Enable Azure Disk Encryption with Microsoft Entra ID on Linux VMs (previous release)

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Applies to: ✔️ Linux VMs ✔️ Flexible scale sets

The new release of Azure Disk Encryption eliminates the requirement for providing a Microsoft Entra application parameter to enable VM disk encryption. With the new release, you're no longer required to provide Microsoft Entra credentials during the enable encryption step. All new VMs must be encrypted without the Microsoft Entra application parameters by using the new release. For instructions on how to enable VM disk encryption by using the new release, see Azure Disk Encryption for Linux VMS. VMs that were already encrypted with Microsoft Entra application parameters are still supported and should continue to be maintained with the Microsoft Entra syntax.

You can enable many disk-encryption scenarios, and the steps might vary according to the scenario. The following sections cover the scenarios in greater detail for Linux infrastructure as a service (IaaS) VMs. You can only apply disk encryption to virtual machines of supported VM sizes and operating systems. You must also meet the following prerequisites:

Take a snapshot, make a backup, or both before you encrypt the disks. Backups ensure that a recovery option is possible if an unexpected failure occurs during encryption. VMs with managed disks require a backup before encryption occurs. After a backup is made, you can use the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet to encrypt managed disks by specifying the -skipVmBackup parameter. For more information about how to back up and restore encrypted VMs, see Azure Backup.

Warning

  • If you previously used Azure Disk Encryption with the Microsoft Entra app to encrypt this VM, you must continue to use this option to encrypt your VM. You can't use Azure Disk Encryption on this encrypted VM because this isn't a supported scenario, which means switching away from the Microsoft Entra application for this encrypted VM isn't supported yet.
  • To make sure the encryption secrets don't cross regional boundaries, Azure Disk Encryption needs the key vault and the VMs to be co-located in the same region. Create and use a key vault that's in the same region as the VM to be encrypted.
  • When you encrypt Linux OS volumes, the process can take a few hours. It's normal for Linux OS volumes to take longer than data volumes to encrypt.
  • When you encrypt Linux OS volumes, the VM should be considered unavailable. We strongly recommend that you avoid SSH logins while the encryption is in progress to avoid blocking any open files that need to be accessed during the encryption process. To check progress, use the Get-AzVMDiskEncryptionStatus or vm encryption show commands. You can expect this process to take a few hours for a 30-GB OS volume, plus additional time for encrypting data volumes. Data volume encryption time is proportional to the size and quantity of the data volumes unless the encrypt format all option is used.
  • Disabling encryption on Linux VMs is only supported for data volumes. It's not supported on data or OS volumes if the OS volume has been encrypted.

Enable encryption on an existing or running IaaS Linux VM

In this scenario, you can enable encryption by using the Azure Resource Manager template, PowerShell cmdlets, or Azure CLI commands.

Important

It's mandatory to take a snapshot or back up a managed disk-based VM instance outside of and prior to enabling Azure Disk Encryption. You can take a snapshot of the managed disk from the Azure portal, or you can use Azure Backup. Backups ensure that a recovery option is possible in the case of any unexpected failure during encryption. After a backup is made, use the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet to encrypt managed disks by specifying the -skipVmBackup parameter. The Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension command fails against managed disk-based VMs until a backup is made and this parameter is specified.

Encrypting or disabling encryption might cause the VM to reboot.

Enable encryption on an existing or running Linux VM by using the Azure CLI

You can enable disk encryption on your encrypted VHD by installing and using the Azure CLI 2.0 command-line tool. You can use it in your browser with Azure Cloud Shell, or you can install it on your local machine and use it in any PowerShell session. To enable encryption on existing or running IaaS Linux VMs in Azure, use the following CLI commands:

Use the az vm encryption enable command to enable encryption on a running IaaS virtual machine in Azure.

