Create a fully configured virtual machine with PowerShell

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This script creates an Azure Virtual Machine running Windows Server 2016. After running the script, you can access the virtual machine over RDP.

This sample requires Azure PowerShell Az 1.0 or later. Run Get-Module -ListAvailable Az to see which versions are installed. If you need to install, see Install Azure PowerShell module.

Run Connect-AzAccount to sign in to Azure.

If you don't have an Azure subscription, create an Azure free account before you begin.

Sample script

# Variables for common values
$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$location = "westeurope"
$vmName = "myVM"

# Create user object
$cred = Get-Credential -Message "Enter a username and password for the virtual machine."

# Create a resource group
New-AzResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroup -Location $location

# Create a subnet configuration
$subnetConfig = New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name mySubnet -AddressPrefix 192.168.1.0/24

# Create a virtual network
$vnet = New-AzVirtualNetwork -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name MYvNET -AddressPrefix 192.168.0.0/16 -Subnet $subnetConfig

# Create a public IP address and specify a DNS name
$pip = New-AzPublicIpAddress -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name "mypublicdns$(Get-Random)" -AllocationMethod Static -IdleTimeoutInMinutes 4

# Create an inbound network security group rule for port 3389
$nsgRuleRDP = New-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig -Name myNetworkSecurityGroupRuleRDP  -Protocol Tcp `
  -Direction Inbound -Priority 1000 -SourceAddressPrefix * -SourcePortRange * -DestinationAddressPrefix * `
  -DestinationPortRange 3389 -Access Allow

# Create a network security group
$nsg = New-AzNetworkSecurityGroup -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name myNetworkSecurityGroup -SecurityRules $nsgRuleRDP

# Create a virtual network card and associate with public IP address and NSG
$nic = New-AzNetworkInterface -Name myNic -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -SubnetId $vnet.Subnets[0].Id -PublicIpAddressId $pip.Id -NetworkSecurityGroupId $nsg.Id

# Create a virtual machine configuration
$vmConfig = New-AzVMConfig -VMName $vmName -VMSize Standard_D1 | `
Set-AzVMOperatingSystem -Windows -ComputerName $vmName -Credential $cred | `
Set-AzVMSourceImage -PublisherName MicrosoftWindowsServer -Offer WindowsServer -Skus 2016-Datacenter -Version latest | `
Add-AzVMNetworkInterface -Id $nic.Id

# Create a virtual machine
New-AzVM -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location -VM $vmConfig

Clean up deployment

Run the following command to remove the resource group, VM, and all related resources.

Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name myResourceGroup

Script explanation

This script uses the following commands to create the deployment. Each item in the table links to command specific documentation.

Command Notes
New-AzResourceGroup Creates a resource group in which all resources are stored.
New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig Creates a subnet configuration. This configuration is used with the virtual network creation process.
New-AzVirtualNetwork Creates a virtual network.
New-AzPublicIpAddress Creates a public IP address.
New-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig Creates a network security group rule configuration. This configuration is used to create an NSG rule when the NSG is created.
New-AzNetworkSecurityGroup Creates a network security group.
Get-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig Gets subnet information. This information is used when creating a network interface.
New-AzNetworkInterface Creates a network interface.
New-AzVMConfig Creates a VM configuration. This configuration includes information such as VM name, operating system, and administrative credentials. The configuration is used during VM creation.
New-AzVM Create a virtual machine.
Remove-AzResourceGroup Removes a resource group and all resources contained within.

Next steps

For more information on the Azure PowerShell module, see Azure PowerShell documentation.

Additional virtual machine PowerShell script samples can be found in the Azure Windows VM documentation.