Create an Azure Virtual Machine

Creating an Azure Virtual Machine is one of the most popular ways to deploy scalable computing resources in the cloud. Whether you need a simple web server, a development environment, a database server, or a high-performance GPU instance, Azure VMs offer flexibility, security, and cost-efficiency.

In this comprehensive 2026 guide, I’ll walk you through the entire process of creating an Azure VM from scratch. I’ll cover every important setting — CPU, memory (RAM), hard disk (storage), networking, security, and more — with detailed steps, screenshots in mind, best practices, common mistakes, and my personal experiences from deploying hundreds of VMs over the years.

Why Choose Azure Virtual Machines?

Azure VMs are highly customizable Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) resources. You pay only for what you use, and you can scale up or down easily. In 2026, Azure offers improved pricing, better integration with AI services, and enhanced security features like Confidential VMs.

My Experience: I’ve deployed VMs for everything from small business websites to enterprise applications. The key to success is choosing the right size and configuration from the beginning to avoid costly resizing later.

Prerequisites Before Creating an Azure VM

• An active Azure subscription (free trial or paid)
• Contributor or Owner role in the subscription
• Basic understanding of networking and operating systems

My Suggestion: Start with a Pay-As-You-Go subscription for flexibility. Use Azure Free Account for learning.

Google Workspace Tips for Productivity

Step-by-Step Create an Azure VM

Step 1: Log in to Azure Portal Go to portal.azure.com and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Step 2: Search for Virtual Machines In the top search bar, type “Virtual machines” and select the service.

Step 3: Click + Create > Azure Virtual Machine

Step 4: Basics Tab – Project Details

• Subscription: Choose your subscription.
• Resource Group: Create a new one (recommended for organization) or select existing.
• Virtual Machine Name: Give a unique, descriptive name (e.g., webserver-prod-01).

Step 5: Region Choose the region closest to your users for best performance and lower latency.

My Experience: Choosing the wrong region can significantly increase latency. I always recommend regions with good availability and lower pricing when possible.

Step 6: Image Select the operating system:

• Windows Server 2022/2025
• Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS
• Windows 11 for development

Step 7: Size (CPU, Memory & vCPU) This is the most important decision.

How to Choose Size:

• B-series: Burstable, low-cost for light workloads
• D-series: General purpose (balanced CPU/memory)
• F-series: Compute optimized
• E-series: Memory optimized
• NC/ND-series: GPU instances

Example Sizes in 2026:

• Standard_D2s_v5: 2 vCPU, 8 GiB RAM (good for small web servers)
• Standard_D4s_v5: 4 vCPU, 16 GiB RAM (most popular for production)
• Standard_E8s_v5: 8 vCPU, 64 GiB RAM (memory-intensive apps)

My Suggestion: Start small and monitor performance. Use Azure Advisor recommendations after a few weeks. Resizing is possible but causes downtime.

Step 8: Disks (Hard Disk / Storage)

• OS Disk: Usually 128 GB SSD is sufficient.
• Data Disks: Add extra disks (Premium SSD for high performance).

My Experience: Many users underestimate storage IOPS. For databases, choose Premium or Ultra Disk. Monitor disk metrics regularly.

Step 9: Networking

• Virtual Network & Subnet (create new if needed)
• Public IP (enable for internet access)
• NIC Network Security Group (allow specific ports)

Step 10: Management, Monitoring & Security

• Enable Auto-shutdown for cost savings
• Backup options
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Step 11: Review + Create Review all settings and click Create.

The deployment usually takes 3–10 minutes.

Post-Creation Best Practices for Azure Virtual Machines

Once your Azure VM is deployed, following proper post-creation steps is essential for security, performance, and long-term reliability.

Connect Securely Using RDP or SSH After deployment, connect to your VM using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for Windows machines or Secure Shell (SSH) for Linux. For Windows, download the RDP file from the Azure Portal. For Linux, use SSH with key-based authentication instead of passwords. Never use weak passwords for initial access.

Update the Operating System Immediately As soon as you log in, update the OS and all installed applications. For Windows, run Windows Update. For Linux (Ubuntu), run sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y. Keeping the system patched protects against known vulnerabilities and improves stability.

Configure Firewall Rules Carefully Restrict inbound traffic to only necessary ports. For web servers, allow HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443). For management, use Azure Bastion instead of opening RDP (3389) or SSH (22) to the public internet. Apply the principle of least privilege.

Set Up Monitoring with Azure Monitor Enable Azure Monitor and Log Analytics for your VM. Set up alerts for high CPU, memory, or disk usage. This proactive monitoring helps you catch issues before they affect users and optimizes costs by identifying underutilized resources.

My Personal Recommendation: Create a checklist for every new VM. In my experience, spending 15-20 minutes on these post-creation steps prevents 80% of future problems and security incidents.

My Strong Recommendation: Never leave the default public IP open. Use Azure Bastion or VPN for secure access.

Cost Management Tips in 2026

• Use Reserved Instances for predictable workloads
• Enable Azure Hybrid Benefit if you have Windows Server licenses
• Set budgets and alerts in Cost Management
• Use Spot VMs for non-critical workloads

My Experience: Proper sizing and auto-shutdown policies have helped organizations I worked with reduce VM costs by 40-60%.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Azure Virtual Machines

Even experienced users make mistakes when deploying Azure VMs. Understanding these pitfalls can save you money, time, and security headaches.
There are four mistakes we need to take care of, and these are the following

1. Choosing Oversized VMs (Wastes Money) Many users select large VM sizes thinking “bigger is better.” A Standard_D8s_v5 (8 vCPU, 32 GiB RAM) might seem future-proof, but if your workload only needs 2-4 vCPU, you could be paying 2-3x more than necessary.

How to Avoid This Mistake: Start with a smaller size (e.g., D2s or D4s) and monitor performance using Azure Monitor for 1-2 weeks. Use Azure Advisor recommendations. Resize the VM later if needed (vertical scaling). This approach has helped me reduce costs by 40-60% in multiple projects.

2. Forgetting to Add Data Disks Relying only on the OS disk (usually 128 GB) is a common error. When the disk fills up with logs, databases, or application data, performance drops and you risk data loss or downtime.

How to Avoid This Mistake: Always add at least one data disk during creation (Premium SSD recommended for production). Separate OS and data storage. Plan disk sizes based on expected growth. I always recommend starting with 128-256 GB data disks and monitoring usage regularly.

3. Leaving RDP Port 3389 Open to the Internet This is one of the most dangerous mistakes. Exposing RDP (Remote Desktop) directly to the internet makes your VM a prime target for brute-force attacks.

How to Avoid This Mistake: Never allow port 3389 from “Any” IP address. Use Azure Bastion for secure RDP access, or connect via VPN/Site-to-Site. For Linux, use SSH with key authentication only. In all my deployments, I enforce “Just-In-Time” access through Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

4. Not Monitoring Performance Many users set up a VM and forget about it. Without monitoring, you won’t know when the VM is under-provisioned (slow performance) or over-provisioned (wasting money).

How to Avoid This Mistake: Enable Azure Monitor and set up alerts for CPU, memory, and disk usage. Review metrics weekly. Use auto-scaling where possible. I make it a habit to check VM insights every Monday morning — this simple practice prevents most performance-related complaints.

Conclusion

Creating an Azure Virtual Machine is straightforward once you understand the key settings. By carefully choosing CPU, memory, storage, and networking options, you can build a reliable, cost-effective cloud server.