Create a Windows virtual machine from a Resource Manager template

Article
01/09/2024

Applies to: ✔️ Windows VMs

Learn how to create a Windows virtual machine by using an Azure Resource Manager template and Azure PowerShell. The template used in this article deploys a single virtual machine running Windows Server in a new virtual network with a single subnet. For creating a Linux virtual machine, see How to create a Linux virtual machine with Azure Resource Manager templates.

An alternative is to deploy the template from the Azure portal. To open the template in the portal, select the Deploy to Azure button.

Create a virtual machine

Creating an Azure virtual machine usually includes two steps:

Create a resource group. An Azure resource group is a logical container into which Azure resources are deployed and managed. A resource group must be created before a virtual machine.
Create a virtual machine.

The following example creates a generation 2 VM with Trusted Launch enabled by default from an Azure Quickstart template. Here is a copy of the template:

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "metadata": {
    "_generator": {
      "name": "bicep",
      "version": "0.16.2.56959",
      "templateHash": "14427937023370378081"
    }
  },
  "parameters": {
    "adminUsername": {
      "type": "string",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Username for the Virtual Machine."
      }
    },
    "adminPassword": {
      "type": "securestring",
      "minLength": 12,
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Password for the Virtual Machine."
      }
    },
    "dnsLabelPrefix": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "[toLower(format('{0}-{1}', parameters('vmName'), uniqueString(resourceGroup().id, parameters('vmName'))))]",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Unique DNS Name for the Public IP used to access the Virtual Machine."
      }
    },
    "publicIpName": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "myPublicIP",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Name for the Public IP used to access the Virtual Machine."
      }
    },
    "publicIPAllocationMethod": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "Dynamic",
      "allowedValues": [
        "Dynamic",
        "Static"
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Allocation method for the Public IP used to access the Virtual Machine."
      }
    },
    "publicIpSku": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "Basic",
      "allowedValues": [
        "Basic",
        "Standard"
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "description": "SKU for the Public IP used to access the Virtual Machine."
      }
    },
    "OSVersion": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "2022-datacenter-azure-edition",
      "allowedValues": [
        "2016-datacenter-gensecond",
        "2016-datacenter-server-core-g2",
        "2016-datacenter-server-core-smalldisk-g2",
        "2016-datacenter-smalldisk-g2",
        "2016-datacenter-with-containers-g2",
        "2016-datacenter-zhcn-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-core-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-core-smalldisk-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-core-with-containers-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-core-with-containers-smalldisk-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-gensecond",
        "2019-datacenter-smalldisk-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-with-containers-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-with-containers-smalldisk-g2",
        "2019-datacenter-zhcn-g2",
        "2022-datacenter-azure-edition",
        "2022-datacenter-azure-edition-core",
        "2022-datacenter-azure-edition-core-smalldisk",
        "2022-datacenter-azure-edition-smalldisk",
        "2022-datacenter-core-g2",
        "2022-datacenter-core-smalldisk-g2",
        "2022-datacenter-g2",
        "2022-datacenter-smalldisk-g2"
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "description": "The Windows version for the VM. This will pick a fully patched image of this given Windows version."
      }
    },
    "vmSize": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "Standard_D2s_v5",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Size of the virtual machine."
      }
    },
    "location": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "[resourceGroup().location]",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Location for all resources."
      }
    },
    "vmName": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "simple-vm",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Name of the virtual machine."
      }
    },
    "securityType": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "TrustedLaunch",
      "allowedValues": [
        "Standard",
        "TrustedLaunch"
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Security Type of the Virtual Machine."
      }
    }
  },
  "variables": {
    "storageAccountName": "[format('bootdiags{0}', uniqueString(resourceGroup().id))]",
    "nicName": "myVMNic",
    "addressPrefix": "10.0.0.0/16",
    "subnetName": "Subnet",
    "subnetPrefix": "10.0.0.0/24",
    "virtualNetworkName": "MyVNET",
    "networkSecurityGroupName": "default-NSG",
    "securityProfileJson": {
      "uefiSettings": {
        "secureBootEnabled": true,
        "vTpmEnabled": true
      },
      "securityType": "[parameters('securityType')]"
    },
    "extensionName": "GuestAttestation",
    "extensionPublisher": "Microsoft.Azure.Security.WindowsAttestation",
    "extensionVersion": "1.0",
    "maaTenantName": "GuestAttestation",
    "maaEndpoint": "[substring('emptyString', 0, 0)]"
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
      "apiVersion": "2022-05-01",
      "name": "[variables('storageAccountName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "sku": {
        "name": "Standard_LRS"
      },
      "kind": "Storage"
    },
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses",
      "apiVersion": "2022-05-01",
