Quickstart: Connect a machine to Arc-enabled servers (Windows or Linux install script)

Get started with Azure Arc-enabled servers to manage and govern your Windows and Linux machines hosted across on-premises, edge, and multicloud environments.

In this quickstart, you deploy and configure the Azure Connected Machine agent on a Windows or Linux machine hosted outside of Azure, so that the machine can be managed through Azure Arc-enabled servers.

For Linux, the installation script configures the repository on your machine and installs the Connected Machine agent package by using your package manager. If you prefer to onboard your Linux machine without an installation script, you can manually onboard the machine by using your package manager.

While you can repeat the steps in this article as needed to onboard additional machines, you can also use other options for deploying the agent, including methods designed to onboard machines at scale. For more information, see Azure Connected Machine agent deployment options.

Prerequisites

• An Azure account with an active subscription. Create a trial subscription.
• Administrator permissions to install and configure the Connected Machine agent.
  • For Linux, use the root account.
  • For Windows, use an account that's a member of the Local Administrators group.
• Review the Connected Machine agent prerequisites and verify the following requirements:

  • These resource providers are registered on your subscription:

    • Microsoft.HybridCompute
    • Microsoft.GuestConfiguration
    • Microsoft.HybridConnectivity

  • Your target machine runs a supported operating system.

  • Your account has the required Azure built-in roles.

  • The machine is in a supported region.

  • The Linux hostname or Windows computer name doesn't use a reserved word or trademark.

  • If the machine connects through a firewall or proxy server to communicate over the Internet, make sure that no required URLs are blocked.

Generate installation script

Use the Azure portal to create a script that automates the agent download and installation and establishes the connection with Azure Arc. You'll install this script, in a later step, to the hybrid machine you want to onboard to Azure Arc.

1. Go to the Azure portal page for adding servers with Azure Arc. Select the Add a single server tile, then select Generate script.

   Tip

   In the portal, you can also reach this page by searching for and selecting "Servers - Azure Arc" and then selecting +Add.

2. On the Basics page, complete the following steps:

   1. Select the subscription and resource group where you want the machine to be managed within Azure.

   2. For Region, choose the Azure region in which the server's metadata will be stored.

   3. For Operating system, select the operating system of the server you want to connect.

   4. For Connectivity method:

      1. Choose either Public endpoint or Private endpoint. If you select Private endpoint, you can either select an existing private link scope or create a new one.
      2. If you want to use a Proxy server URL, enter the proxy server IP address or the name and port number that the machine will use in the format http://<proxyURL>:<proxyport>.

   5. For Authentication method, select Authenticate machines manually.

   6. Select Next.

3. On the Tags page, review the default Physical location tags suggested and enter a value, or specify one or more Custom tags to support your standards. Then select Next.

4. In the Download and run script section, complete the following steps:

   1. Review the script. If you want to make any changes, use the Previous button to go back and update your selections.
   2. Select Download to save the script file.

Install the agent by using the script

Now that you've generated the script, run it on the server that you want to onboard to Azure Arc. The script downloads the Connected Machine agent from the Download Center, installs the agent on the server, creates the Azure Arc-enabled server resource, and associates it with the agent.

Complete the following steps for the operating system of your server.

Windows agent

1. Sign in to the server.

2. Open an elevated 64-bit PowerShell command prompt.

3. Change to the folder or share where you copied the script. Run the ./OnboardingScript.ps1 script to execute it on the server.

Linux agent

Install the Linux agent on the target machine by using one of the following methods:

• On target machines that can directly communicate to Azure, run the following command:

  bash ~/Install_linux_azcmagent.sh
  

• On target machines that communicate to Azure through a proxy server, run the following command:

  bash ~/Install_linux_azcmagent.sh --proxy "{proxy-url}:{proxy-port}"
  

Verify the connection with Azure Arc

After you install the agent and configure it to connect to Azure Arc-enabled servers, verify that the server has successfully connected.

1. Go to the Machines - Azure Arc page in the Azure portal.

2. Find the machine you onboarded and confirm that its status is Connected.

3. Confirm the machine has a connected status.

   

Next steps

• Learn how to connect multiple machines to Azure Arc using a service principal.
• Understand the various deployment options for Azure Arc-enabled servers.
• Create a policy assignment to identify non-compliant resources