Create a VM from a generalized image version

List the image definitions in a gallery using az sig image-definition list to see the name and ID of the definitions.

resourceGroup=myGalleryRG
gallery=myGallery
az sig image-definition list --resource-group $resourceGroup --gallery-name $gallery --query "[].[name, id]" --output tsv

Create a VM using az vm create. To use the latest version of the image, set --image to the ID of the image definition.

This example is for creating a Linux VM secured with SSH. For Windows or to secure a Linux VM with a password, remove --generate-ssh-keys to be prompted for a password. If you want to supply a password directly, replace --generate-ssh-keys with --admin-password. Replace resource names as needed in this example.

imgDef="/subscriptions/<subscription ID where the gallery is located>/resourceGroups/myGalleryRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/myGallery/images/myImageDefinition"
vmResourceGroup=myResourceGroup
location=chinaeast
vmName=myVM
adminUsername=azureuser

az group create --name $vmResourceGroup --location $location

az vm create\
   --resource-group $vmResourceGroup \
   --name $vmName \
   --image $imgDef \
   --admin-username $adminUsername \
   --generate-ssh-keys

You can also use a specific version by using the image version ID for the --image parameter. For example, to use image version 1.0.0 type: --image "/subscriptions/<subscription ID where the gallery is located>/resourceGroups/myGalleryRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/myGallery/images/myImageDefinition/versions/1.0.0".

Once you have a generalized image version, you can create one or more new VMs. Using the New-AzVM cmdlet.

In this example, we're using the image definition ID to ensure your new VM will use the most recent version of an image. You can also use a specific version by using the image version ID for Set-AzVMSourceImage -Id. For example, to use image version 1.0.0 type: Set-AzVMSourceImage -Id "/subscriptions/<subscription ID where the gallery is located>/resourceGroups/myGalleryRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/myGallery/images/myImageDefinition/versions/1.0.0".

Be aware that using a specific image version means automation could fail if that specific image version isn't available because it was deleted or removed from the region. We recommend using the image definition ID for creating your new VM, unless a specific image version is required.

Replace resource names as needed in these examples.

Simplified parameter set

You can use the simplified parameter set to quickly create a VM from an image. The simplified parameter set uses the VM name to automatically create some of the required resources, like vNet and public IP address, for you.

# Create some variables for the new VM 
$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$location = "China East"
$vmName = "myVMfromImage"

# Get the image. Replace the name of your resource group, gallery, and image definition. This will create the VM from the latest image version available.

$imageDefinition = Get-AzGalleryImageDefinition `
   -GalleryName myGallery `
   -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup `
   -Name myImageDefinition

# 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

New-AzVM `
   -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup `
   -Location $location `
   -Name $vmName `
   -Image $imageDefinition.Id
   -Credential $cred

Full parameter set

You can create a VM using specific resources by using the full parameter set.

# Create some variables for the new VM 
$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$location = "China East"
$vmName = "myVMfromImage"

# Get the image. Replace the name of your resource group, gallery, and image definition. This will create the VM from the latest image version available.

$imageDefinition = Get-AzGalleryImageDefinition `
   -GalleryName myGallery `
   -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroup `
   -Name myImageDefinition

# 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

# Network pieces
$subnetConfig = New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig `
   -Name mySubnet `
   -AddressPrefix 192.168.1.0/24
$vnet = New-AzVirtualNetwork `
   -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup `
   -Location $location `
   -Name MYvNET `
   -AddressPrefix 192.168.0.0/16 `
   -Subnet $subnetConfig
$pip = New-AzPublicIpAddress `
   -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup `
   -Location $location `
  -Name "mypublicdns$(Get-Random)" `
  -AllocationMethod Static `
  -IdleTimeoutInMinutes 4
$nsgRuleRDP = New-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig `
   -Name myNetworkSecurityGroupRuleRDP  `
   -Protocol Tcp `
  -Direction Inbound `
   -Priority 1000 `
   -SourceAddressPrefix * `
   -SourcePortRange * `
   -DestinationAddressPrefix * `
   -DestinationPortRange 3389 `
   -Access Deny
$nsg = New-AzNetworkSecurityGroup `
   -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup `
   -Location $location `
  -Name myNetworkSecurityGroup `
  -SecurityRules $nsgRuleRDP
$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 using $imageDefinition.Id to use the latest image version.
$vmConfig = New-AzVMConfig `
   -VMName $vmName `
   -VMSize Standard_D1_v2 | `
   Set-AzVMOperatingSystem -Windows -ComputerName $vmName -Credential $cred | `
   Set-AzVMSourceImage -Id $imageDefinition.Id | `
   Add-AzVMNetworkInterface -Id $nic.Id

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

Create a Virtual Network.

PUT https://management.chinacloudapi.cn/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/{vNetName}?api-version=2020-05-01

{
    "properties": {
        "addressSpace": {
            "addressPrefixes": [
                "10.0.0.0/16"
            ]
        }
    },
    "location": "chinaeast"
}

Create a subnet.

