The abc steps of creating a Virtual Machine in Azure
Tags: hagitalcloud
Published: 2023-08-08 15:28:56

What is virtual machine in simple words?
A virtual machine is a virtualized instance of a computer that can perform almost all of the same functions as a computer, including running applications and operating systems. It is a compute resource that uses software instead of a physical computer to run programs and deploy apps.
To create a virtual machine in Azure you need to have access. There are different types of access in Azure which include but not limited to the free subscription, student subscription and the pay-as-you go. To keep things simple, we will use the free subscription.
Once your registration for the free subscription is done, log into the portal (azure.portal.com). You can navigate to different resources, but for the purposes of this blog, we will be highlighting the basic steps required to create a virtual machine.

##STEPS TO CREATE A VIRTUAL MACHINE
1. On the search bar of azure portal, type virtual and select the virtual machine option
2. Click on create. Several tabs will be displayed starting with Basic tab. 

##A. BASIC TAB
### Project Details
Under project details, provide a subscription and a resource group name.   
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/jrcqntt98smeek674d6c.png)
Your subscription is what gives you the right or access to make use of azure resources while your resource group is like a container or folder that houses your resources.
###Instance Details
- Give the virtual machine a name to make it unique. 
- Choose a region where your machine will be hosted in the cloud
- Under Availability options, choose 'No infrastructure redundancy 
  required
- Security type: select Trusted launch virtual machine
- For image, select the windows 10 pro from the drop down menu. 
  Note that Image simply means the operating system you want the 
  virtual machine to operate with.
- VM Architecture: select x64
- Size: select the default size shown
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/af1p6x06vtk3tnyotxqg.jpg)

###Administrator Account
For Administrative account, you must provide a username and a password. Make sure you have your username and password saved somewhere as you will need it later to access the virtual machine
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/4wy299t3h2v5fllo0bhu.jpg)
### Inbound Port rules
For the inbound port rules, do not change anything. leave it as default.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/61i7h72i94fqf7gg7pzx.jpg)
### Licensing
Tick the check box to to confirm you have an eligible windows 10/11 license

##B. DISK TAB
###  OS Disk 
- OS disk type: select standard SSD. this has a lower cost compared with the premium option. 
- All other options should be left as default.

For the other tabs (Networking tab to Tag tab), leave everything as default, then click on the review and create tab. The system will run a validation to make sure there are no errors.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ovvacgc5l351mc6hixpe.jpg)
Click on create at the bottom left corner of the screen to deploy the resource. The status of the deployment can be viewed by clicking the notification bell icon.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bj6fb1326xd8jqdrqw8i.jpg)
When deployment is completed, click on 'Go to resource' to set up the virtual Machine.


##HOW TO ACCESS THE VIRTUAL MACHINE
- Click on the connect icon, a window opens showing native RDP.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/qmloe11urrq7jjxh3ktd.jpg) 
- Click on select; another window will open.
- Select ‘download RDP file’ and open it, then click connect.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/nrpn3pqzydllh8w8vgq4.jpg) 
  Another dialog box opens requesting for username and password 
  (i.e the username and password you used to create the 
  Administrator Account). Provide them and click ok. 
- Another box opens click yes. 
The virtual machine becomes active. You have successfully logged into your Virtual Machine and can do your work normally

NOTE: The longer your resources are in azure, the more you will be charged. Therefore, it is always advisable to delete the resource created from the resource group to avoid incurring extra charges.