Introduction
Creating a Windows 10 Virtual Machine (VM) in Microsoft Azure allows you to experience a modern desktop environment in the cloud. This is ideal for developers, testers, and IT professionals who need a secure, scalable, and easily accessible Windows environment without installing it locally. In this lab, you’ll learn how to create a Windows 10 VM, connect to it using Remote Desktop, and install IIS to host a simple web page.
Key Terms
Virtual Machine (VM): A software-based computer that runs an operating system and applications like a physical computer, but is hosted on a cloud or virtualization platform.
Azure: Microsoft’s cloud computing platform offering services like virtual machines, storage, networking, and more.
RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol): A protocol that allows you to connect and control a remote computer over a network.
IIS (Internet Information Services): A web server developed by Microsoft for hosting websites and web applications.
Availability Zone: A physically separate location within an Azure region that provides high availability and fault tolerance.
Create virtual machine
1.Navigate to https://portal.azure.com.- Sign in with your Azure account credentials.
Enter virtual machines in the search box.
2.Under Services, select Virtual machines.
3.In the Basics tab, under Project details, make sure the correct subscription is selected and then choose or Create new resource group. Mine is winserver10rg.
4.Under Instance details, enter winserver10Vm for the Virtual machine name, and choose choose Windows 10 Enterprise, version 22H2 - x64 Gen2 for the Image. The default size and pricing is only shown as an example. Size availability and pricing are dependent on your region and subscription.
5.Under Administrator account, select password.
6.In Username enter azureuser.
7.Enter password and confirm password.
8.Under Inbound port rules > Public inbound ports, choose Allow selected ports and then select HTTP (80) and RFDP(3389) from the drop-down.
9.Navigate to Monitoring tab > Diagnostics > select Disable.
Navigate to Tags tab. Create Tag (Name **and **value). Then select the Review + create button at the bottom of the page
10.On the Create a virtual machine page, you can see the details about the VM you are about to create. When you are ready, select Create.
11.When the deployment is finished, select Go to resource
12.On the page for your new VM, select the public IP address and copy it to your clipboard.
13.Increase the Idle timeout (minutes) to 30.
End of step 1
Step 2: RDP into the VM
Once the VM is deployed, follow these steps to connect:
🔹 On Windows:
- Open Remote Desktop Connection (RDP)
- Enter the public IP address of the VM
- Click Connect
- Enter your Admin username & password
- Click OK
🔹 On macOS/Linux:
Use an RDP client like Microsoft Remote Desktop.
Step 3: Open PowerShell as Administrator
Once connected to the VM, open PowerShell:
Click the Start menu
- Type PowerShell
- Right-click Windows PowerShell and select Run as administrator
4: Install IIS (Web Server)
Run the following command to install IIS and its management tools:
Install-WindowsFeature -name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools
Step 5: Verify IIS Installation
After installation, verify that IIS is running:
📌 Method 1: Public IP Address
Copy your VM’s public IP address
Open a browser and enter:
http://your_vm_ip in this lab, mine is:
http://51.141.93.231
📌 Method 2: Localhost
Open a web browser
Go to http://localhost
You should see the default IIS welcome page
If IIS is installed correctly, you should see the IIS default page.
Conclusion
You’ve successfully created and configured a Windows 10 VM in Azure, connected via RDP, and installed IIS to serve a web page. This setup is perfect for testing desktop applications, building development environments, or exploring Windows 10 features in a secure cloud environment.
Next Steps:
Automate VM creation using Azure CLI or ARM templates.
Explore Azure Bastion for secure browser-based RDP.
Configure NSG rules for advanced security.
Thanks for reading, see you in the next one
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