Create a VM using a specialized 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 the VM using az vm create using the --specialized parameter to indicate that the image is a specialized image.

Use the image definition ID for --image to create the VM from the latest version of the image that is available. You can also create the VM from a specific version by supplying the image version ID for --image.

In this example, we're creating a VM from the latest version of the myImageDefinition image.

az group create --name myResourceGroup --location chinaeast
az vm create --resource-group myResourceGroup \
    --name myVM \
    --image "/subscriptions/<Subscription ID>/resourceGroups/myGalleryRG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/myGallery/images/myImageDefinition" \
    --specialized

Once you have a specialized 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".

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 this example.

# Create some variables for the new VM.

$resourceGroup = "mySIGSpecializedRG"
$location = "China East"
$vmName = "mySpecializedVM"

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

# Create the network resources.

$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 $vmName `
   -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup `
   -Location $location `
  -SubnetId $vnet.Subnets[0].Id `
  -PublicIpAddressId $pip.Id `
  -NetworkSecurityGroupId $nsg.Id

# Create a virtual machine configuration using Set-AzVMSourceImage -Id $imageDefinition.Id to use the latest available image version.

$vmConfig = New-AzVMConfig `
   -VMName $vmName `
   -VMSize Standard_D1_v2 | `
   Set-AzVMSourceImage -Id $imageDefinition.Id | `
   Add-AzVMNetworkInterface -Id $nic.Id

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

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 North.
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, the username is grayed out because the username and credentials from the source VM are used.
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.