise-grade DBs, SAP HANA, transactions	160K
⚡ Premium SSD v2	Low-latency, high-performance apps	80K
⚡ Premium SSD	Production workloads	20K
💡 Standard SSD	Web servers, dev/test	6K
💾 Standard HDD	Backups, rarely accessed data	2K

💡 Tip: Keep data disks separate from the OS disk for easy disaster recovery.

6️⃣ Choose the Right Operating System 🖥️

Azure offers

• 🔹 Windows & Linux images (ready to use).

• 🔹 Azure Marketplace images (pre-configured with apps like WordPress, MySQL).

• 🔹 Custom images (if your business has special needs). This flexibility saves hours of manual setup!

7️⃣ Understand Pricing 💰

Azure charges for compute (VM runtime) and storage separately.

🖥️ Compute Costs

⏳ Pay-as-you-go

• Flexible, billed per second.

• Best for dev, test, or short-term projects.

📅 Reserved Instances (1–3 yrs)

• Up to 72% cheaper than pay-as-you-go.

• Best for long-term workloads.

💾 Storage Costs

• Always charged separately.

• Even if your VM is stopped, storage fees remain.

💡 Cost-saving tip: Use Azure Hybrid Benefit to reuse your Windows or SQL Server licenses.

🛠️ Azure VM Resources & Billing Breakdown

Resource	Purpose	Cost Notes
🌐 Virtual Network (VNet)	Network connectivity	Billed separately
🔌 Network Interface (NIC)	Connects VM to VNet	Free (limits depend on VM size)
📡 Public/Private IP Address	External/internal communication	Charged per IP usage
🛡️ Network Security Group	Filters traffic (firewall)	Free
💽 Disks	Stores OS and data	Billed by type & size
🪟 OS License	Windows/Linux licensing	Included or discounted with Hybrid Benefit

🎯 Quick Recap

Before creating a VM

1. 🌐 Plan your network carefully, address ranges, subnets, and firewall rules.

2. 🏷️ Use clear naming conventions for easy management.

3. 🌍 Select the right Azure region for cost, speed, and compliance.

4. ⚖️ Match VM size to your workload, resize as you grow.

5. 💾 Design a storage strategy to separate data from the OS.

6. 🖥️ Pick the best OS image or custom setup.

7. 💰 Understand pricing to avoid surprises.

✅ With this roadmap, you'll confidently deploy secure, scalable, and cost-effective VMs in Azure.

🛠️ Exercise: Create a Virtual Machine (VM) in Azure Portal

💡 Scenario: You've planned your network and identified VMs to move to the cloud. Now, let's create your first Azure Virtual Machine using the Azure Portal (the easiest way to start!).

🌐 Options for Creating & Managing VMs

Azure offers multiple ways to create and manage virtual machines.

• 🖥️ Azure Portal: Beginner-friendly, web-based interface to create/manage resources.

• 💻 Command-Line Tools: Advanced users can use Azure CLI or PowerShell (Linux, macOS, or Windows).

• 🔧 Automation Scripts: For large deployments, templates like ARM or Bicep can be used.

For this exercise, we'll use the Azure Portal.

🖥️ Step-by-Step: Create an Azure VM

We'll set up a Linux (Ubuntu) VM that can run a simple web server.

🔑 1. Sign In

Log in to the Azure Portal.

📦 2. Start Creating a Resource

On the Azure homepage, under Azure Services, click Create a Resource.

In the new pane, select Virtual Machine.

🔍 Tip: You can also search for "Virtual Machine" in the search bar.

⚙️ 3. Configure VM Basics

Fill out the Basics tab.

🔹 Setting	🔹 Value to Enter
Subscription	Concierge Subscription
Resource Group	Choose your resource group
VM Name	test-ubuntu-cus-vm
Region	Select the region closest to you
Availability	No infrastructure redundancy required
Security Type	Standard
Image	Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS (Gen2)
Architecture	x64
Azure Spot Discount	Leave unchecked
Size	Standard D2s v3 (2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM)

👤 4. Set Administrator Account

🔹 Setting	🔹 Value to Enter
Authentication Type	SSH Public Key
Username	Your desired username
SSH Key	Generate new key pair

🌐 5. Configure Inbound Ports

• Public inbound ports: Allow selected ports

• Select inbound ports: SSH (22)

This allows you to connect remotely via SSH.

✅ 6. Review & Create

1. Click Review + Create.

2. Azure will validate your settings.

3. If there are errors, go back and fix them.

4. Once validation passes, click Create.

🔐 7. Download SSH Key

• A prompt will appear: Download Private Key. Click on that and download the key.

