Virtual Machine (VM) Creation on Azure Cloud.
A step by Step Guide.
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Welcome to today's learning on the tech Merchant's Blog. Today, we delve a bit into technical learning through the creation of a resource on the cloud. This is a step further on our learning journey into the world of "cloud computing". At the moment, we would be learning with one of the world's leading cloud service providers which is "Microsoft Azure" otherwise referred to as Azure. Working on Microsoft Azure would require an account subscription and sign-up. This could be done on https://portal.azure.com/. A successful sign-in after registration on the Azure portal will look like the picture below:
After Successful sign-in, the steps below should be followed to create a Virtual Machine.
1: Look out for the Plus sign by the top left side under Azure Services and click.
2: A click on the plus sign will lead you to a page where you will see different resources that could be created. Since we intend to create a virtual machine, we click on create under the virtual machine resource that is displayed.
3: A click on "create" under the virtual machine will take you to another page where you can create a resource group under your listed Azure subscription. It is advisable to create a resource group in which the virtual machine will be located. The resource group could be created first before creating the Virtual machine and you can also create the resource group in the process of creating the virtual machine. The second option is being adopted for this learning.
4: Click on "Create new" under the resource group box to have a pop-up where you can give a name to the new resource group you want to create. For this learning, our new resource group was named "TechMerchant".
5: Scroll down the page to give a name to the virtual machine you intend to create. Our Virtual machine name for this learning is "TechMerchant-VM".
6: Select the Azure region you would love the VM to reside. It is advisable you carefully choose a region that is in the shortest proximity to your location to avoid excessive charges. For our learning, we are choosing (Europe) UK South.
7: Select your Availability options based on your needs. For this learning, the least availability option was selected which is "no infrastructure redundancy required" because we only need it for just learning purposes.
8: Select the security type based on your unique scenario or business need. For learning, we select the "standard" option which is the least security option.
9: Select the operating system you would like to have on the Virtual Machine.
10: Select the suitable memory base on your need and unique requirement and scenario.
11: Scroll down to the Administration credentials i.e. the Username and unique password. For this learning, our user name credential is "TheTechMerchant".
12: Scroll down and ensure the inbound ports is RDP (3389). RDP simply means "Remote Desktop Protocol" It is a gateway that connects your local computer to the VM on the cloud and it is a prerequisite to hosting the Windows operating system on the cloud VM. Scroll down and tick the licensing box and click "next" to access the "Disk" page.
13: You can leave this page to default or modify the configuration based on unique requirements and scenarios. Click on Next to access the "networking" page.
14: The networking page could leave at default. Click on "next" to access the management page.
15: The management page should be left by default. Click on "next" to access the "monitoring page"
16: The "monitoring" page should be left by default. click on "next" to access the advanced setting page.
17: The Advance page should be left by default. Click on "next" to tag the resources accordingly. Click on Next to tag.
18: Tag the Virtual Machine with a name and value that is suitable for you. Click "next" to review and create your VM.
19: Watch out for the message "validation Passed" to signify that the configuration so far is right then click on "create".
20: Watch out for the message "Your deployment is complete" and click on "go to resource".
21: This is the stage where you connect with your Virtual Machine. Click on "Connect".
22: At this stage, ensure your local computer is RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) enabled as it is a prerequisite to connecting local computers to the VM with the Windows operating system. Click on "Download RDP File".
23: From your download pop-up, VM/RDP to have the remote desktop connector pop up and then click "connect".
24: Input the Administrators credentials i.e. the Username and password configured in step 11.
25: Click on "Yes" on the Remote Desktop Connector pop-up.
We have successfully hosted a Virtual Machine on Microsoft Azure.
I hope you enjoyed the learning journey of creating a virtual machine on Microsoft Azure. Stay tuned for more interesting learning and discovery on cloud computing. Until our next edition of the tech merchant blog, stay motivated.
