How to Create a Virtual Machine (VM) in Microsoft Azure – Step-by-Step Guide

In this guide, you'll learn how to quickly create a Virtual Machine in Azure using the Azure Portal, configure the basic VM settings, set up networking, and understand the key options available during deployment.

Before creating a VM in Azure, make sure you have an active Azure subscription.

Step 1: Open Azure Virtual Machines

1. Sign in to the Azure Portal.
2. Click Create a Resource.
3. Search for Virtual Machines.
4. Select Virtual Machines and click Create.

This opens the VM creation wizard.

Step 2: Select Subscription and Resource Group

Choose a Subscription

Select the Azure subscription you want to use for billing and resource management.

Create or Select a Resource Group

A Resource Group is a logical container that holds related Azure resources such as:

• Virtual Machines
• Virtual Networks
• Storage resources
• Network Security Groups

Resources inside the same resource group typically share lifecycle management, permissions, and policies.

You can create a new resource group or use an existing one.

Step 3: Configure the Virtual Machine

Enter the VM Name

Provide a unique and descriptive name for your virtual machine.

Choose the Region

Choose the Azure region closest to your users or business requirements. Selecting the correct region can help improve performance and reduce latency.

Configure Availability Options

Azure provides availability options for higher reliability. You can select an Availability Zone if your deployment requires zone-level redundancy.

Important note: If you select multiple availability zones, Azure creates one VM per selected zone. For example, selecting three zones results in three separate VMs being deployed.

This setup improves high availability and helps protect workloads from zone-level failures.

Choose Security Type and Operating System Image

Select the security type and operating system image you want to install on the VM.

Choose VM Size and Administrator Credentials

Choose a VM size based on your workload requirements and create administrator login credentials for the VM.

Step 4: Configure Inbound Ports

Azure allows you to specify which ports should be accessible from the internet.

For Linux VMs, you may need SSH access on port 22. For Windows VMs, you may need RDP access on port 3389.

For better security, only open the ports you actually need and restrict access to trusted IP addresses whenever possible.

Step 5: Configure Disks

Choose the disk type for your VM.

Common disk options include:

• Standard HDD
• Standard SSD
• Premium SSD

Premium SSDs provide better performance and are commonly used for production workloads.

Azure also provides an option to automatically delete the disk when the VM is deleted. Disable this option if you want to preserve the disk and its data after deleting the VM.

Step 6: Configure Networking

During deployment, Azure can automatically create supporting networking resources such as:

• Virtual Networks
• Subnets
• Public IP addresses
• Network Security Groups

These resources can exist within the same resource group as the VM.

Step 7: Review Optional Settings

Azure provides additional settings for:

• Monitoring
• Backup
• Management
• Tags

You can review and customize these settings based on your environment requirements.

Step 8: Review and Create the VM

Review all configurations and check the estimated hourly pricing.

Once validation passes, click Create.

Azure will begin provisioning the virtual machine.

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