• Save the .pem key file securely; you'll use it to log in.

📡 8. Wait for Deployment

• Watch the Notifications panel (🔔 icon at the top).

When the VM is created, you'll see 'Deployment succeeded'.

🌍 9. Access the VM

Click Go to Resource.

Copy the Public IP Address from the overview page.

Use any SSH client to connect.

Ssh -i your-key.pem username@Public-IP.

🎉 Congratulations! You've successfully deployed a VM in Azure.

🧾 Key Takeaways

• 🖥️ Azure Portal makes VM creation simple and guided.

• 🔒 SSH keys are used for secure login.

• 🌍 Your VM now runs in the cloud, ready for software installations.

🖥️ Easy Guide: Ways to Create and Manage Azure Virtual Machines (VMs).

Azure offers multiple ways to create and manage Virtual Machines (VMs), depending on your needs. Whether you're new to Azure or running large-scale deployments, there's an option for you.

🌐 1. Azure Portal (Best for Beginners)

What it is: A web-based, user-friendly interface to create and manage all Azure resources.

When to use?

• ✅ Beginners learning Azure

• ✅ Small setups or one-time deployments

Key features

• Step-by-step wizards to create VMs

• Easy to configure and monitor resources

• No coding required!

📌 Example: You can spin up a Ubuntu server VM in a few clicks, configure SSH access, and view everything (IP, CPU, memory) from the dashboard.

📝 2. Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Templates

What it is: A JSON file that defines your VM setup (size, OS, network, etc.)

When to use?

✅ Need to create multiple identical VMs

✅ Automating deployments

Why is it great?

• Easy to replicate environments (Test, Dev, Production)

• Edit once, deploy many times

• Can be parameterized for different configurations

🛠️ Example: Export a running VM as a template, tweak the JSON, and redeploy it anywhere with ease.

ARM Templates

Bicep

Terraform

💻 3. Azure CLI (Command-Line Interface)

What it is: A cross-platform command-line tool for Azure.

When to use?

• ✅ Developers and sysadmins

• ✅ Automating VM creation with scripts

Why is it great?

• Works on Windows, macOS, Linux, or Cloud Shell

• Scriptable, repeatable, and fast

• Perfect for DevOps pipelines

📌 Example Command

  
    az vm create \
    --resource-group TestResourceGroup \
    --name myVM \
    --image Ubuntu2204 \
    --admin-username azureuser \
    --generate-ssh-keys
  

⚡ 4. Azure PowerShell

What it is: A command-line tool designed for automation in Azure, especially for Windows admins.

When to use?

• ✅ Automating tasks interactively

• ✅ Scripting repeated deployments

Why is it great?

• Deep integration with Windows tools

• Allows advanced scripting with cmdlets

📌 Example Command

  
    New-AzVm `-ResourceGroupName "TestResourceGroup" `
    -Name "testVM" `
    -Location "East US" `
    -Image Debian11 `
    -OpenPorts 22
  

🏗️ 5. Terraform

What it is: A popular Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tool that works with multiple cloud providers.

When to use?

• ✅ Multi-cloud setups

• ✅ DevOps teams managing infrastructure at scale

Why is it great?

• Write configurations in HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language)

• Plan and preview changes before applying

• Repeatable and version-controlled deployments

🔗 6. Azure REST API

What it is: A programmatic way to create and manage VMs via HTTP calls.

When to use?

• ✅ Complex automation workflows

• ✅ Building custom applications

Why is it great?

• Gives you complete control over every Azure resource

• Language-agnostic (works with any platform)

👨‍💻 7. Azure Client SDK

What it is: SDKs for programming languages like C#, Java, Python, and Node.js to interact with Azure easily.

When to use?

• ✅ Developers building apps that manage Azure

• ✅ Need a simpler abstraction over the REST API

📌 Example

  
    azure.VirtualMachines.Define(vmName)
    .WithRegion(Region.USEast)
    .WithExistingResourceGroup("TestRG")
    .WithLatestWindowsImage("MicrosoftWindowsServer", "WindowsServer", "2019-Datacenter")
    .WithAdminUsername("admin")
    .WithAdminPassword("StrongPass123")
    .Create();
  

🧩 8. Azure VM Extensions

What it is: Small applications/scripts to configure and manage VMs after deployment.

When to use?

