Sample script to upload a VHD to Azure and create a new VM

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This script takes a local .vhd file from a generalized VM and uploads it to Azure, creates a Managed Disk image and uses the to create a new VM.

This sample requires Azure PowerShell Az 1.0 or later. Run Get-Module -ListAvailable Az to see which versions are installed. If you need to install, see Install Azure PowerShell module.

Run Connect-AzAccount to sign in to Azure.

If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.

Sample script

# Provide values for the variables
$resourceGroup = 'myResourceGroup'
$location = 'EastUS'
$storageaccount = 'mystorageaccount'
$storageType = 'Standard_LRS'
$containername = 'mycontainer'
$localPath = 'C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\VHDs\generalized.vhd'
$vmName = 'myVM'
$imageName = 'myImage'
$vhdName = 'myUploadedVhd.vhd'
$diskSizeGB = '128'
$subnetName = 'mySubnet'
$vnetName = 'myVnet'
$ipName = 'myPip'
$nicName = 'myNic'
$nsgName = 'myNsg'
$ruleName = 'myRdpRule'
$computerName = 'myComputerName'
$vmSize = 'Standard_DS1_v2'

# Get the username and password to be used for the administrators account on the VM. 
# This is used when connecting to the VM using RDP.

$cred = Get-Credential

# Upload the VHD
New-AzResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroup -Location $location
New-AzStorageAccount -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Name $storageAccount -Location $location `
	-SkuName $storageType -Kind "Storage"
$urlOfUploadedImageVhd = ('https://' + $storageaccount + '.blob.core.windows.net/' + $containername + '/' + $vhdName)
Add-AzVhd -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Destination $urlOfUploadedImageVhd `
    -LocalFilePath $localPath

# Note: Uploading the VHD may take awhile!

# Create a managed image from the uploaded VHD 
$imageConfig = New-AzImageConfig -Location $location
$imageConfig = Set-AzImageOsDisk -Image $imageConfig -OsType Windows -OsState Generalized `
    -BlobUri $urlOfUploadedImageVhd
$image = New-AzImage -ImageName $imageName -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Image $imageConfig
 
# Create the networking resources
$singleSubnet = New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $subnetName -AddressPrefix 10.0.0.0/24
$vnet = New-AzVirtualNetwork -Name $vnetName -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
	-AddressPrefix 10.0.0.0/16 -Subnet $singleSubnet
$pip = New-AzPublicIpAddress -Name $ipName -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
    -AllocationMethod Dynamic
$rdpRule = New-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig -Name $ruleName -Description 'Allow RDP' -Access Allow `
	-Protocol Tcp -Direction Inbound -Priority 110 -SourceAddressPrefix Internet -SourcePortRange * `
	-DestinationAddressPrefix * -DestinationPortRange 3389
$nsg = New-AzNetworkSecurityGroup -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
	-Name $nsgName -SecurityRules $rdpRule
$nic = New-AzNetworkInterface -Name $nicName -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location `
	-SubnetId $vnet.Subnets[0].Id -PublicIpAddressId $pip.Id -NetworkSecurityGroupId $nsg.Id
$vnet = Get-AzVirtualNetwork -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Name $vnetName

# Start building the VM configuration
$vm = New-AzVMConfig -VMName $vmName -VMSize $vmSize

# Set the VM image as source image for the new VM
$vm = Set-AzVMSourceImage -VM $vm -Id $image.Id

# Finish the VM configuration and add the NIC.
$vm = Set-AzVMOSDisk -VM $vm  -DiskSizeInGB $diskSizeGB -CreateOption FromImage -Caching ReadWrite
$vm = Set-AzVMOperatingSystem -VM $vm -Windows -ComputerName $computerName -Credential $cred `
	-ProvisionVMAgent -EnableAutoUpdate
$vm = Add-AzVMNetworkInterface -VM $vm -Id $nic.Id

# Create the VM
New-AzVM -VM $vm -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup -Location $location

# Verify that the VM was created
$vmList = Get-AzVM -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroup
$vmList.Name

Clean up deployment

Run the following command to remove the resource group, VM, and all related resources.

Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name $resourceGroup

Script explanation

This script uses the following commands to create the deployment. Each item in the table links to command specific documentation.

Command Notes
New-AzResourceGroup Creates a resource group in which all resources are stored.
New-AzStorageAccount Creates a storage account.
Add-AzVhd Uploads a virtual hard disk from an on-premises virtual machine to a blob in a cloud storage account in Azure.
New-AzImageConfig Creates a configurable image object.
Set-AzImageOsDisk Sets the operating system disk properties on an image object.
New-AzImage Creates a new image.
New-AzVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig Creates a subnet configuration. This configuration is used with the virtual network creation process.
New-AzVirtualNetwork Creates a virtual network.
New-AzPublicIpAddress Creates a public IP address.
New-AzNetworkInterface Creates a network interface.
New-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig Creates a network security group rule configuration. This configuration is used to create an NSG rule when the NSG is created.
New-AzNetworkSecurityGroup Creates a network security group.
Get-AzVirtualNetwork Gets a virtual network in a resource group.
New-AzVMConfig Creates a VM configuration. This configuration includes information such as VM name, operating system, and administrative credentials. The configuration is used during VM creation.
Set-AzVMSourceImage Specifies an image for a virtual machine.
Set-AzVMOSDisk Sets the operating system disk properties on a virtual machine.
Set-AzVMOperatingSystem Sets the operating system disk properties on a virtual machine.
Add-AzVMNetworkInterface Adds a network interface to a virtual machine.
New-AzVM Create a virtual machine.
Remove-AzResourceGroup Removes a resource group and all resources contained within.

Next steps

For more information on the Azure PowerShell module, see Azure PowerShell documentation.

Additional virtual machine PowerShell script samples can be found in the Azure Windows VM documentation.