In this comprehensive guide, I will walk you through everything you need to know about Azure VMs. We’ll cover the core concepts, deep-dive into the technical configurations, and I’ll lead you through a step-by-step tutorial on how to deploy your first instance.
Table of Contents
- Azure Virtual Machine Tutorial
- What is an Azure Virtual Machine?
- Why Choose Azure VMs in 2026?
- Different Types of Azure Virtual Machines
- Key Concepts to Master Before You Deploy
- Step-by-Step Tutorial: Deploying Your First Azure VM
- Post-Deployment: Connecting and Managing
- Advanced Management: Automation and Security
- Best Practices for Cost Optimization
- FAQs
- Does Azure charge for stopped VM
- For how long you can reserve Azure VM
- Which Azure service is used to create VM instances?
- How to rename Azure VM
- What operating systems does Microsoft supply Azure virtual machine images for?
- How many disks can I attach to an Azure VM
- Which virtual machine or virtual machines can use file-level restore?
- Where can the settings for the shielding option on a virtual machine be configured?
- What is the process in which the Python virtual machine recycles its storage known as?
- Where must virtualization be enabled for VM (virtual machine) software to work?
- Which hyper-v feature allows you to install a virtual machine within another virtual machine?
- What component within a CD workflow creates a new virtual machine or container to host the web app?
- Which of the following tools can be used for virtual machine sprawl avoidance?
- What is one benefit of using a virtual machine vs a physical one?
- What additional resource is required by an Azure virtual machine
- What is the highest frequency that you can use to back up Azure VM
- What type of IP address is assigned to a VM in Windows Azure by default
Azure Virtual Machine Tutorial
What is an Azure Virtual Machine?
Technically, an Azure VM is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering that provides on-demand, scalable computing resources.
Unlike physical hardware that requires space, power, and maintenance in a local office, Azure VMs run on Microsoft’s global hardware. You get to choose the operating system (Windows or Linux), the processing power, the memory, and the storage. You own the OS and the software, while Microsoft handles the physical “metal” underneath.
Why Choose Azure VMs in 2026?
As we move further into 2026, the cloud landscape has evolved. We aren’t just “moving to the cloud” anymore; we are optimizing for it.
- Total Control: You have administrative access to the OS. If you need to install custom drivers or specific legacy software that won’t run in a container, a VM is your only choice.
- Scale: I can go from a single 1-core machine for testing to a 416-core beast for high-performance computing (HPC) with a few clicks.
- Hybrid Integration: With tools like Azure Arc, I can manage my VMs in the East US region alongside my on-premises servers in my Chicago data center through a single pane of glass.
Different Types of Azure Virtual Machines
Here are the different types of Azure Virtual Machines:
Compute-Optimized
This type of VM has a high memory-to-CPU ratio. It is great for medium-traffic web servers, application servers, and network equipment.
General Purpose
General purpose boasts a balanced memory-to-CPU ratio. It is mostly suitable for the deployment of databases for small or medium-sized organizations.
Storage-Optimized
This VM possesses high IO and disk throughput, which is excellent for NoSQL databases, Big Data, SQL, big transactional databases, and data warehousing.
Memory-Optimized
This type of VM leans towards a high memory-to-CPU ratio. It is ideal for medium-to-large caches, memory analytics, and relational database servers.
High-Performance Compute
These VMs are the most powerful and the fastest VMs that are equipped with RDMA (high-throughput network interfaces).
GPU
It is a specialized VM type that targets video editing and heavy graphics rendering. It can also be used for differencing with deep learning and modern training. Users can either have multiple GPUs or a single GPU.
Workloads
In cloud computing, the workload is the amount of processing time a computer gives to complete a certain task. The workload has application programs being processed on the computers. Some users also connect to and interact with the computer’s applications. The workload in the Azure Virtual Machine is divided into two categories.