      "name": "[parameters('publicIpName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "sku": {
        "name": "[parameters('publicIpSku')]"
      },
      "properties": {
        "publicIPAllocationMethod": "[parameters('publicIPAllocationMethod')]",
        "dnsSettings": {
          "domainNameLabel": "[parameters('dnsLabelPrefix')]"
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups",
      "apiVersion": "2022-05-01",
      "name": "[variables('networkSecurityGroupName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
        "securityRules": [
          {
            "name": "default-allow-3389",
            "properties": {
              "priority": 1000,
              "access": "Allow",
              "direction": "Inbound",
              "destinationPortRange": "3389",
              "protocol": "Tcp",
              "sourcePortRange": "*",
              "sourceAddressPrefix": "*",
              "destinationAddressPrefix": "*"
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks",
      "apiVersion": "2022-05-01",
      "name": "[variables('virtualNetworkName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
        "addressSpace": {
          "addressPrefixes": [
            "[variables('addressPrefix')]"
          ]
        },
        "subnets": [
          {
            "name": "[variables('subnetName')]",
            "properties": {
              "addressPrefix": "[variables('subnetPrefix')]",
              "networkSecurityGroup": {
                "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups', variables('networkSecurityGroupName'))]"
              }
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      "dependsOn": [
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups', variables('networkSecurityGroupName'))]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces",
      "apiVersion": "2022-05-01",
      "name": "[variables('nicName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
        "ipConfigurations": [
          {
            "name": "ipconfig1",
            "properties": {
              "privateIPAllocationMethod": "Dynamic",
              "publicIPAddress": {
                "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses', parameters('publicIpName'))]"
              },
              "subnet": {
                "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets', variables('virtualNetworkName'), variables('subnetName'))]"
              }
            }
          }
        ]
      },
      "dependsOn": [
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses', parameters('publicIpName'))]",
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks', variables('virtualNetworkName'))]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines",
      "apiVersion": "2022-03-01",
      "name": "[parameters('vmName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
        "hardwareProfile": {
          "vmSize": "[parameters('vmSize')]"
        },
        "osProfile": {
          "computerName": "[parameters('vmName')]",
          "adminUsername": "[parameters('adminUsername')]",
          "adminPassword": "[parameters('adminPassword')]"
        },
        "storageProfile": {
          "imageReference": {
            "publisher": "MicrosoftWindowsServer",
            "offer": "WindowsServer",
            "sku": "[parameters('OSVersion')]",
            "version": "latest"
          },
          "osDisk": {
            "createOption": "FromImage",
            "managedDisk": {
              "storageAccountType": "StandardSSD_LRS"
            }
          },
          "dataDisks": [
            {
              "diskSizeGB": 1023,
              "lun": 0,
              "createOption": "Empty"
            }
          ]
        },
        "networkProfile": {
          "networkInterfaces": [
            {
              "id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', variables('nicName'))]"
            }
          ]
        },
        "diagnosticsProfile": {
          "bootDiagnostics": {
            "enabled": true,
            "storageUri": "[reference(resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', variables('storageAccountName')), '2022-05-01').primaryEndpoints.blob]"
          }
        },
        "securityProfile": "[if(equals(parameters('securityType'), 'TrustedLaunch'), variables('securityProfileJson'), null())]"
      },
      "dependsOn": [
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', variables('nicName'))]",
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', variables('storageAccountName'))]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "condition": "[and(equals(parameters('securityType'), 'TrustedLaunch'), and(equals(variables('securityProfileJson').uefiSettings.secureBootEnabled, true()), equals(variables('securityProfileJson').uefiSettings.vTpmEnabled, true())))]",
      "type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions",
      "apiVersion": "2022-03-01",
      "name": "[format('{0}/{1}', parameters('vmName'), variables('extensionName'))]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
        "publisher": "[variables('extensionPublisher')]",
        "type": "[variables('extensionName')]",
        "typeHandlerVersion": "[variables('extensionVersion')]",
        "autoUpgradeMinorVersion": true,
        "enableAutomaticUpgrade": true,
        "settings": {
          "AttestationConfig": {
            "MaaSettings": {
              "maaEndpoint": "[variables('maaEndpoint')]",
              "maaTenantName": "[variables('maaTenantName')]"
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "dependsOn": [
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines', parameters('vmName'))]"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "outputs": {
    "hostname": {
      "type": "string",
      "value": "[reference(resourceId('Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses', parameters('publicIpName')), '2022-05-01').dnsSettings.fqdn]"
    }
  }
}

To run the following PowerShell script on Azure local PowerShell console with Administrator priviledge.