  • Encrypt a running VM by using a client secret:

        az vm encryption enable --resource-group "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup" --name "MySecureVM" --aad-client-id "<my spn created with CLI/my Azure AD ClientID>"  --aad-client-secret "My-AAD-client-secret" --disk-encryption-keyvault "MySecureVault" --volume-type [All|OS|Data]

  • Encrypt a running VM by using KEK to wrap the client secret:

        az vm encryption enable --resource-group "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup" --name "MySecureVM" --aad-client-id "<my spn created with CLI which is the Azure AD ClientID>"  --aad-client-secret "My-AAD-client-secret" --disk-encryption-keyvault  "MySecureVault" --key-encryption-key "MyKEK_URI" --key-encryption-keyvault "MySecureVaultContainingTheKEK" --volume-type [All|OS|Data]

    Note

    The syntax for the value of the disk-encryption-keyvault parameter is the full identifier string: /subscriptions/[subscription-id-guid]/resourceGroups/[resource-group-name]/providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/[keyvault-name].

    The syntax for the value of the key-encryption-key parameter is the full URI to the KEK as in: https://[keyvault-name].vault.azure.net/keys/[kekname]/[kek-unique-id].

  • Verify that the disks are encrypted: To check on the encryption status of an IaaS VM, use the az vm encryption show command.

        az vm encryption show --name "MySecureVM" --resource-group "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup"

  • Disable encryption: To disable encryption, use the az vm encryption disable command. Disabling encryption is only allowed on data volumes for Linux VMs.

        az vm encryption disable --name "MySecureVM" --resource-group "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup" --volume-type DATA

Enable encryption on an existing or running Linux VM by using PowerShell

Use the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet to enable encryption on a running IaaS virtual machine in Azure. Take a snapshot or make a backup of the VM with Azure Backup before the disks are encrypted. The -skipVmBackup parameter is already specified in the PowerShell scripts to encrypt a running Linux VM.

  • Encrypt a running VM by using a client secret: The following script initializes your variables and runs the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet. The resource group, VM, key vault, Microsoft Entra app, and client secret should have already been created as prerequisites. Replace MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup, MyKeyVaultResourceGroup, MySecureVM, MySecureVault, My-AAD-client-ID, and My-AAD-client-secret with your values. Modify the -VolumeType parameter to specify which disks you're encrypting.

        $VMRGName = 'MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup';
    $KVRGname = 'MyKeyVaultResourceGroup';
    $vmName = 'MySecureVM';
    $aadClientID = 'My-AAD-client-ID';
    $aadClientSecret = 'My-AAD-client-secret';
    $KeyVaultName = 'MySecureVault';
    $KeyVault = Get-AzKeyVault -VaultName $KeyVaultName -ResourceGroupName $KVRGname;
    $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl = $KeyVault.VaultUri;
    $KeyVaultResourceId = $KeyVault.ResourceId;
    $sequenceVersion = [Guid]::NewGuid();

    Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName $VMRGName -VMName $vmName -AadClientID $aadClientID -AadClientSecret $aadClientSecret -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId $KeyVaultResourceId -VolumeType '[All|OS|Data]' -SequenceVersion $sequenceVersion -skipVmBackup;

  • Encrypt a running VM by using KEK to wrap the client secret: Azure Disk Encryption lets you specify an existing key in your key vault to wrap disk encryption secrets that were generated while enabling encryption. When a key encryption key is specified, Azure Disk Encryption uses that key to wrap the encryption secrets before writing to the key vault. Modify the -VolumeType parameter to specify which disks you're encrypting.

        $KVRGname = 'MyKeyVaultResourceGroup';
    $VMRGName = 'MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup';
    $aadClientID = 'My-AAD-client-ID';
    $aadClientSecret = 'My-AAD-client-secret';
    $KeyVaultName = 'MySecureVault';
    $keyEncryptionKeyName = 'MyKeyEncryptionKey';
    $KeyVault = Get-AzKeyVault -VaultName $KeyVaultName -ResourceGroupName $KVRGname;
    $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl = $KeyVault.VaultUri;
    $KeyVaultResourceId = $KeyVault.ResourceId;
    $keyEncryptionKeyUrl = (Get-AzKeyVaultKey -VaultName $KeyVaultName -Name $keyEncryptionKeyName).Key.kid;
    $sequenceVersion = [Guid]::NewGuid();

    Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName $VMRGName -VMName $vmName -AadClientID $aadClientID -AadClientSecret $aadClientSecret -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId $KeyVaultResourceId -KeyEncryptionKeyUrl $keyEncryptionKeyUrl -KeyEncryptionKeyVaultId $KeyVaultResourceId -VolumeType '[All|OS|Data]' -SequenceVersion $sequenceVersion -skipVmBackup;

    Note

    The syntax for the value of the disk-encryption-keyvault parameter is the full identifier string: /subscriptions/[subscription-id-guid]/resourceGroups/[KVresource-group-name]/providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/[keyvault-name].

    The syntax for the value of the key-encryption-key parameter is the full URI to the KEK as in: https://[keyvault-name].vault.azure.net/keys/[kekname]/[kek-unique-id].

  • Verify that the disks are encrypted: To check on the encryption status of an IaaS VM, use the Get-AzVmDiskEncryptionStatus cmdlet.

        Get-AzVmDiskEncryptionStatus -ResourceGroupName MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup -VMName MySecureVM

  • Disable disk encryption: To disable the encryption, use the Disable-Azure​RmVMDisk​Encryption cmdlet. Disabling encryption is only allowed on data volumes for Linux VMs.

        Disable-AzVMDiskEncryption -ResourceGroupName 'MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup' -VMName 'MySecureVM'

Enable encryption on an existing or running IaaS Linux VM with a template

You can enable disk encryption on an existing or running IaaS Linux VM in Azure by using the Resource Manager template.

  1. Select Deploy to Azure on the Azure quickstart template.

  2. Select the subscription, resource group, resource group location, parameters, legal terms, and agreement. Select Create to enable encryption on the existing or running IaaS VM.

The following table lists Resource Manager template parameters for existing or running VMs that use a Microsoft Entra client ID:

Parameter Description
AADClientID Client ID of the Microsoft Entra application that has permissions to write secrets to the key vault.
AADClientSecret Client secret of the Microsoft Entra application that has permissions to write secrets to your key vault.
keyVaultName Name of the key vault that the key should be uploaded to. You can get it by using the Azure CLI command az keyvault show --name "MySecureVault" --query KVresourceGroup.
keyEncryptionKeyURL URL of the key encryption key that's used to encrypt the generated key. This parameter is optional if you select nokek in the UseExistingKek drop-down list. If you select kek in the UseExistingKek drop-down list, you must enter the keyEncryptionKeyURL value.
volumeType Type of volume that the encryption operation is performed on. Valid supported values are OS or All. (See supported Linux distributions and their versions for OS and data disks in the prerequisites section earlier.)
sequenceVersion Sequence version of the BitLocker operation. Increment this version number every time a disk-encryption operation is performed on the same VM.
vmName Name of the VM that the encryption operation is to be performed on.
passphrase Type a strong passphrase as the data encryption key.

Use the EncryptFormatAll feature for data disks on Linux IaaS VMs

The EncryptFormatAll parameter reduces the time for Linux data disks to be encrypted. Partitions that meet certain criteria are formatted (with their current file system). Then they're remounted back to where they were before command execution. If you want to exclude a data disk that meets the criteria, you can unmount it before you run the command.

After you run this command, any drives that were mounted previously are formatted. Then the encryption layer starts on top of the now empty drive. When this option is selected, the temporary disk attached to the VM is also encrypted. If the ephemeral drive is reset, it's reformatted and re-encrypted for the VM by the Azure Disk Encryption solution at the next opportunity.

Warning

EncryptFormatAll shouldn't be used when there's needed data on a VM's data volumes. You can exclude disks from encryption by unmounting them. Try out the EncryptFormatAll parameter on a test VM first to understand the feature parameter and its implication before you try it on the production VM. The EncryptFormatAll option formats the data disk, so all the data on it will be lost. Before you proceed, verify that any disks you want to exclude are properly unmounted.

