Learn how to deploy virtual machines using Quickstart templates, efficiently monitor workloads, and optimize costs on Azure.

Pelumi — Thu, 23 May 2024 17:46:57 +0000

Quickstart templates are pre-defined configurations and built-in services used to rapidly deploy resources on the cloud. They are valuable for ensuring consistent deployment, enabling you to repeatedly achieve the same resource type in the same state. Additionally, they allow you to deploy quickly using just one command.
This article will show you how to deploy a virtual machine using a quickstart template on Azure, monitor your resources remotely using the Azure mobile app, and deallocate your unused resources to save costs on Azure.

Here are the steps for deploying a virtual machine using a quickstart template on Azure.
Step 1: In the Azure portal search bar, enter "custom template" and select "Deploy custom template", as shown in the image below.

Step 2: On the next page, we will be setting up a Windows virtual machine, so select "Create a Windows virtual machine."

Step 3: You will be directed to a page where you can edit the project details. Allocate a resource group name, which is similar to a folder used for organizing and managing your resources. Also, create a username and password for your virtual machine.

Step 4: After correctly inputting all the details, click "Review and Create."

Step 5: The next page will allow you to review all the attributes of the virtual machine you are about to deploy. Once you have reviewed and are satisfied with them, click on "create."

Step 6: On the following page, you will see a message indicating that the deployment is in progress. You just need to wait until your virtual machine is successfully deployed.

How to remotely monitor your resources using the Azure mobile application

Now that you have learned how to quickly deploy a virtual machine using quickstart templates found on Azure, the next step is to learn how to monitor your workload using the Azure mobile app. This is useful for giving adequate attention to your resources on Azure in case anything unexpected happens.

Step 7: Once the deployment is complete, click on "Go to the resource group," which is where all your resources are stored and managed.

Step 8: In the list of resources available in the resource group, scroll down to the virtual machine you recently deployed and click on it.

Step 9: On the new page, you'll find information about the virtual machine you just deployed. Navigate to the upper-right section and click "Open in mobile tab." Then, choose to download from Google Play or the App Store, depending on your mobile phone type.

Step 10: The image below shows how the download page appears on the Google Play Store. Proceed to install.

How to optimize cost management by deallocating unused virtual machines

Cloud computing offers scalability, allowing for quick adjustments to computing resource demands to meet user or business needs. In modern business, there is a shift from capital expenditure to operational expenditure; therefore, all unnecessary costs are removed.
Here in this section, you will be shown how to remove the virtual machine that was deployed if it is no longer in use. This is to prevent it from incurring per hour charges over time.

Step 11: On the Azure dashboard, search for "virtual machines" and click on it.

Step 12: The next page shows the list of virtual machines that have been created and are running. Here, I can see the virtual machine I recently deployed. Please make sure to click on the virtual machine you are interested in.

Step 13: You will be directed to a page where you can view the details of the virtual machine. Ensure to click on "Stop" and confirm the action by clicking "Yes" in the pop-up window.

Step 14: The next important step is to disassociate the public IP address from the virtual machine. This is to ensure that there are no ongoing costs associated with its use. To begin this process, search for "public IP address" to list all current public addresses still in use on the account.

Step 15: Click on the current public IP address associated with the recently deployed virtual machine.

Step 16: On the next page, which shows information about the public IP address, click on "Disassociate" at the top and confirm by clicking "Yes" on the pop-up window.

You have now successfully stopped your unused virtual machine or resources, preventing any further costs from being incurred.

This article shows how to quickly deploy virtual machines using quickstart templates, monitor resources with your mobile phone from anywhere, and stop unused virtual machines to avoid incurring extra costs. As modern technology continues to evolve, businesses, individuals, and government agencies need to adopt efficient practices for managing compute resources, both in the cloud and on-premises, in order to maximize the value of their cloud spending, regardless of the use case scenario.

Creating My First Virtual Machine on Microsoft Azure

Pelumi — Fri, 03 May 2024 11:02:17 +0000

Hello, I'd like to share with you how I created my first virtual machine on Microsoft Azure. To start, let me briefly explain what virtual machines are. Essentially, virtual machines serve as operating systems or software that mimic physical machines. They make it easier to provision applications, hardware, software, data, and computing power, which is essential for achieving scalability, flexibility, and cost optimization in modern business and computing environments.
Below is my simple step-by-step process for launching a Windows machine in Azure.

On the Microsoft Azure dashboard, you can create new resources by clicking on the section highlighted with a red square.

This image displays the variety of resources that can be launched. Click on the Azure virtual machine to initiate the deployment process.

You will be directed to a section where you can customize the virtual machine according to your requirements and assign it a suitable name.

Be sure to specify a region for your resource. An Azure region includes several data centres in one geographic area.

Choose suitable availability zones, which are isolated data centres with independent cooling, power, security, and network resources.

For the virtual machine, select a machine image and choose an operating system. I chose the free tier Windows 11 OS.

Create a secure username and password to access your virtual machine.

To initiate the launch, click on the "Review and Create" tab and then click on the Create button below.

Please wait until the deployment is complete. Afterwards, click "Go to Resource."

Click where you see the virtual machine's public IP address to modify its Idle timeout.

Please set the idle timeout to 15 minutes and navigate back to the previous page.

To configure features for your virtual machine on Azure, please click on the "connect" button.

To start the configuration process, please click on the 'Select' button.

Please wait until the configuration process is complete. Once the process is done, you will see a message that says "configured".

Click the 'Download RDP file' button after completing the configuration.

After downloading the RDP file, simply click on it to start the installation process. Follow the instructions provided to log in using the username and password you previously provided. Once the process is complete, you will have access to your newly created virtual machine. Below, you can find a screenshot of my virtual machine for reference.

Hopefully, you will be able to follow these easy steps to create your virtual machine after reading this article.

DEV Community: Pelumi

Learn how to deploy virtual machines using Quickstart templates, efficiently monitor workloads, and optimize costs on Azure.

Creating My First Virtual Machine on Microsoft Azure