Create a virtual machine with the Azure CLI

This script creates an Azure Virtual Machine running Windows Server 2016. After running the script, you can access the virtual machine through a Remote Desktop connection.

To run this sample, install the latest version of the Azure CLI. To start, run az login to create a connection with Azure.

Samples for the Azure CLI are written for the bash shell. To run this sample in Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt, you may need to change elements of the script.

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

Clean up deployment

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

az group delete --name myResourceGroup --yes

Script explanation

This script uses the following commands to create a resource group, virtual machine, and all related resources. Each command in the table links to command specific documentation.

Command	Notes
az group create	Creates a resource group in which all resources are stored.
az network vnet create	Creates an Azure virtual network and subnet.
az network public-ip create	Creates a public IP address with a static IP address and an associated DNS name.
az network nsg create	Creates a network security group (NSG), which is a security boundary between the internet and the virtual machine.
az network nic create	Creates a virtual network card and attaches it to the virtual network, subnet, and NSG.
az vm create	Creates the virtual machine and connects it to the network card, virtual network, subnet, and NSG. This command also specifies the virtual machine image to be used, and administrative credentials.
az group delete	Deletes a resource group including all nested resources.

Next steps

For more information on the Azure CLI, see Azure CLI documentation.

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