This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Ajayi Daniel
A Virtual Machine (VM) in Azure is a software-based emulation of a physical computer.
Why Use Azure VMs?
Run applications that require high computing power.
Host websites or web applications.
Development & Testing environments.
Disaster Recovery/Backup systems.
Lift-and-shift your on-premises workloads to the cloud
Components of Azure VM:
Compute (CPU & RAM) — The processing power.
Disk Storage — OS Disk, Data Disk, Temporary Disk.
Virtual Network (VNet) — Networking interface.
Public IP Address — Optional, for external communication.
Network Security Group (NSG) — Controls inbound and outbound traffic.
Azure Resource Manager (ARM) — Manages resources through templates and scripts.
Step 1 search for virtual machine and click on create with the first option
step 2 virtual machine that run with a window
Virtual Machine Name
The name you give to your virtual computer to identify it.
Example: “LogisticsVM” or “ajayiVM”.
Region (East US)
The physical location of Microsoft’s data center where your VM will run.
“East US” means your VM will be hosted in the eastern part of the USA.
Availability Options
Ensures your VM stays online even if there’s a hardware failure.
Availability Zone: Puts your VM in a specific part (zone) of the data center.
Self-selected zone: You choose which zone (e.g., Zone 1, 2, or 3).
Azure-selected zone: Azure will pick a zone for you (but not available in East US).
Availability Zone (Zone 3)
You picked Zone 3 to host your VM in that specific area of the data center for reliability.
Security Type (Standard)
The basic security setup for your VM.
Standard is suitable for most use cases.
Image (Windows 10 Pro, version 22H2 – x64 Gen1)
The operating system you want on your VM.
You chose Windows 10 Pro.
VM Architecture (x64)
The type of computer processor.
x64 is the standard for most applications (Arm64 is not supported with this image).
Azure Spot Discount
A cheaper option where Azure gives you a discount.
But Azure can stop (evict) your VM when resources are needed elsewhere.
Eviction Type (Capacity only / Price or Capacity): When to evict based on capacity or price.
Eviction Policy (Stop/Deallocate / Delete): What happens when evicted.
Size (Standard_E2s_v3 – 2 vCPUs, 16 GiB RAM)
The “strength” of your VM.
You selected a VM with 2 CPUs and 16GB RAM.
It costs $0.02476 per hour.
Maximum Price You Want to Pay ($0.126/hour)
You set a limit on the maximum price you are willing to pay per hour for this VM.
Enable Hibernation
Option to pause the VM and save its state like sleep mode.
Not available when using Spot discounts.
Administrator Account
Username and password you will use to log into the VM.
Example Username: ajayidk
Inbound Port Rules
Controls which external (internet) connections can access your VM.
None: No external access.
Allow selected ports: Open specific ports (e.g., for web access or remote desktop).
Summary in one line:
You are setting up a Windows 10 virtual computer in Azure (East US) with medium power, basic security, a set username/password, and some networking and cost-saving choices.
Step 1: Sign In & Start the VM Wizard
Go to portal.azure.com and log in.
Search for Virtual machines and click Create → Azure virtual machine.
docs.citrix.com
Step 2: Basics Tab Configuration
VM Name: Enter your chosen name, e.g. LogisticsVM.
Region: Select East US.
Availability options: Choose “Availability zone.”
Availability zones: Pick Zone 3, or you can select up to 3 zones (creates one VM per zone)
Note: Azure-selected zone assignment is not supported in East US for now.
Security type: Set to Standard.
Step 3: Choose the VM Image & Architecture
Image: Pick Windows 10 Pro, version 22H2 – x64 Gen1 (free-tier eligible).
Azure may warn that x64 is required over Arm64 since Arm64 isn’t supported for that image.
Step 4: Spot VM Settings (If using Azure Spot)
Enable Run with Azure Spot discount to save costs.
Eviction type (e.g. capacity only or price/capacity) determines when Azure can evict the VM.
Eviction policy: choose between Stop/Deallocate or Delete when evicted.
Set a Maximum price (e.g. $0.126/hour) — Azure won’t exceed this or evict if no availability.
Microsoft Learn
Step 5: Select VM Size
Choose a size like Standard_E2s_v3 (2 vCPUs, 16 GiB RAM) — displayed with hourly pricing (~$0.02476/hour).
Step 6: Administrator Account
Enter your username (e.g. ajayidk) and a strong password (minimum 12 characters with complexity).
Step 7: Inbound Port Rules
Choose Allow selected ports and select RDP (3389) — and optionally HTTP (80) if needed.
Step 8: Disks, Networking & Management
Disks: You can accept defaults (Managed Disks) or specify SSD/HDD types.
Networking: Use default virtual network, public IP, and network security group or customize as required.
Step 9: Review & Create
Click Review + create to validate your selections.
After validation, hit Create. Provisioning takes a few minutes.
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Step 10: Connect to Your VM
Once deployment completes, go to the VM’s Overview tab and click Connect → RDP.
Download the .rdp file, open it, and log in using your admin credentials.
Role 2 monitoring If your VM is slowing down, monitoring will show you if the CPU is overused or if there’s a network bottleneck, so you can fix it quickly.
ROLE 3 TAG Tags are like labels or name tags you attach to your Virtual Machine (or any Azure resource) to help you organize, categorize, and manage them easily.
ROLE 4 DEPLOYMENT CREATED
ROLE 5 Access control (IAM)
Access Control (IAM) (Identity and Access Management) is a way to control who can access your Azure Virtual Machine and what they are allowed to do.
You can allow IT Admins full control over the VM.
Give Logistics team members read-only access to monitor systems.
Restrict who can modify or delete the VM to avoid mistakes. Then you move to under ADD ROLE and search for the role you want to assign
there after you will move to member to select the members willing to add
Role 6 ADD DISK
Data Disks are extra storage drives you can attach to your VM, in addition to the main OS Disk. They are used to store files, databases, applications, and large data sets
When Should You Add Data Disks?
When your application needs more storage than the OS disk provides.
If you’re running a database (SQL, Oracle, etc.) on the VM.
When you want to separate user data, logs, or files from the system files.
If you’re handling large files (e.g., supply chain data, logistics reports).
When you want better performance by spreading data across multiple disks.
Quick Example in Logistics:
If you are using the VM to run a warehouse inventory application, you can:
Use the OS Disk for the application.
Attach Data Disks for storing inventory records, reports, and backup file
ROLE 7
CLICK ON CONNECT
Once attached, you need to prepare the disk inside the VM OS:
Connect to the VM via RDP (Remote Desktop). You will then click on RDP
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Ajayi Daniel