Creating Windows 11 virtual Machine on Azure : A Step-by-Step Guide

Azure Cloud is Microsoft’s comprehensive cloud computing platform, offering a wide array of services for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services. It provides infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS), giving you flexibility to manage, scale, and grow applications without needing to worry about underlying infrastructure.

In this blog post, we will walk through the process of creating windows 11 virtual machine on Azure.

Prerequisites

• Azure Account: Ensure you have an active Azure account. If not, you can sign up at Azure for a free account with credits.

• Azure Subscription: Make sure your subscription allows creating VMs.

• Resource Group: Create or identify a resource group where you want to deploy the VM.

• Step 1: Log in to the Azure Portal

  1. Go to the Azure Portal.

  2. Log in with your Azure account credentials.

Step 2: Create a Virtual Machine

1. On the homepage, select Virtual Machines. Alternatively you can also search virtual machines on the search bar

Click on + Create and choose Azure Virtual Machine.

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  Step 3: Configure Basic Settings

  1. Subscription: Select your subscription

     

  2. Resource Group: Select an existing resource group or create a new one

     

  3. Virtual Machine Name: Give your VM a unique name

     

  4. Region: Choose a region close to you or your user base to optimize performance

     

  5. Availability Options: Choose the required availability options depending on your needs

     

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  6. Image:

     • In the image dropdown, search for "Windows 11."

     • Select Windows 11 Pro or Windows 11 Enterprise (whichever is available or suits your licensing requirements)

       

       For the VM architecture tick the x64

     • For the Run with Azure Spot discount option leave it unticked

  7. VM Size: Choose an appropriate size. For testing, a Standard_B2s, Standard_D2s_v3 or Standard_B1s is a good choice.

     

     For the Enable Hibernation option leave it like that as it is not supported by the size that we have selected

     Step 4: Configure Administrator Account

     1. Username: Set the username for the VM’s administrator account.

     2. Password: Enter a secure password if you selected password-based authentication

     3. For the Public inbound port tick “Allow selected ports“ and select RDP for the ports dropdown

        

        Step 5: Disks

        leave it at default settings or alter the settings to your taste

        

        Step 6: Configure Networking

        1. In the Networking tab, configure or create a new Virtual Network (VNet) and a subnet if required.

        2. Public IP: Enable public IP if you want to access the VM over the internet.

        3. Inbound Port Rules: Open the required ports, such as RDP (3389) for remote desktop access to the Windows 11 VM

           

           Step 7: Configure Management Options

           1. In the Management tab, choose the options for monitoring and auto-shutdown if needed.

           2. Diagnostics: Enable boot diagnostics to help troubleshoot any startup issues.

           3. Backup and Disaster Recovery: Enable backup if required

              

              Step 8: Monitoring

              Configure monitoring options for your VM. Tick the alert option to get alert on important events happening with in the resources

              

              Step 9: Review and Create the VM

              1. Go through each tab to ensure all settings are configured as per your requirements.

              2. Click Review + create.

              3. After validation, click Create to deploy the VM.

Azure will now provide your Windows 11 VM. This process may take a few minutes.

Step 10: Connect to Your Windows 11 VM

1. Once the deployment is complete, navigate to your VM’s dashboard.

2. Click Connect at the top and select RDP.

3. Download the RDP file, open it, and log in with the credentials you set up in Step 4.

Conclusion:

• Scaling: You can adjust VM size and resources from the Size tab in the VM settings if you need more power.

• Monitoring: Use Azure Monitor and other diagnostic tools to track the health and performance of your VM.

• Cost Management: Keep an eye on VM usage and turn off the VM when not in use to control costs.

This guide should help you set up a Windows 11 VM on Azure successfully!