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Create a Windows virtual machine in the Azure portal.

Written by Adi | Jan 17, 2022 3:01:08 AM

Azure virtual machines (VMs) can be created through the Azure portal. This method provides a browser-based user interface to create VMs and their associated resources. This QuickStart shows you how to use the Azure portal to deploy a virtual machine (VM) in Azure that runs Windows Server 2019. To see your VM in action, you then RDP to the VM and install the IIS web server. 

If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin. 

Sign in to Azure 

Sign in to the Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com. 

Create virtual machine 

  1. Type virtual machines in the search. 
  2. Under Services, select Virtual machines. 
  3. In the Virtual machines page, select Create then Virtual machine. 
  4. In the Basics tab, under Project details, make sure the correct subscription is selected and then choose to Create new resource group. Type myResourceGroup for the name.
  5. Under Instance details, type myVM for the Virtual machine name and choose East US for your Region. Choose Windows Server 2019 Datacenter for the Image and Standard_DS1_v2 for the Size. Leave the other defaults.
  6. Under Administrator account, provide a username, such as azureuser and a password. The password must be at least 12 characters long and meet the defined complexity requirements.
  7. Under Inbound port rules, choose Allow selected ports and then select RDP (3389) and HTTP (80) from the drop-down.
  8. Leave the remaining defaults and then select the Review + create button at the bottom of the page.
  9. After validation runs, select the Create button at the bottom of the page. 
  10. After deployment is complete, select Go to resource.
     

Connect to virtual machine 

Create a remote desktop connection to the virtual machine. These directions tell you how to connect to your VM from a Windows computer. On a Mac, you need an RDP client such as this Remote Desktop Client from the Mac App Store. 

  1. On the overview page for your virtual machine, select the Connect button then select RDP.
  2. In the Connect with RDP page, keep the default options to connect by IP address, over port 3389, and click Download RDP file.
  3. Open the downloaded RDP file and click Connect when prompted. 
  4. In the Windows Security window, select More choices and then Use a different account. Type the username as localhost\username, enter the password you created for the virtual machine, and then click OK. 
  5. You may receive a certificate warning during the sign-in process. Click Yes or Continue to create the connection. 

Install web server 

To see your VM in action, install the IIS web server. Open a PowerShell prompt on the VM and run the following command: 

PowerShellCopy 

Install-WindowsFeature -name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools 

When done, close the RDP connection to the VM. 

View the IIS welcome page 

In the portal, select the VM and in the overview of the VM, hover over the IP address to show Copy to clipboard. Copy the IP address and paste it into a browser tab. The default IIS welcome page will open, and should look like this: 

 
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