Creating My First Virtual Machine on Microsoft Azure
Tags: azure, devops, cloud, aws
Published: 2024-05-03 11:02:17


Hello, I'd like to share with you how I created my first virtual machine on Microsoft Azure. To start, let me briefly explain what virtual machines are. Essentially, virtual machines serve as operating systems or software that mimic physical machines. They make it easier to provision applications, hardware, software, data, and computing power, which is essential for achieving scalability, flexibility, and cost optimization in modern business and computing environments.
**Below is my simple step-by-step process for launching a Windows machine in Azure.**
 
On the Microsoft Azure dashboard, you can create new resources by clicking on the section highlighted with a red square.
![Azure dashboard](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1hc50min798y0oqdmfcn.png)
 
This image displays the variety of resources that can be launched. Click on the Azure virtual machine to initiate the deployment process. 
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/dx151wesiztk5odifozi.png)

You will be directed to a section where you can customize the virtual machine according to your requirements and assign it a suitable name. 
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/t7apewgckl5ch7eqpszp.png)

Be sure to specify a region for your resource. An Azure region includes several data centres in one geographic area.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/qbn83gcmujxndcczf618.png)

Choose suitable availability zones, which are isolated data centres with independent cooling, power, security, and network resources. 
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/v3ga609wm9crtmk9abss.png)

For the virtual machine, select a machine image and choose an operating system. I chose the free tier Windows 11 OS.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/gta3z2uaz9bq307wronq.png)

Create a secure username and password to access your virtual machine.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/oq7vouovi5qcaa2esack.png)

To initiate the launch, click on the "Review and Create" tab and then click on the Create button below.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3xsjzuivlcawuybqez74.png)

Please wait until the deployment is complete. Afterwards, click "Go to Resource."
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/083zhd15n6qai2sjj5op.png)

Click where you see the virtual machine's public IP address to modify its Idle timeout.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/sw3ixahcewwklx7e2i5c.png)

Please set the idle timeout to 15 minutes and navigate back to the previous page.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rwbhii773m2qg60ine99.png)

To configure features for your virtual machine on Azure, please click on the "connect" button.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/nhulpytop98e8ono5i7k.png)

To start the configuration process, please click on the 'Select' button.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/tko1eix5hnhgirpmrt58.png)

Please wait until the configuration process is complete. Once the process is done, you will see a message that says "configured".
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/cuu7y59w0w2o96olo1jz.png)

Click the 'Download RDP file' button after completing the configuration.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/6zvurshfrxxqnk6c1t9s.png)

After downloading the RDP file, simply click on it to start the installation process. Follow the instructions provided to log in using the username and password you previously provided. Once the process is complete, you will have access to your newly created virtual machine. Below, you can find a screenshot of my virtual machine for reference.
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/8wv85iojoc78dgr8xzkm.png)

Hopefully, you will be able to follow these easy steps to create your virtual machine after reading this article.