Zero to Nginx: How I Built My First Azure Lab Using PowerShell

#automation #azure #beginners #tutorial

Building a cloud lab should be easy, but sometimes the cloud has other plans (looking at you, Quota limits!). After a few rounds of troubleshooting, I successfully deployed a Virtual Network and an Ubuntu VM running Nginx in Azure—all from the Cloud Shell.

Here is the full step-by-step guide and the code to make it happen.

1. Setting the Stage (Variables)

Instead of hardcoding names, we use variables. This makes the script reusable.

$rgName = "my-automated-rg"
$location = "eastus2" # Pivot to East US 2 for better availability
$vnetName = "shared-vnet"
$vmSize = "Standard_D2s_v3" # A reliable size with available quota

2. Create the Resource Group and Network

First, we need a "folder" for our resources (Resource Group) and a private network (VNet) with a specific subnet.

# Create Resource Group
New-AzResourceGroup -Name $rgName -Location $location

# Define Subnet
$subConfig = New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name "calab-subnet" -AddressPrefix "10.0.1.0/24"

# Create VNet
New-AzVirtualNetwork -ResourceGroupName $rgName -Location $location -Name $vnetName `
                     -AddressPrefix "10.0.0.0/16" -Subnet $subConfig

3. The Public IP (Static)

Modern Azure Standard SKUs require a Static IP.

$pip = New-AzPublicIpAddress -ResourceGroupName $rgName -Location $location `
    -Name "test-vm-pip" -AllocationMethod Static -Sku Standard

4. Deploying the VM

We use Get-Credential to set our login once and then deploy. Note that we open port 22 immediately for SSH access.

# Set credentials (if not already set in session)
$myCred = Get-Credential -UserName "azureuser"

# Deploy Ubuntu VM
New-AzVm `
  -ResourceGroupName $rgName `
  -Name "TestVM" `
  -Location $location `
  -VirtualNetworkName $vnetName `
  -SubnetName "calab-subnet" `
  -PublicIpAddressName "test-vm-pip" `
  -Credential $myCred `
  -OpenPorts 22 `
  -Image "Canonical:0001-com-ubuntu-server-jammy:22_04-lts:latest" `
  -Size $vmSize

5. Installing Nginx and Opening the Firewall

Now we install the web server without even logging into the machine and open port 80 in the Network Security Group.

# Install Nginx via RunCommand
Invoke-AzVMRunCommand -ResourceGroupName $rgName -VMName "TestVM" -CommandId "RunShellScript" `
  -ScriptString "apt-get update && apt-get install -y nginx && systemctl start nginx"

# Open Port 80
Get-AzNetworkSecurityGroup -ResourceGroupName $rgName | 
Add-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig -Name "AllowHTTP" -Access Allow -Protocol Tcp -Direction Inbound `
    -Priority 1001 -SourceAddressPrefix * -SourcePortRange * `
    -DestinationAddressPrefix * -DestinationPortRange 80 | 
Set-AzNetworkSecurityGroup

6. Verification

Grab your IP and visit it in your browser!

(Get-AzPublicIpAddress -ResourceGroupName $rgName -Name "test-vm-pip").IpAddress

Pro-Tip: Don't forget to Clean Up!

Cloud resources cost money. When you're done, nuke it all with one command:

Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name "my-automated-rg" -Force -AsJob

DEV Community