PUT https://management.chinacloudapi.cn/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/{vNetName}/subnets/{subnetName}?api-version=2020-05-01

{
    "properties": {
        "addressPrefix": "10.0.0.0/16"
    },
}

Create a public IP address.

PUT https://management.chinacloudapi.cn/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses/{pIPName}?api-version=2020-11-01

{
  "location": "chinaeast"
}

Create a network security group.

# @name vmNSG
PUT https://management.chinacloudapi.cn/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/{nsgName}?api-version=2020-11-01

{
  "properties": {
    "securityRules": [
      {
        "name": "AllowSSH",
        "properties": {
          "protocol": "Tcp",
          "sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
          "destinationAddressPrefix": "*",
          "access": "Deny",
          "destinationPortRange": "3389",
          "sourcePortRange": "*",
          "priority": 1000,
          "direction": "Inbound"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "location": "chinaeast"
}

Create a NIC.

# @name vmNIC
PUT https://management.chinacloudapi.cn/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces/{nicName}?api-version=2020-05-01

{
    "properties": {
        "enableAcceleratedNetworking": true,
        "networkSecurityGroup": {
          "id": "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/{nsgName}"
        },
        "ipConfigurations": [
            {
                "name": "ipconfig1",
                "properties": {
                    "subnet": {
                        "id": "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/{vNetName}/subnets/{subNetName}",
                    },
                    "publicIPAddress": {
                        "id": "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses/{pipName}"
          }
                }
            }
        ]
    },
    "location": "chinaeast",
}

Create a Linux VM. The oSProfile section contains some OS specific details. See the next code example for the Windows syntax.

# @name vm
PUT https://management.chinacloudapi.cn/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/{vmName}?api-version=2020-06-01

{
    "location": "chinaeast",
    "properties": {
        "hardwareProfile": {
            "vmSize": "Standard_DS3_v2"
        },
        "storageProfile": {
            "imageReference": {
                "id": "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/{galleryName}/images/{galleryImageName}/versions/{versionNumber}"
            },
            "osDisk": {
                "caching": "ReadWrite",
                "managedDisk": {
                    "storageAccountType": "StandardSSD_LRS"
                },
                "createOption": "FromImage"
            }
        },
        "osProfile": {
            "adminUsername": "{your-username}",
            "computerName": "myVM",
            "linuxConfiguration": {
                "ssh": {
                    "publicKeys": [
                        {
                            "path": "/home/{your-username}/.ssh/authorized_keys",
                            "keyData": "{sshKey}",
                        }
                    ]
                },
                "disablePasswordAuthentication": true
            }
        },
        "networkProfile": {
            "networkInterfaces": [
                {
                    "id": "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces/{nicName}",
                }
            ]
        }
    },
}

Create a Windows VM.

# @name vm
PUT https://management.chinacloudapi.cn/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/{vmName}?api-version=2020-06-01

{
    "location": "chinaeast",
    "properties": {
        "hardwareProfile": {
            "vmSize": "Standard_DS3_v2"
        },
        "storageProfile": {
            "imageReference": {
                "id": "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/{galleryName}/images/{galleryImageName}/versions/{versionNumber}"
            },
            "osDisk": {
                "caching": "ReadWrite",
                "managedDisk": {
                    "storageAccountType": "StandardSSD_LRS"
                },
                "createOption": "FromImage"
            }
        },
        "osProfile": {
            "adminUsername": "{your-username}",
            "computerName": "myVM",
            "adminPassword": "{your-password}"
        },
        "networkProfile": {
            "networkInterfaces": [
                {
                    "id": "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces/{nicName}",
                }
            ]
        }
    },

Now you can create one or more new VMs. This example creates a VM named myVM, in the myResourceGroup, in the China North datacenter.

1. Go to your image definition. You can use the resource filter to show all image definitions available.
2. On the page for your image definition, select Create VM from the menu at the top of the page.
3. For Resource group, select Create new and type myResourceGroup for the name.
4. In Virtual machine name, type myVM.
5. For Region, select China East.
6. For Availability options, leave the default of No infrastructure redundancy required.
7. The value for Image is automatically filled with the latest image version if you started from the page for the image definition.
8. For Size, choose a VM size from the list of available sizes and then choose Select.
9. Under Administrator account, you need to provide a username, such as azureuser and a password or SSH key. The password must be at least 12 characters long and meet the defined complexity requirements.
10. If you want to allow remote access to the VM, under Public inbound ports, choose Allow selected ports and then select SSH (22) or RDP (3389) from the drop-down. If you don't want to allow remote access to the VM, leave None selected for Public inbound ports.
11. When you're finished, select the Review + create button at the bottom of the page.
12. After the VM passes validation, select Create at the bottom of the page to start the deployment.

Make sure the state of the image is Generalized. If you want to use an image with the Specialized state, see Create a VM from a specialized image version.

imgDef="/SharedGalleries/1a2b3c4d-1234-abcd-1234-1a2b3c4d5e6f-MYDIRECTSHARED/Images/myDirectDefinition/Versions/latest"
vmResourceGroup=myResourceGroup
location=chinaeast
vmName=myVM
adminUsername=azureuser

az group create --name $vmResourceGroup --location $location

az vm create\
   --resource-group $vmResourceGroup \
   --name $vmName \
   --image $imgDef \
   --admin-username $adminUsername \
   --generate-ssh-keys

Create the VM. Replace the information in the example with your own. Before you create the VM, make sure that the image is replicated into the region where you want to create the VM.

