---
lab:
    title: 'Lab 08: Manage Virtual Machines'
    module: 'Administer Virtual Machines'
---

# Lab 08 - Manage Virtual Machines

## Lab introduction

In this lab, you create and compare virtual machines to virtual machine scale sets. You learn how to creeate, configure and resize a single virtual machine. You learn how create a virtual machine scale set and configure autoscaling.

This lab requires an Azure subscription. Your subscription type may affect the availability of features in this lab. You may change the region, but the steps are written using East US.

## Estimated timing: 50 minutes

## Lab scenario

Your organization wants to explore deploying and configuring Azure virtual machines. First, you implement an Azure virtual machine with manual scaling. Next, implement a Virtual Machine Scale Set and explore autoscaling.

## Interactive lab simulations

There are interactive lab simulations that you might find useful for this topic. The simulation lets you to click through a similar scenario at your own pace. There are differences between the interactive simulation and this lab, but many of the core concepts are the same. An Azure subscription is not required.

+ [Create a virtual machine in the portal](https://mslearn.cloudguides.com/en-us/guides/AZ-900%20Exam%20Guide%20-%20Azure%20Fundamentals%20Exercise%201). Create a virtual machine, connect and install the web server role. 
+ [Deploy a virtual machine with a template](https://mslearn.cloudguides.com/en-us/guides/AZ-900%20Exam%20Guide%20-%20Azure%20Fundamentals%20Exercise%209). Explore the QuickStart gallery and locate a virtual machine template. Deploy the template and verify the deployment.
+ [Create a virtual machine with PowerShell](https://mslearn.cloudguides.com/en-us/guides/AZ-900%20Exam%20Guide%20-%20Azure%20Fundamentals%20Exercise%2010). Use Azure PowerShell to deploy a virtual machine. Review Azure Advisor recommendations. 
+ [Create a virtual machine with the CLI](https://mslearn.cloudguides.com/en-us/guides/AZ-900%20Exam%20Guide%20-%20Azure%20Fundamentals%20Exercise%2011). Use the CLI to deploy a virtual machine. Review Azure Advisor recommendations. 

## Tasks

+ Task 1: Deploy zone-resilient Azure virtual machines by using the Azure portal
+ Task 2: Manage compute and storage scaling for virtual machines
+ Task 3: Implement Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
+ Task 4: Scale Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
+ Task 5: Create a virtual machine using Azure PowerShell (option 1)
+ Task 6: Create a virtual machine using the CLI (option 2) 

## Tasks 1 and 2: Azure Virtual Machines Architecture Diagram

![Diagram of the architecture tasks.](../media/az104-lab08a-architecture-diagram.png)

## Task 1: Deploy zone-resilient Azure virtual machines by using the Azure portal

In this task, you will deploy two Azure virtual machines into different availability zones by using the Azure portal. Availability zones offer the highest level of uptime SLA for virtual machines at 99.99%. To achieve this SLA, you must deploy at least two virtual machines across different availabiliy zones.

1. Sign in to the Azure portal - `https://portal.azure.com`.

1. Search for and select `Virtual machines`, on the **Virtual machines** blade, click **+ Create**, and then select in the drop-down **+ Azure virtual machine**. Notice your other choices. 

1. On the **Basics** tab, in the **Availability zone** drop down menu, place a checkmark next to **Zone 2**. This should select both **Zone 1** and **Zone 2**.

    >**Note**: This will deploy two virtual machines in the selected region, one in each zone. You achieve the 99.99% uptime SLA because you have at least two VMs distributed across at least two zones. In the scenario where you might only need one VM, it is a best practice to still deploy the VM to a another zone.