• ✅ Auto-installing software

• ✅ Running scripts remotely

📌 Example: Run a custom script to set up a web server right after creating a VM.

🤖 9. Azure Automation Services

What it is: Automation tools to simplify repetitive tasks.

Services Included

• 🔍 Process Automation: Automatically respond to alerts/events.

• ⚙️ Configuration Management: Track and enforce system configurations.

• 🔄 Update Management: Schedule OS and software updates.

⏹️ 10. Auto-Shutdown (Cost Saver)

• What it is: Automatically shuts down VMs at scheduled times.

• Why it's great: Save money by ensuring idle VMs don't run overnight.

📌 Access this feature in VM > Operations > Auto-shutdown.

🏁 Quick Recap Table

Option	Skill Level	Best For	Automation Level
🌐 Azure Portal	Beginner	Simple deployments	Low
📝 ARM Templates	Intermediate	Repeatable deployments	High
💻 Azure CLI	Intermediate	Scripting & DevOps	High
⚡ PowerShell	Intermediate	Windows-heavy environments	High
🏗️ Terraform	Advanced	Multi-cloud IaC	Very High
🔗 REST API	Advanced	Full programmatic control	Very High
👨‍💻 Client SDK	Advanced	App-driven automation	Very High
🧩 VM Extensions	All Levels	Post-deployment automation	Medium
🤖 Automation Services	All Levels	Enterprise-scale automation	Very High
⏹️ Auto-Shutdown	All Levels	Cost optimization	Low

🖥️ Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) – Easy Guide to High Availability

Imagine your company runs critical medical research software, and all the data is hosted on physical servers. Those servers are aging, scattered across the globe, and hard to maintain. Instead of buying new servers, you move to Azure Virtual Machines, powerful cloud-based computers you can create and control anytime, anywhere.

Azure makes your applications scalable, secure, and always available, without requiring you to manage hardware. Let's break down how Azure ensures your VMs and apps stay online.

🔑 Key Concept: What is Availability?

Availability = The percentage of time your app or service is up and running.

• Your customers expect 100% uptime for websites, apps, and data.

• Azure keeps your services available.

✔️ Auto-moving VMs to healthy servers if one fails.

• Planned maintenance with minimal downtime.

• Multiple layers of redundancy and recovery options.

🏢 Availability Zones – Your First Safety Net

• 🔹 An Availability Zone is a separate physical data center within an Azure region.

• 🔹 Each zone has its own power, cooling, and network.

• 🔹 By hosting copies of your VMs in different zones, your apps survive even if one data center goes down.

Think of it like having multiple bank vaults in different cities—your valuables (data) are always safe.

📈 Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS)

• 🔹 Scale Sets let you automatically add or remove VMs based on demand.

• 🔹 Perfect for businesses that need fast growth and flexibility.

• 🔹 You only pay for the VMs you use.

💡 Great for e-commerce sites, apps with unpredictable traffic, or global businesses.

🌐 Load Balancer – Smooth Traffic Flow

• 🔹 Azure Load Balancer spreads incoming traffic evenly across multiple VMs.

• 🔹 Prevents server overloads and improves performance.

• 🔹 Combine with Availability Zones for top reliability.

🗄️ Azure Storage Redundancy – Multiple Data Copies

🔹 Azure keeps multiple copies of your data in case of,

• Hardware failures

• Network outages

• Natural disasters

🔹 You choose the redundancy level.

• Local Redundancy (cheaper, all data stays in one region)

• Geo-Redundancy (data copied to another region for disaster protection)

• Read-Access Geo-Redundancy (read data even if one region is down)

🔄 Failover with Azure Site Recovery

🔹 Site Recovery replicates your VMs to a secondary location.

🔹 If your main site fails, users are automatically switched to the backup site.

🔹 Benefits

• ✅ No need for a costly backup data center

• ✅ Easy disaster recovery drills (test failovers without downtime)

• ✅ Full control with automation, PowerShell, and custom scripts

🛡️ Why It Matters?

• 🔹 No hardware headaches: Azure manages the infrastructure

• 🔹 Global availability: Your apps stay online 24/7

• 🔹 Scalability: Instantly add power as your business grows

• 🔹 Security built-in: Backups, redundancy, and failovers are part of the system

📝 TL;DR

• Azure Virtual Machines give you flexible, scalable cloud servers.

• With tools like Availability Zones, Scale Sets, Load Balancers, and Site Recovery, your apps stay fast, reliable, and disaster-proof.

📌 In short: Azure makes sure your business never stops running even if a server crashes or an entire data center fails.