$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$location = "China East"
$vmName = "myVMfromImage"

# Set a variable for the image version in Tenant 1 using the full image ID of the image version
$image = "/subscriptions/<Tenant 1 subscription>/resourceGroups/<Resource group>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/<Gallery>/images/<Image definition>/versions/<version>"

# 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

# Networking pieces
$subnetConfig = New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name mySubnet -AddressPrefix 192.168.1.0/24
$vnet = New-AzVirtualNetwork -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name MYvNET -AddressPrefix 192.168.0.0/16 -Subnet $subnetConfig
$pip = New-AzPublicIpAddress -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name "mypublicdns$(Get-Random)" -AllocationMethod Static -IdleTimeoutInMinutes 4
$nsgRuleRDP = New-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig -Name myNetworkSecurityGroupRuleRDP  -Protocol Tcp `
  -Direction Inbound -Priority 1000 -SourceAddressPrefix * -SourcePortRange * -DestinationAddressPrefix * `
  -DestinationPortRange 3389 -Access Allow
$nsg = New-AzNetworkSecurityGroup -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name myNetworkSecurityGroup -SecurityRules $nsgRuleRDP
$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 using the $image variable to specify the image
$vmConfig = New-AzVMConfig -VMName $vmName -VMSize Standard_D1_v2 | `
Set-AzVMOperatingSystem -Windows -ComputerName $vmName -Credential $cred | `
Set-AzVMSourceImage -Id $image | `
Add-AzVMNetworkInterface -Id $nic.Id

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

In this example, we're showing how to create a VM from a generalized image. If you're using a specialized image, see Create a VM using a specialized image version.

You need to sign in to the tenant where the image is stored, get an access token, then sign into the tenant where you want to create the VM. This is how Azure authenticates that you have access to the image.

tenant1='<ID for tenant 1>'
tenant2='<ID for tenant 2>'

az account clear
az cloud set -n AzureChinaCloud
az login --tenant $tenant1
az account get-access-token 
az login --tenant $tenant2
az account get-access-token

Create the VM. Replace the information in the example with your own. Before you create the VM, make sure that the image is replicated into the region where you want to create the VM.

imageid="<ID of the image that you want to use>"
resourcegroup="<name for the resource group>"
location="<location where the image is replicated>"
user='<username for the VM>'
name='<name for the VM>'

az group create --location $location --resource-group $resourcegroup
az vm create \
  --resource-group $resourcegroup \
  --name $name \
  --image $imageid \
  --admin-username $user \
  --generate-ssh-keys

In this example, we're showing how to create a VM from a generalized image. If you're using a specialized image, see Create a VM using a specialized image version.

You need to sign in to the tenant where the image is stored, get an access token, then sign into the tenant where you want to create the VM. This is how Azure authenticates that you have access to the image.

$tenant1 = "<Tenant 1 ID>"
$tenant2 = "<Tenant 2 ID>"
Connect-AzAccount -Environment AzureChinaCloud -Tenant "<Tenant 1 ID>" -UseDeviceAuthentication
Connect-AzAccount -Environment AzureChinaCloud -Tenant "<Tenant 2 ID>" -UseDeviceAuthentication

Create the VM. Replace the information in the example with your own. Before you create the VM, make sure that the image is replicated into the region where you want to create the VM.

$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$location = "China East"
$vmName = "myVMfromImage"

# Set a variable for the image version in Tenant 1 using the full image ID of the image version
$image = "/subscriptions/<Tenant 1 subscription>/resourceGroups/<Resource group>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/<Gallery>/images/<Image definition>/versions/<version>"

# 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

# Networking pieces
$subnetConfig = New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name mySubnet -AddressPrefix 192.168.1.0/24
$vnet = New-AzVirtualNetwork -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name MYvNET -AddressPrefix 192.168.0.0/16 -Subnet $subnetConfig
$pip = New-AzPublicIpAddress -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name "mypublicdns$(Get-Random)" -AllocationMethod Static -IdleTimeoutInMinutes 4
$nsgRuleRDP = New-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig -Name myNetworkSecurityGroupRuleRDP  -Protocol Tcp `
  -Direction Inbound -Priority 1000 -SourceAddressPrefix * -SourcePortRange * -DestinationAddressPrefix * `
  -DestinationPortRange 3389 -Access Allow
$nsg = New-AzNetworkSecurityGroup -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
  -Name myNetworkSecurityGroup -SecurityRules $nsgRuleRDP
$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 using the $image variable to specify the image
$vmConfig = New-AzVMConfig -VMName $vmName -VMSize Standard_D1_v2 | `
Set-AzVMOperatingSystem -Windows -ComputerName $vmName -Credential $cred | `
Set-AzVMSourceImage -Id $image | `
Add-AzVMNetworkInterface -Id $nic.Id

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