1. On the Basics tab, continue completing the configuration:

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Subscription | the name of your Azure subscription |
    | Resource group |  **az104-rg8** (If necessary, click **Create new**) |
    | Virtual machine names | `az104-vm1` and `az104-vm2` (After selecting both availability zones, select **Edit names** under the VM name field.) |
    | Region | **East US** |
    | Availability options | **Availability zone** |
    | Availability zone | **Zone 1, 2** (read the note about using virtual machine scale sets) |
    | Security type | **Standard** |
    | Image | **Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS - x64 Gen2** |
    | Azure Spot instance | **unchecked** |
    | Size | **Standard D2s v3** |
    | Authentication type | **Password** |
    | Username | `localadmin` |
    | Password | **Provide a secure password** |
    | Public inbound ports | **None** |
    | Would you like to use an existing Windows Server license? | **Unchecked** |

    ![Screenshot of the create vm page.](../media/az104-lab08-create-vm.png)

1. Click **Next: Disks >** and, on the **Disks** tab of the **Create a virtual machine** blade, specify the following settings (leave others with their default values):

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | OS disk type | **Premium SSD** |
    | Delete with VM | **checked** (default) |
    | Enable Ultra Disk compatibility | **Unchecked** |

1. Click **Next: Networking >** take the defaults but do not provide a load balancer. 
   
    | Load balancing options | **None** |
    | Delete NIC when VM is deleted | **Checked** (default) |
    
1. Click **Next: Management >** and, on the **Management** tab of the **Create a virtual machine** blade, specify the following settings (leave others with their default values):

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Patch orchestration options | **Azure orchestrated** |  

1. Click **Next: Monitoring >** and, on the **Monitoring** tab of the **Create a virtual machine** blade, specify the following settings (leave others with their default values):

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Boot diagnostics | **Disable** |

1. Click **Next: Advanced >**, on the **Advanced** tab of the **Create a virtual machine** blade, review the available settings without modifying any of them, and click **Review + Create**.

1. On the **Review + Create** blade, click **Create**.

    >**Note:** The virtual machine NIC, disk, and public IP address (if configured) are independently created and managed resources.  Be sure to delete them to ensure you don't incur any additional costs.


1. Wait for the deployment to complete, then select **Go to resource**.
   
   >**Note:** Monitor the **Notification** messages.

## Task 2: Manage compute and storage scaling for virtual machines

In this task, you will scale a virtual machine by adjusting its size to a different SKU. Azure provides flexibility in VM size selection so that you can adjust a VM for periods of time if it needs more (or less) compute and memory allocated. This concept is extended to disks, where you can modify the performance of the disk, or increase the allocated capacity.

1. Continue working with **az104-vm1** virtual machine.

1. On the **az104-vm1** virtual machine blade, click **Size** and set the virtual machine size to **DS1_v2** and click **Resize**.

    >**Note**: Choose another size if **Standard DS1_v2** is not available. Resizing is also knows as vertical scaling, up or down. 

    ![Screenshot of the resize the virtual machine.](../media/az104-lab08-resize-vm.png)

1. In the **Settings** area, select **Disks**.

1. Under **Data disks** select **+ Create and attach a new disk**. Configure the settings (leave other settings at their default values). 

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Disk name | `vm1-disk1` |
    | Storage type | **Standard HDD** |
    | Size (GiB) | `32` |

1. Click **Apply**.

1. After the disk has been created, click **Detach** (if necessary scroll to the right to view the detach icon), and then click **Apply**.

    >**Note**: Detaching removes the disk from the VM, but keeps it in storage for later use.. 

1. Search for and select `Disks`. From the list of disks, select the **vm1-disk1** object.

    >**Note:** The **Overview** blade provides performance and usage information for the disk. 

1. In the **Settings** blade, select **Size + performance**.

1. Set the storage type to **Standard SSD**, and then click **Save**.

1. Navigate back to the **az104-vm1** virtual machine and select **Disks**.

1. Verify the disk is now **Standard SSD**.

>**Note:** You have now create a virtual machine, changed the SKU and the data disk size. In the next task we use Virtual Machine Scale Sets to automate the scaling process. 