If you set this parameter while you update encryption settings, it might lead to a reboot before the actual encryption. In this case, you also want to remove the disk you don't want formatted from the fstab file. Similarly, you should add the partition you want encrypt-formatted to the fstab file before you initiate the encryption operation.

EncryptFormatAll criteria

The parameter goes through all partitions and encrypts them as long as they meet all of the following criteria:

  • Is not a root/OS/boot partition
  • Is not already encrypted
  • Is not a BEK volume
  • Is not a RAID volume
  • Is not an LVM volume
  • Is mounted

Encrypt the disks that compose the RAID or LVM volume rather than the RAID or LVM volume.

Use the EncryptFormatAll parameter with a template

To use the EncryptFormatAll option, use any preexisting Azure Resource Manager template that encrypts a Linux VM and change the EncryptionOperation field for the AzureDiskEncryption resource.

  1. As an example, use the Resource Manager template to encrypt a running Linux IaaS VM.
  2. Select Deploy to Azure on the Azure quickstart template.
  3. Change the EncryptionOperation field from EnableEncryption to EnableEncryptionFormatAl.
  4. Select the subscription, resource group, resource group location, other parameters, legal terms, and agreement. Select Create to enable encryption on the existing or running IaaS VM.

Use the EncryptFormatAll parameter with a PowerShell cmdlet

Use the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet with the EncryptFormatAll parameter.

Encrypt a running VM by using a client secret and EncryptFormatAll: As an example, the following script initializes your variables and runs the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet with the EncryptFormatAll parameter. The resource group, VM, key vault, Microsoft Entra app, and client secret should have already been created as prerequisites. Replace MyKeyVaultResourceGroup, MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup, MySecureVM, MySecureVault, My-AAD-client-ID, and My-AAD-client-secret with your values.

  $KVRGname = 'MyKeyVaultResourceGroup';
  $VMRGName = 'MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup';
  $aadClientID = 'My-AAD-client-ID';
  $aadClientSecret = 'My-AAD-client-secret';
  $KeyVaultName = 'MySecureVault';
  $KeyVault = Get-AzKeyVault -VaultName $KeyVaultName -ResourceGroupName $KVRGname;
  $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl = $KeyVault.VaultUri;
  $KeyVaultResourceId = $KeyVault.ResourceId;

  Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName $VMRGName -VMName $vmName -AadClientID $aadClientID -AadClientSecret $aadClientSecret -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId $KeyVaultResourceId -EncryptFormatAll

Use the EncryptFormatAll parameter with Logical Volume Manager (LVM)

We recommend an LVM-on-crypt setup. For all the following examples, replace the device-path and mountpoints with whatever suits your use case. This setup can be done as follows:

  • Add the data disks that will compose the VM.

  • Format, mount, and add these disks to the fstab file.

    1. Format the newly added disk. We use symlinks generated by Azure here. Using symlinks avoids problems related to device names changing. For more information, see Troubleshoot device names problems.

      mkfs -t ext4 /dev/disk/azure/scsi1/lun0

    2. Mount the disks.

      mount /dev/disk/azure/scsi1/lun0 /mnt/mountpoint

    3. Add to fstab.

      echo "/dev/disk/azure/scsi1/lun0 /mnt/mountpoint ext4 defaults,nofail 1 2" >> /etc/fstab

    4. Run the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension PowerShell cmdlet with -EncryptFormatAll to encrypt these disks.

       Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName "MySecureGroup" -VMName "MySecureVM" -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl "https://mykeyvault.vault.azure.net/" -EncryptFormatAll

    5. Set up LVM on top of these new disks. Note the encrypted drives are unlocked after the VM has finished booting. So, the LVM mounting will also have to be subsequently delayed.

New IaaS VMs created from customer-encrypted VHD and encryption keys

In this scenario, you can enable encrypting by using the Resource Manager template, PowerShell cmdlets, or CLI commands. The following sections explain in greater detail the Resource Manager template and CLI commands.

Use the instructions in the appendix for preparing pre-encrypted images that can be used in Azure. After the image is created, you can use the steps in the next section to create an encrypted Azure VM.