🔒 Back Up Your Virtual Machines with Azure Backup

Backing up your virtual machines (VMs) is like having insurance for your data. Imagine a bug wipes out company data, or your boss suddenly needs files from years ago for an audit without a proper backup plan, you'd be scrambling.

💡 Azure Backup makes this easy. It's a Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) that protects your data whether it's on-premises or in the cloud.

🗂️ What Azure Backup Can Protect?

Azure Backup works for a wide variety of scenarios.

• 📁 Files & Folders: Back up files from Windows machines (physical, virtual, or cloud).

• 🖥️ Application Snapshots: Supports Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) for full application backups.

• 🗃️ Microsoft Server Workloads: Protect SQL Server, SharePoint, Exchange, and more.

• ☁️ Azure Virtual Machines: Native support for both Windows & Linux VMs.

💻 Client Machines: Works for Windows 10 and Linux laptops/desktops.

• 🔹 Visual Concept

• 📦 Azure Backup Vault stores

• 📁 Files ➕ 📂 Folders ➕ 📨 Exchange ➕ 📊 SQL Server ➕ 🌐 SharePoint

all backed up securely from your Azure VMs.

🚀 Advantages of Azure Backup

🔑 Feature	🌟 Why It's Great
⚙️ Automatic Storage Management	No need to set up storage manually; pay only for what you use.
📈 Unlimited Scaling	Uses Azure's global infrastructure for high availability & performance.
🏠🌍 Multiple Storage Options	Choose Locally Redundant (LRS) or Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS).
🔄 Unlimited Data Transfer	No charges for inbound/outbound data transfers.
🔐 Data Encryption	Data is encrypted during transfer and at rest for maximum security.
✅ Application-Consistent Backup	Ensures you have all the necessary data for a full, working restore.
📅 Long-Term Retention	Keep backups for as long as needed; there is no time limit.

🛠️ How to Use Azure Backup?

Azure Backup uses downloadable components based on what you want to protect.

• 🔹 Azure Backup Agent: For files, folders, and system state backups.

• 🔹 System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM): For large enterprises & multiple workloads.

• 🔹 Azure Backup Server: For on-premises servers with application-level protection.

• 🔹 Azure Backup VM Extension: For VM-level backups directly in Azure.

All backups are stored in a Recovery Services Vault, which utilizes Azure Storage Blobs for cost-effective, reliable, and scalable long-term storage.

📦 Backup Workflow (Simple View)

• 1️⃣ Create a Recovery Services Vault in Azure.

• 2️⃣ Install the right Backup Component (Agent/Extension).

• 3️⃣ Select Machines & Data to back up.

• 4️⃣ Define a Backup Policy (Schedule + Retention).

• 5️⃣ Sit back—Azure handles the storage, scaling, and encryption.

Key Takeaway: Azure Backup is a flexible, cost-effective, and secure solution for protecting your company's VMs and data ,whether they're in Azure or on-premises. It eliminates manual storage headaches, scales automatically, and ensures your data is safe, recoverable, and always available.

🆚 Traditional Backup vs. Azure Backup

💾 Feature	🖥️ Traditional Backup	☁️ Azure Backup (Modern Cloud Solution)
🏗️ Infrastructure	Requires expensive physical servers and storage devices.	Fully cloud-based, no extra hardware needed.
⚙️ Setup & Management	Manual setup, complex configuration.	Automatic storage allocation & easy setup.
📦 Storage Flexibility	Limited, fixed storage capacity.	Unlimited scaling with pay-as-you-use pricing.
🌍 Data Redundancy	Usually stored at one physical location.	Locally Redundant (LRS) or Geo-Redundant (GRS) for safety.
🔄 Data Transfer Costs	Often charges for data transfer.	No charges for inbound or outbound backup data.
🔐 Security & Encryption	Requires manual encryption setup.	Built-in encryption during transfer and at rest.
⏳ Backup Retention	Limited retention periods.	Unlimited retention with long-term archiving.
🛠️ Application Support	Needs separate tools for SQL, SharePoint, etc.	Application-aware backups for SQL, SharePoint, Exchange.
🚀 Scaling	Needs hardware upgrades to scale.	Instantly scalable in the cloud.
🧾 Cost Model	Buy hardware upfront; pay for maintenance.	Pay only for what you use; no upfront costs.

🔍 Quick Takeaway

• 🔹 Traditional Backup : Expensive, complex, and hard to scale.

• 🔹 Azure Backup : Flexible, automatic, and designed for growth.