## Task 3 and 4: Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets Architecture Diagram

![Diagram of the architecture tasks.](../media/az104-lab08b-architecture-diagram.png)

## Task 3: Implement Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets

In this task, you will deploy an Azure virtual machine scale set across availability zones. With individual VMs, you would need other automation to deploy and configure additional VMs if your application needs additional compute. VM Scale Sets reduce the administrative overhead of automation by enabling you to configure metrics or conditions that allow the scale set to horizontally scale, scale in or scale out. 

1. In the Azure portal, search for and select `Virtual machine scale sets` and, on the **Virtual machine scale sets** blade, click **+ Create**.

1. On the **Basics** tab of the **Create a virtual machine scale set** blade, specify the following settings (leave others with their default values) and click **Next : Spot >**:

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Subscription | the name of your Azure subscription  |
    | Resource group | **az104-rg8**  |
    | Virtual machine scale set name | `vmss1` |
    | Region | **East US** (or a region near you) |
    | Availability zone | **Zones 1, 2, 3** |
    | Orchestration mode | **Uniform** |
    | Security type | **Standard** | 
    | Image | **Windows Server 2019 Datacenter - x64 Gen2** |
    | Run with Azure Spot discount | **Unchecked** |
    | Size | **Standard D2s_v3** |
    | Username | `localadmin` |
    | Password | **Provide a secure password**  |
    | Already have a Windows Server license? | **Unchecked** |

    >**Note**: For the list of Azure regions which support deployment of Windows virtual machines to availability zones, refer to [What are Availability Zones in Azure?](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/availability-zones/az-overview)

    ![Screenshot of the create vmss page. ](../media/az104-lab08-create-vmss.png)

1. On the **Spot** tab, accept the defaults and select **Next: Disks >**.

1. On the **Disks** tab, accept the default values and click **Next : Networking >**.

1. On the **Networking** tab, click the **Create virtual network** link below the **Virtual network** textbox and create a new virtual network with the following settings (leave others with their default values).  When finished, select **OK**. 

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Name | `vmss-vnet` |
    | Address range | `10.82.0.0/20` |
    | Subnet name | `subnet0` |
    | Subnet range | `10.82.0.0/24` |

1. In the **Networking** tab, click the **Edit network interface** icon to the right of the network interface entry.

1. On the **Edit network interface** blade, in the **NIC network security group** section, click **Advanced** and click **Create new** under the **Configure network security group** drop-down list.

1. On the **Create network security group** blade, specify the following settings (leave others with their default values):

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Name | **vmss1-nsg** |

1. Click **Add an inbound rule** and add an inbound security rule with the following settings (leave others with their default values):

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Source | **Any** |
    | Source port ranges | * |
    | Destination | **Any** |
    | Service | **HTTP** |
    | Action | **Allow** |
    | Priority | **1010** |
    | Name | `allow-http` |

1. Click **Add** and, back on the **Create network security group** blade, click **OK**.

1. In the **Edit network interface** blade, in the **Public IP address** section, click **Enabled** and click **OK**.

1. In the **Networking** tab, under the **Load balancing** section, specify the following (leave others with their default values).

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Load balancing options | **Azure load balancer** |
    | Select a load balancer | **Create a load balancer** |
    
1.  On the **Create a load balancer** page, specify the load balancer name and take the defaults. Click **Create** when you are done then **Next : Scaling >**.
    
    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Load balancer name | `vmss-lb` |

1. On the **Scaling** tab, specify the following settings (leave others with their default values) and click **Next : Management >**:

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Initial instance count | `2` |
    | Scaling policy | **Manual** |

1. On the **Management** tab, specify the following settings (leave others with their default values):

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Boot diagnostics | **Disable** |
    
1. Click **Next : Health >**:

1. On the **Health** tab, review the default settings without making any changes and click **Next : Advanced >**.

1. On the **Advanced** tab, click **Review + create**.

1. On the **Review + create** tab, ensure that the validation passed and click **Create**.

    >**Note**: Wait for the virtual machine scale set deployment to complete. This should take approximately 5 minutes.