Important

It's mandatory to take a snapshot or back up a managed disk-based VM instance outside of and prior to enabling Azure Disk Encryption. You can take a snapshot of the managed disk from the portal, or you can use Azure Backup. Backups ensure that a recovery option is possible in the case of any unexpected failure during encryption. After a backup is made, use the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet to encrypt managed disks by specifying the -skipVmBackup parameter. The Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension command fails against managed disk-based VMs until a backup is made and this parameter is specified.

Encrypting or disabling encryption might cause the VM to reboot.

Use Azure PowerShell to encrypt IaaS VMs with pre-encrypted VHDs

You can enable disk encryption on your encrypted VHD by using the PowerShell cmdlet Set-AzVMOSDisk. The following example gives you some common parameters.

$VirtualMachine = New-AzVMConfig -VMName "MySecureVM" -VMSize "Standard_A1"
$VirtualMachine = Set-AzVMOSDisk -VM $VirtualMachine -Name "SecureOSDisk" -VhdUri "os.vhd" Caching ReadWrite -Windows -CreateOption "Attach" -DiskEncryptionKeyUrl "https://mytestvault.vault.azure.net/secrets/Test1/514ceb769c984379a7e0230bddaaaaaa" -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/myresourcegroup/providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/mytestvault"
New-AzVM -VM $VirtualMachine -ResourceGroupName "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup"

Enable encryption on a newly added data disk

You can add a new data disk by using az vm disk attach or through the Azure portal. Before you can encrypt, you need to mount the newly attached data disk first. You must request encryption of the data drive because the drive will be unusable while encryption is in progress.

Enable encryption on a newly added disk with the Azure CLI

If the VM was previously encrypted with "All," then the --volume-type parameter should remain All. All includes both OS and data disks. If the VM was previously encrypted with a volume type of "OS," then the --volume-type parameter should be changed to All so that both the OS and the new data disk will be included. If the VM was encrypted with only the volume type of "Data," then it can remain Data as demonstrated here. Adding and attaching a new data disk to a VM isn't sufficient preparation for encryption. The newly attached disk must also be formatted and properly mounted within the VM before you enable encryption. On Linux, the disk must be mounted in /etc/fstab with a persistent block device name.

In contrast to PowerShell syntax, the CLI doesn't require you to provide a unique sequence version when you enable encryption. The CLI automatically generates and uses its own unique sequence version value.

  • Encrypt a running VM by using a client secret:

        az vm encryption enable --resource-group "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup" --name "MySecureVM" --aad-client-id "<my spn created with CLI/my Azure AD ClientID>"  --aad-client-secret "My-AAD-client-secret" --disk-encryption-keyvault "MySecureVault" --volume-type "Data"

  • Encrypt a running VM by using KEK to wrap the client secret:

        az vm encryption enable --resource-group "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup" --name "MySecureVM" --aad-client-id "<my spn created with CLI which is the Azure AD ClientID>"  --aad-client-secret "My-AAD-client-secret" --disk-encryption-keyvault  "MySecureVault" --key-encryption-key "MyKEK_URI" --key-encryption-keyvault "MySecureVaultContainingTheKEK" --volume-type "Data"

Enable encryption on a newly added disk with Azure PowerShell

When you use PowerShell to encrypt a new disk for Linux, a new sequence version needs to be specified. The sequence version has to be unique. The following script generates a GUID for the sequence version.

  • Encrypt a running VM by using a client secret: The following script initializes your variables and runs the Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension cmdlet. The resource group, VM, key vault, Microsoft Entra app, and client secret should have already been created as prerequisites. Replace MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup, MyKeyVaultResourceGroup, MySecureVM, MySecureVault, My-AAD-client-ID, and My-AAD-client-secret with your values. The -VolumeType parameter is set to data disks and not the OS disk. If the VM was previously encrypted with a volume type of "OS" or "All," then the -VolumeType parameter should be changed to All so that both the OS and the new data disk will be included.