Note

When we deploy resource with specified template file URI that starts with https://raw.githubusercontent.com/, the console will run in error like Unable to download deployment content sometime.

We can follow the actions below to resolve the corresponding issue.

Copy the template URI, convert the URI by changing the prefix, infix, and tempalte file name. For exsample: the origin URI is https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/master/101-cosmosdb-sql-autoscale/azuredeploy.json

Category	Original value	Converted value	Action
Prefix	`https://raw.githubusercontent.com`	`https://github.com`	Update
Infix		`blob`	Add before `master` or `main` branch name
Template file name	azuredeploy.json	your download tempalte file name	update

After modified, the converted URI will show like https://github.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/blob/master/101-cosmosdb-sql-autoscale/azuredeploy.json.

Please be kindly noticed that some templates URI have been updated as https://github.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-template/quickstarts/{Microsoft_Resource_Provider_Name}/, you can follow the corresponding path regulation to update the original URI.

Copy the converted URI and download the specific template content in Internet browsers manully.
Modify the templates you downloaded or referenced from the GitHub Repo in order to fit in the Azure China 21Vianet Environment. For example, replace some endpoints -- "blob.core.windows.net" by "blob.core.chinacloudapi.cn", "cloudapp.azure.com" by "chinacloudapp.cn"; change some unsupported Location,VM images, VM sizes, SKU, and resource-provider's API Version when necessary.

Replace the parameter of -TemplateUri with -TemplateFile for powershell or --template-uri with --template-file for CLI , then update the specified URI with the downloaded actual file name and run the script again.

Language category	Reference link	Action
PowerShell	`New-AzResourceGroupDeployment`	Replace `-TemplateUri` with `-TemplateFile` Follow the previous steps to download the `-TemplateParameterUri` content and repalce with `-TemplateParameterFile` in cmdlet when necessary.
Azure CLI	`az deployment group create`	Replace `--template-uri` with `--template-file`

$resourceGroupName = Read-Host -Prompt "Enter the Resource Group name"
$location = Read-Host -Prompt "Enter the location (i.e. chinanorth3)"
$adminUsername = Read-Host -Prompt "Enter the administrator username"
$adminPassword = Read-Host -Prompt "Enter the administrator password" -AsSecureString
$dnsLabelPrefix = Read-Host -Prompt "Enter an unique DNS name for the public IP"

New-AzResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroupName -Location "$location"
New-AzResourceGroupDeployment `
    -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName `
    -TemplateUri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/master/quickstarts/microsoft.compute/vm-simple-windows/azuredeploy.json" `
    -adminUsername $adminUsername `
    -adminPassword $adminPassword `
    -dnsLabelPrefix $dnsLabelPrefix

 (Get-AzVm -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName).name

If you choose to install and use the PowerShell locally , this tutorial requires the Azure PowerShell module. Run Get-Module -ListAvailable Az to find the version. If you need to upgrade, see Install Azure PowerShell module. If you're running PowerShell locally, you also need to run Connect-AzAccount -Environment AzureChinaCloud to create a connection with Azure.

In the previous example, you specified a template stored in GitHub. You can also download or create a template and specify the local path with the -template-file parameter.

Here are some additional resources:

To learn how to develop Resource Manager templates, see Azure Resource Manager documentation.
To see more virtual machine template samples, see Azure Quickstart templates.

Connect to the virtual machine

The last PowerShell command from the previous script shows the virtual machine name. To connect to the virtual machine, see How to connect and sign on to an Azure virtual machine running Windows.

Next Steps

If there were issues with the deployment, you might take a look at Troubleshoot common Azure deployment errors with Azure Resource Manager.
Learn how to create and manage a virtual machine in Create and manage Windows VMs with the Azure PowerShell module.

Create a Windows virtual machine from a Resource Manager template

Create a virtual machine

Connect to the virtual machine

Next Steps

Additional resources