## Task 4: Scale Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets

In this task, you scale the virtual machine scale set using a custom scale rule.

1. Select **Go to resource** or search for and select the **vmss1** scale set.

1. Choose **Scaling** from the menu on the left-hand side of the scale set window.

>**Note:**Notice you can **Manual scale** or **Custom autoscale**. In scale sets with a small number of VM instances, increasing or decreasing the instance count (Manual scale) may be best. In scale sets with a large number of VM instances, scaling based on metrics (Custom autoscale) may be more appropriate.



### Scale out rule

1. Select **Custom autoscale**. then change the **Scale mode** to **Scale based on metric**. And then select **Add rule**.
   
1. Let's create a rule that automatically increases the number of VM instances. This rule scales out when the average CPU load is greater than 70% over a 10-minute period. When the rule triggers, the number of VM instances is increased by 20%.


    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Metric source | **Current resource (vmss1)** |
    | Metric namespace | **Virtual Machine Host** |
    | Metric name | **Percentage CPU** (review your other choices) |
    | Operator | **Greater than** |
    | Metric threshold to trigger scale action | **70** |
    | Duration (minutes) | **10** |
    | Time grain statistic | **Average** |
    | Operation | **Increase percent by** (review other choices) |
    | Cool down (minutes) | **5** |
    | Percentage | **20** |
    
    ![Screenshot of the scaling add rule page.](../media/az104-lab08-scale-rule.png)

### Scale in rule

1. During evenings or weekends, demand may decrease so it is important to create a scale in rule.

1. Let's create a rule that decreases the number of VM instances in a scale set. The number of instances should decrease when the average CPU load drops below 30% over a 10-minute period. When the rule triggers, the number of VM instances is decreased by 20%.

1. Select **Add a rule**, adjust the settings, then select **Add**.

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Operator | **Less than** |
    | Threshold | **30** |
    | Operation | **decrease percent by** (review your other choices) |
    | Instance count | **20** |

### Set the instance limits

1. When your autoscale rules are applied, instance limits make sure that you do not scale out beyond the maximum number of instances, or scale in beyond the minimum number of instances.

1. **Instance limits** are shown on the **Scaling** page after the rules. 

    | Setting | Value |
    | --- | --- |
    | Minimum | **2** |
    | Maximum | **10** |
    | Default | **2** |

1. Be sure to **Save** your changes

1. On the **vmss1** page, select **Instances**. This is where you would monitor the number of virtual machine instances. 

>**Note:** If you are interested in using Azure PowerShell for virtual machine creation, try Task 5. If are interested in using the CLI to create virtual machines, try Task 6. 

## Task 5: Create a virtual machine using Azure PowerShell (option 1)

1. Sign in to the Azure portal - `https://portal.azure.com`.

1. Use the menu to launch a **Cloud Shell** session. Alternately, navigate directly to `https://shell.azure.com`.

1. If necessary configure the Cloud Shell. Be sure to select **PowerShell**.

1. Run the following command to create a virtual machine. When prompted, provide a username and password for the VM. While you wait check out the [New-AzVM](https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/az.compute/new-azvm?view=azps-11.1.0) command reference for all the parameters associated with creating a virtual machine.

