Create a virtual machine scale set with the Azure CLI
This script creates an Azure virtual machine scale set with an Ubuntu operating system and related networking resources including a load balancer. After running the script, you can access the VM instances over SSH.
If you don't have an Azure subscription, create an Azure free account before you begin.
Prerequisites
Use the Bash environment in Azure Cloud Shell. For more information, see Azure Cloud Shell Quickstart - Bash.
If you prefer to run CLI reference commands locally, install the Azure CLI. If you are running on Windows or macOS, consider running Azure CLI in a Docker container. For more information, see How to run the Azure CLI in a Docker container.
If you're using a local installation, sign in to the Azure CLI by using the az login command. To finish the authentication process, follow the steps displayed in your terminal. For additional sign-in options, see Sign in with the Azure CLI.
When you're prompted, install Azure CLI extensions on first use. For more information about extensions, see Use extensions with the Azure CLI.
Run az version to find the version and dependent libraries that are installed. To upgrade to the latest version, run az upgrade.
Sample script
Launch Azure Cloud Shell
The Azure Cloud Shell is a free interactive shell that you can use to run the steps in this article. It has common Azure tools preinstalled and configured to use with your account.
To open the Cloud Shell, just select Try it from the upper right corner of a code block. You can also launch Cloud Shell in a separate browser tab by going to https://shell.azure.com.
When Cloud Shell opens, verify that Bash is selected for your environment. Subsequent sessions will use Azure CLI in a Bash environment, Select Copy to copy the blocks of code, paste it into the Cloud Shell, and press Enter to run it.
Sign in to Azure
Cloud Shell is automatically authenticated under the initial account signed-in with. Use the following script to sign in using a different subscription, replacing <Subscription ID> with your Azure Subscription ID. If you don't have an Azure subscription, create an Azure free account before you begin.
subscription="<subscriptionId>" # add subscription here
az account set -s $subscription # ...or use 'az login'
For more information, see set active subscription or log in interactively
Run the script
let "randomIdentifier=$RANDOM*$RANDOM"
location="East US"
resourceGroup="msdocs-vmss-rg-$randomIdentifier"
tags="simple-scale-set-vmss"
image="UbuntuLTS"
scaleSet="msdocs-scaleSet-$randomIdentifier"
upgradePolicyMode="automatic"
instanceCount="2"
login="azureuser"
# Create a resource group
echo "Creating $resourceGroup in $location..."
az group create --name $resourceGroup --location "$location" --tag $tag
# Create a scale set
# Network resources such as an Azure load balancer are automatically created
echo "Creating $scaleSet with $instanceCount instances"
az vmss create --resource-group $resourceGroup --name $scaleSet --image $image --upgrade-policy-mode $upgradePolicyMode --instance-count $instanceCount --admin-username $login --generate-ssh-keys
Clean up resources
Use the following command to remove the resource group and all resources associated with it using the az group delete command - unless you have an ongoing need for these resources. Some of these resources may take a while to create, as well as to delete.
az group delete --name $resourceGroup
Sample reference
This script uses the commands outlined in the following table:
| Command | Notes |
|---|---|
| az group create | Creates a resource group in which all resources are stored. |
| az vmss create | Creates the virtual machine scale set and connects it to the virtual network, subnet, and network security group. A load balancer is also created to distribute traffic to multiple VM instances. This command also specifies the VM 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.