Unsuitable Workloads
The services or applications not suitable for Azure VM workload IaaS are:
- Controlled environment workloads that are unable to move to the cloud due to the rules
- Small businesses that can run the service at a lower cost compared to using the cloud
Suitable Workloads
The services and applications suitable for Azure VM workloads are:
- Workloads such as online commercial stores
- Businesses with an unpredictable growth rate, such as a short-term increase in sales and development in the organization
- Workloads for retail sales during festival holidays
Key Concepts to Master Before You Deploy
1. VM Sizes and Families
Azure categorizes VMs into “families” based on their hardware optimization. Choosing the right one is the most important decision you’ll make.
| Family | Series | Best For… |
| General Purpose | D-Series, B-Series | Web servers, small databases, development/test environments. |
| Compute Optimized | F-Series | Batch processing, web servers with high traffic, analytics. |
| Memory Optimized | E-Series, M-Series | In-memory caches (Redis), large relational databases (SQL Server). |
| Storage Optimized | L-Series | NoSQL databases (Cassandra, MongoDB), data warehousing. |
| GPU Optimized | N-Series | Video editing, AI/Machine Learning training, 3D rendering. |
2. Azure Regions
Azure has data centers all over the world. For my users in the USA, I typically recommend choosing regions like East US, West US 2, or Central US to minimize latency.
3. Networking (VNets and Subnets)
Your VM needs a home. A Virtual Network (VNet) is your private network in the cloud. I always suggest segmenting your network into subnets (e.g., a “Web” subnet and a “Database” subnet) to improve security.
4. Storage Disks
You aren’t just picking “a hard drive.” You have options:
- Standard HDD: Good for backups and infrequent access.
- Standard SSD: A solid balance for web servers.
- Premium SSD: My default recommendation for production workloads.
- Ultra Disk: For the most demanding IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) requirements.
Step-by-Step Tutorial: Deploying Your First Azure VM
Now, let’s get our hands dirty. In this tutorial, I’m going to walk you through the process of creating a Windows Server 2022 VM in the East US region. I’ll assume you already have an Azure account. If not, Microsoft offers a free trial that includes $200 in credits.
Step 1: Initialize the Process
Log into the Azure Portal (https://www.google.com/search?q=portal.azure.com). In the search bar at the top, type “Virtual Machines” and select it. Click on + Create and then select Azure virtual machine.
Step 2: Configure the Basics
This is the “Project Details” section.
- Subscription: Choose your active subscription (e.g., “Pay-As-You-Go”).
- Resource Group: I like to keep things organized. Click “Create new” and name it something like
RG-Tutorial-USA. - Virtual Machine Name: Let’s name this
WebSrv-NYC-01. - Region: Select
(US) East US. - Availability Options: For this tutorial, select “No infrastructure redundancy required.” However, for production, I always use Availability Zones to ensure 99.99% uptime.
- Image: Select
Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition.
Step 3: Select Your Size
Click “See all sizes.” For a basic tutorial, the Standard_D2s_v5 (2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM) is a fantastic, balanced choice. It’s powerful enough to handle most tasks without breaking the bank.
Step 4: Administrator Account
This is where you set your login credentials.
- Username: Avoid generic names like “admin.” Let’s use
CloudArchJohn. - Password: Use a complex password. Azure requires at least 12 characters.
Step 5: Inbound Port Rules
Since we want to connect to this machine later, we need to open a “door.”
- Public inbound ports: Select “Allow selected ports.”
- Select inbound ports: Choose RDP (3389).
Expert Tip: In a real-world scenario, I would never leave RDP open to the entire internet. I would use Azure Bastion for a secure, browser-based connection. But for this tutorial, we’ll stick to basic RDP.
Step 6: Disks and Networking
You can usually leave the Disks tab as default (Premium SSD).
In the Networking tab, Azure will automatically create a new Virtual Network and a Public IP for you. This is perfect for our purposes. Ensure the “NIC network security group” is set to Basic.
Step 7: Review and Create
Click the Review + create button. Azure will run a validation test to make sure your settings are compatible. Once you see “Validation passed,” hit Create.
It usually takes about 2 to 4 minutes for the deployment to finish. You can track the progress in the “Notifications” (bell icon) at the top right.
Check out the complete steps with screenshots on How to Create Azure VM (Virtual Machine).
Post-Deployment: Connecting and Managing
Congratulations! Your server is now running in a data center somewhere on the East Coast. But a server is useless if you can’t talk to it.
Connecting via RDP
Once the deployment is complete, click Go to resource. In the Overview blade, you will see a Public IP address.
- Open the “Remote Desktop Connection” app on your local Windows PC.
- Enter the Public IP of your VM.
- When prompted, enter the username (
CloudArchJohn) and the password you created. - Click “Yes” on the certificate warning.
You are now looking at a Windows Server desktop running in the cloud!
