Azure Virtual Machines (VMs): A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) 🖥

It works just like a physical computer but runs in the cloud.You can install an OS (Windows/Linux), apps, and run workloads and offering flexibility and scalability.

Key Components of Azure VMs 📈

1. VM Size 📊: Defines CPU, memory, storage, and network capabilities.
2. Operating System 🛠: Choose Windows or Linux OS images.
3. Virtual Hard Disks (VHDs) 💾: Storage for VM OS and data disks.
4. Network Interfaces 🌐: Connect VMs to virtual networks (VNets).
5. Security 🔒: Managed via NSGs, Azure Firewall, and encryption.
6. Availability Options 📈: Availability Sets and Zones for high availability.

Important Aspects 📚

1. VM Types: General purpose, Compute-optimized, Memory-optimized.
2. Storage Options: OS disk, data disks, managed/unmanaged disks.
3. Networking: VNets, subnets, public IPs, NSGs.
4. Scaling: Scale up/down VM sizes or use VM Scale Sets.
5. Backup and Recovery: Azure Backup for VM protection.

Key Features 🌟

1. Flexibility: Choose OS, size, and configurations.
2. Scalability: Adjust resources as needed.
3. Security: Protect VMs with Azure security tools.
4. Integration: Integrate with Azure services like storage, networks.

Azure Virtual Machines provide on-demand, scalable, and cost-efficient compute power in the cloud.

They enable businesses to run applications, host workloads, test environments, and extend on-premises infrastructure without the need to invest in physical hardware.

With flexibility in operating systems, sizes, and configurations, Azure VMs are a core building block of Microsoft’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings.