Azure QuickStart templates serve as a foundation for installing particular solutions or applications on Azure. They are pre-configured Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates. These templates offer a pre-defined configuration that can be quickly customised to match unique needs, saving time and making the deployment process simpler.
QuickStart templates can be used for web applications, databases, virtual machines, networking configurations, IoT and more solutions in Microsoft Azure.
For today, we will be using a QuickStart template to create a Windows VM.
PREREQUISITE
- Working computer
- Internet connection
- Microsoft Azure account + active subscription
PROCEDURE
LOCATE THE CUSTOM DEPLOYMENT SERVICE
Open the Azure portal and type “QuickStart template” in the search bar at the top. Click on “Deploy a custom template” as seen in the image below.
SPECIFYING VM BASIC DETAILS
On the Custom deployment webpage that loads, select a template as shown in the image below.
Enter basic VM details like resource group, region, admin username and password in the “Basic” section. Leave all other parameters as default. Move to the “Review + create” section by clicking on the button that says “Review + create”.
Wait for final validation. After successful validation, scroll downwards and click on the “Create” button. There will be a pop-up at the top right showing the status of the deployment.
You will be directed to a “Microsoft.Template” page which goes through several phases that you might need to be patient for.
Click on “Go to resource group”.
CONNECT TO THE VM RESOURCE
On the resource group page, you can view the list of deployed resources in your resource group.
Search for the virtual machine resource in the list and click on it to view.
On the VM resource page, click on “Connect”.
After the Connect page loads, click on “Select”. You should notice a pop-up on the right hand side of the screen.
Wait for the box beneath “Public IP address XXX.XX.XXX.XXX” to transition from “Validating” to “Configured”. Then download the RDP file-this will be used to load the Windows VM.
Load the downloaded file and click on “Connect” on the window that pops up.
Input your password in the next window and affirm on the next couple of windows.
At this point, a VM should be running on your computer.
We will be going further by installing a Web server role on this VM using PowerShell.
In the VM, click on the Start Menu icon and search for “Windows PowerShell”.
Input this command Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools in the PowerShell environment. You should get results as shown in the image below.
To test this, head back to the “Connect” page of the VM on Azure portal and copy the “Public IP address” as it will come in handy soon.
Navigate to the network settings of the VM as shown.
On the loaded page, create an inbound port rule using a destination port range of “80” (as we will be trying to connect to a HTTP protocol). Click on “Add”.
Open a blank browser window and input the “Public IP address” that was copied earlier. Then, search.
You should have a Windows Server IIS page loaded as shown below.
Quick and easy, isn't it??
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