        $KVRGname = 'MyKeyVaultResourceGroup';
    $VMRGName = 'MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup';
    $vmName = 'MySecureVM';
    $aadClientID = 'My-AAD-client-ID';
    $aadClientSecret = 'My-AAD-client-secret';
    $KeyVaultName = 'MySecureVault';
    $KeyVault = Get-AzKeyVault -VaultName $KeyVaultName -ResourceGroupName $KVRGname;
    $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl = $KeyVault.VaultUri;
    $KeyVaultResourceId = $KeyVault.ResourceId;
    $sequenceVersion = [Guid]::NewGuid();

    Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName $VMRGName -VMName $vmName -AadClientID $aadClientID -AadClientSecret $aadClientSecret -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId $KeyVaultResourceId -VolumeType 'data' –SequenceVersion $sequenceVersion;

  • Encrypt a running VM by using KEK to wrap the client secret: Azure Disk Encryption lets you specify an existing key in your key vault to wrap disk encryption secrets that were generated while enabling encryption. When a key encryption key is specified, Azure Disk Encryption uses that key to wrap the encryption secrets before writing to the key vault. The -VolumeType parameter is set to data disks and not the OS disk. If the VM was previously encrypted with a volume type of "OS" or "All," then the -VolumeType parameter should be changed to All so that both the OS and the new data disk will be included.

        $KVRGname = 'MyKeyVaultResourceGroup';
    $VMRGName = 'MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup';
    $vmName = 'MyExtraSecureVM';
    $aadClientID = 'My-AAD-client-ID';
    $aadClientSecret = 'My-AAD-client-secret';
    $KeyVaultName = 'MySecureVault';
    $keyEncryptionKeyName = 'MyKeyEncryptionKey';
    $KeyVault = Get-AzKeyVault -VaultName $KeyVaultName -ResourceGroupName $KVRGname;
    $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl = $KeyVault.VaultUri;
    $KeyVaultResourceId = $KeyVault.ResourceId;
    $keyEncryptionKeyUrl = (Get-AzKeyVaultKey -VaultName $KeyVaultName -Name $keyEncryptionKeyName).Key.kid;
    $sequenceVersion = [Guid]::NewGuid();

    Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName $VMRGName -VMName $vmName -AadClientID $aadClientID -AadClientSecret $aadClientSecret -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl $diskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId $KeyVaultResourceId -KeyEncryptionKeyUrl $keyEncryptionKeyUrl -KeyEncryptionKeyVaultId $KeyVaultResourceId -VolumeType 'data' –SequenceVersion $sequenceVersion;

Note

The syntax for the value of the disk-encryption-keyvault parameter is the full identifier string: /subscriptions/[subscription-id-guid]/resourceGroups/[resource-group-name]/providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/[keyvault-name].

The syntax for the value of the key-encryption-key parameter is the full URI to the KEK as in: https://[keyvault-name].vault.azure.net/keys/[kekname]/[kek-unique-id].

Disable encryption for Linux VMs

You can disable encryption by using Azure PowerShell, the Azure CLI, or a Resource Manager template.

Important

Disabling encryption with Azure Disk Encryption on Linux VMs is only supported for data volumes. It's not supported on data or OS volumes if the OS volume has been encrypted.

  • Disable disk encryption with Azure PowerShell: To disable encryption, use the Disable-Azure​RmVMDisk​Encryption cmdlet.

        Disable-AzVMDiskEncryption -ResourceGroupName 'MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup' -VMName 'MySecureVM' [--volume-type {ALL, DATA, OS}]

  • Disable encryption with the Azure CLI: To disable encryption, use the az vm encryption disable command.

        az vm encryption disable --name "MySecureVM" --resource-group "MyVirtualMachineResourceGroup" --volume-type [ALL, DATA, OS]

  • Disable encryption with a Resource Manager template: To disable encryption, use the Disable encryption on a running Linux VM template.

    1. Select Deploy to Azure.
    2. Select the subscription, resource group, location, VM, legal terms, and agreement.
    3. Select Purchase to disable disk encryption on a running Windows VM.

Next steps