Creating A virtual Machine using Linux Operating System

Introduction

Deploying a virtual machine in Microsoft Azure provides a flexible and scalable way to run applications, host services, and simulate real-world infrastructure without the need for physical hardware. This guide walks through the end-to-end process of provisioning a Linux-based virtual machine using the Azure portal from creating a resource group and selecting an operating system, to configuring access and connecting via SSH. By following these steps, you will gain hands-on experience in setting up a secure and functional cloud environment, as well as performing basic system administration tasks such as updating packages and installing a web server.

• on the azure portal search and select virtual machine

• select + create

• Create a new resource group and assign it an appropriate name. For the purpose of this project, the resource group is named fragnantplantrg.

• Specify a name for the virtual machine.

• Select a region

• Select an image (operating system) for the virtual machine. In this case, Ubuntu is chosen as the preferred Linux distribution for deployment.

• For the authentication method, select Password as the administrative credential type.

• Enter user name and password for the virtual machine

• Select the inbound port for the virtual machine

• Navigate to the Monitoring tab and disable boot diagnotics

• Click on Review and create

• Once the deployment is complete, navigate to the resource.

• Select the IP address and configure the idle timeout setting to 30 minutes.

• Click on apply

• Navigate back to your Virtual machine and click on the connect button

• Click on check access

• Copy and paste the SSH command into a terminal in the windows power shell

• After entering the SSH Command, Type yes to continue on the windows power shell

• Enter password. Please note that linux doesnt show password, so you need to be sure of what you are typing.

• Virtual machine is now live

• To run the Virtual Machine as an administrator(root user), use the Sudo SU command

• Try updating the virtual machine to the latest version "apt Update" please note that "apt" is the package manager for linux

• Try and install nginx using the command "apt install nginx"

Conclusion

By successfully completing this deployment, I have established a fully functional Linux virtual machine within Azure and connected to it securely using SSH. Beyond provisioning, I also performed essential post-deployment configurations, including updating the system and installing Nginx, demonstrating how cloud resources can be immediately utilized for real-world applications. This process not only reinforces core cloud computing concepts but also builds a solid foundation for more advanced tasks such as automation, scaling, and hosting production-grade applications in Azure.