    ```powershell
    New-AzVm `
    -ResourceGroupName 'az104-rg8' `
    -Name 'myPSVM' `
    -Location 'East US' `
    -Image 'Win2019Datacenter' `
    -Zone '1' `
    -Size 'Standard_D2s_v3' 
    -Credential '(Get-Credential)' `
    ```
    
1. Once the command completes, use **Get-AzVM** to list the virtual machines in your resource group. 

    ```powershell
    Get-AzVM `
    -ResourceGroupName 'az104-rg8'
    -Status
    ```
    
1. Verify your new virtual machine is listed and the **Status** is **Running**.

1. Use **Stop-AzVM** to deallocate your virtual machine. Type **Yes** to confirm. 

    ```
    Stop-AzVM `
    -ResourceGroupName 'az104-rg8'
    -Name 'myPSVM' `
    ```
    
1. Use **Get-AzVM** with the **-Status** parameter to verify the machine is **deallocated**.

    >**Did you know?** When you use Azure to stop your virtual machine, the status is *deallocated*. This means that any non-static public IPs are released, and you stop paying for the VM’s compute costs.

## Task 6: Create a virtual machine using the CLI (option 2)

1. Sign in to the Azure portal - `https://portal.azure.com`.

1. Use the menu to launch a **Cloud Shell** session. Alternately, navigate directly to `https://shell.azure.com`.

1. If necessary configure the Cloud Shell. Be sure to select **Bash**.

1. Run the following command to create a virtual machine. When prompted, provide a username and password for the VM. While you wait check out the [az vm create](https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/vm?view=azure-cli-latest#az-vm-create) command reference for all the parameters associated with creating a virtual machine.


    ```sh
    az vm create --name myCLIVM --resource-group az104-rg8 --image Ubuntu2204 --admin-username localadmin --generate-ssh-keys 
    
1. Once the command completes, use **az vm show** to verify your machine was created.

    ```sh
    az vm show --name  myCLIVM --resource-group az104-rg8 --show-details

1. Verify the **powerState** is **VM Running**.

1. Use **az vm deallocate** to deallocate your virtual machine. Type **Yes** to confirm. 

    ```sh
    az vm deallocate --resource-group az104-rg8 --name myCLIVM

1. Use **az vm show** to ensure the **powerState** is **VM deallocated**.

    >**Did you know?** When you use Azure to stop your virtual machine, the status is *deallocated*. This means that any non-static public IPs are released, and you stop paying for the VM’s compute costs.

## Key takeaways

Congratulations on completing the lab. Here are the main takeaways for this lab. 

+ Azure virtual machines are on-demand, scalable computing resources.
+ Azure virtual machines provide both vertical and horizontal scaling options. 
+ Configuring Azure virtual machines includes choosing an operating system, size, storage and networking settings. 
+ Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets let you create and manage a group of load balanced VMs.
+ The virtual machines in a Virtual Machine Scale Set are created from the same image and configuration. 
+ In a Virtual Machine Scale Set the number of VM instances can automatically increase or decrease in response to demand or a defined schedule.


## Learn more with self-paced training

+ [Create a Windows virtual machine in Azure](https://learn.microsoft.com/training/modules/create-windows-virtual-machine-in-azure/). Create a Windows virtual machine using the Azure portal. Connect to a running Windows virtual machine using Remote Desktop
+ [Build a scalable application with Virtual Machine Scale Sets](https://learn.microsoft.com/training/modules/build-app-with-scale-sets/). Enable your application to automatically adjust to changes in load while minimizing costs with Virtual Machine Scale Sets.
+ [Connect to virtual machines through the Azure portal by using Azure Bastion](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/connect-vm-with-azure-bastion/). Deploy Azure Bastion to securely connect to Azure virtual machines directly within the Azure portal to effectively replace an existing jumpbox solution, monitor remote sessions by using diagnostic logs, and manage remote sessions by disconnecting a user session.
  
## Cleanup your resources

If you are working with your own subscription take a minute to delete the lab resources. This will ensure resources are freed up and cost is minimized. The easiest way to delete the lab resources is to delete the lab resource group. 

+ In the Azure portal, select the resource group, select **Delete the resource group**, **Enter resource group name**, and then click **Delete**.
+ Using Azure PowerShell, `Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name resourceGroupName`.
+ Using the CLI, `az group delete --name resourceGroupName`.