Monitoring Your VM
I can’t stress this enough: Monitor your resources. In the Azure Portal, under the “Monitoring” section of your VM, look at the Metrics tab. I regularly check CPU Percentage and Disk Read/Write operations. If my CPU is constantly at 90%, I know it’s time to “Scale Up” to a larger VM size.
Advanced Management: Automation and Security
As you grow more comfortable with Azure, you’ll want to move beyond the manual portal clicks.
1. Auto-Shutdown
One of the easiest ways to save money is the Auto-shutdown feature. If this is a development machine, I set it to shut down every night at 7:00 PM EST. You only pay for the storage while the machine is off—not the compute.
2. Network Security Groups (NSGs)
Think of an NSG as a firewall. It contains rules that allow or deny traffic. If I want to host a website on this VM, I would need to add an “Inbound Security Rule” to allow traffic on port 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS).
3. Azure Backup
Data loss is a nightmare. I always enable Azure Backup for production VMs. It takes a “snapshot” of your entire disk, allowing you to restore the VM to a previous state if a software update goes wrong or a file is accidentally deleted.
Best Practices for Cost Optimization
Cloud costs can spiral out of control if you aren’t careful.
- Reserved Instances: If you know you need a VM for at least a year, buy a 1-year or 3-year reservation. This can save you up to 72% compared to pay-as-you-go pricing.
- Azure Hybrid Benefit: If you already own Windows Server licenses for your on-premises servers, you can “reuse” them in Azure to lower your hourly rate.
- Spot Instances: For workloads that can be interrupted (like data processing or testing), use Spot VMs. They use Azure’s unused capacity at a massive discount, but Microsoft can “evict” them if they need the capacity back.
Conclusion:
Azure Virtual Machines are versatile, powerful, and essential for any IT professional. We’ve covered everything from choosing the right VM family to deploying a Windows Server and securing it with best practices.
The best way to learn is by doing. I encourage you to log into the portal and try building a machine yourself. Experiment with different regions, try a Linux image (like Ubuntu), and see how the networking rules affect your connectivity.
FAQs
Does Azure charge for stopped VM
Answer: Yes, and the price depends on the state of the VM. If the state is Stopped (Deallocated), you still need to pay for storage; if the state is Stopped (Allocated), you must pay for the compute resources.
For how long you can reserve Azure VM
Answer: one year or three years.
Which Azure service is used to create VM instances?
Answer: You can use Azure Portal, Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell.
How to rename Azure VM
Answer: It is impossible to rename a Virtual Machine. You need to redeploy the virtual machine in order to rename it.
What operating systems does Microsoft supply Azure virtual machine images for?
Answer: Windows and Linux.
How many disks can I attach to an Azure VM
Answer: Up to 64 disks.
Which virtual machine or virtual machines can use file-level restore?
Answer: Azure VMsor Azure Virtual Machines
Where can the settings for the shielding option on a virtual machine be configured?
Answer: Under Settings –> Hardwire section
What is the process in which the Python virtual machine recycles its storage known as?
Answer: Garbage Collection
Where must virtualization be enabled for VM (virtual machine) software to work?
Answer: In the host system BIOS
Which hyper-v feature allows you to install a virtual machine within another virtual machine?
Answer: Nested virtualization
What component within a CD workflow creates a new virtual machine or container to host the web app?
Answer: Orchestration server
Which of the following tools can be used for virtual machine sprawl avoidance?
Answer: Virtual Machine Manager
What is one benefit of using a virtual machine vs a physical one?
Answers
- Multiple users can use one virtual machine
- It is very simple to change the virtual hardware resource allocation
What additional resource is required by an Azure virtual machine
Answer: Virtual network gateway
What is the highest frequency that you can use to back up Azure VM
Answer: Every 1 hour.
What type of IP address is assigned to a VM in Windows Azure by default
Answer: Dynamic IP address
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- Azure virtual machine auto-shutdown
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- How To Create Azure Windows Virtual Machine From A Snapshot PowerShell
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I am Rajkishore, and I am a Microsoft Certified IT Consultant. I have over 14 years of experience in Microsoft Azure and AWS, with good experience in Azure Functions, Storage, Virtual Machines, Logic Apps, PowerShell Commands, CLI Commands, Machine Learning, AI, Azure Cognitive Services, DevOps, etc. Not only that, I do have good real-time experience in designing and developing cloud-native data integrations on Azure or AWS, etc. I hope you will learn from these practical Azure tutorials. Read more.
