Virtual Machines

Nelson Narayan 20 Reputation points
2026-09-24T13:38:28.9666667+00:00

Azure lab challenge question
Can You Automate and Manage Custom Scalable Azure VM-based infrastructure solutions? [Expert]
Step by step in Azure Portal and CLI

Azure Virtual Machines
Azure Virtual Machines

An Azure service that is used to provision Windows and Linux virtual machines.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-24T13:39:04.2833333+00:00

    Yes. Azure supports end-to-end automation and management of scalable VM-based infrastructure solutions, with different tools depending on the goal:

    1. Infrastructure deployment at scale
      • Terraform: define network, storage, and VM resources in HCL and reuse templates across environments.
      • Azure Resource Manager templates and Bicep: declaratively deploy Azure resources in a consistent, repeatable way.
    2. VM configuration automation
      • cloud-init for Linux VMs: customize the VM on first boot to install packages, write files, and configure users and security.
      • Custom Script Extension and PowerShell DSC: automate post-deployment configuration.
    3. Custom image creation for scale
      • Packer: automate creation of custom VM images, including OS definition and post-configuration scripts, then capture the result as a managed disk image.
      • For Azure Lab Services custom images from Azure VMs, prepare the VM, install software, and keep the disk size at 128 GB or less.
    4. Application deployment and delivery
      • Azure DevOps Services and Jenkins can automate deployment pipelines on top of the VM infrastructure.

    Azure Portal path

    1. Create or prepare an Azure VM.
    2. Install required software and configuration.
    3. For reusable images, export or capture the VM as a custom image.
    4. Use that image for repeatable deployments.
    5. For declarative infrastructure, use Bicep, ARM templates, or Terraform for repeated environment creation.

    Azure CLI example for lab VM creation

    1. Set the subscription context:
    az account set --subscription 11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111
    1. Create a VM from a marketplace image:
    az lab vm create --resource-group DtlResourceGroup --lab-name MyLab --name 'MyTestVm' --image "Visual Studio Community 2017 on Windows Server 2016 (x64)" --image-type gallery --size 'Standard_D2s_v3' --admin-username 'AdminUser' --admin-password 'Password1!'
    1. Create a VM from a custom image:
    az lab vm create --resource-group DtlResourceGroup --lab-name MyLab --name 'MyTestVm' --image "My Custom Image" --image-type custom --size 'Standard_D2s_v3' --admin-username 'AdminUser' --admin-password 'Password1!'
    1. Create a Linux VM with SSH authentication:
    az lab vm create --lab-name sampleLabName --resource-group sampleLabResourceGroup --name sampleVMName --image "Ubuntu Server 16.04 LTS" --image-type gallery --size Standard_DS1_v2 --authentication-type ssh --generate-ssh-keys --ip-configuration public

    Recommended approach by scenario

    • Use Terraform, ARM, or Bicep for scalable infrastructure provisioning.
    • Use cloud-init for Linux first-boot configuration.
    • Use Packer when standardized custom VM images are needed.
    • Use Azure DevOps or Jenkins for deployment pipelines.

    References:

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  2. Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco 12,601 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-24T20:29:23.4733333+00:00

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A

    Hello @Nelson Narayan I hope you are doing well,

    Could you clarify the objective of the lab challenge?

    "Can You Automate and Manage Custom Scalable Azure VM-based Infrastructure Solutions?" is a broad topic that can include several Azure services such as:

    • Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS)
    • Availability Sets / Availability Zones
    • Azure Load Balancer
    • Azure Automation
    • Azure Image Builder
    • ARM Templates / Bicep
    • Azure CLI
    • PowerShell
    • Azure Monitor Autoscale

    If your goal is to build a custom scalable VM infrastructure, a typical solution would involve:

    1. Create a Resource Group.
    2. Create a Virtual Network and Subnet.
    3. Create a Load Balancer.
    4. Deploy a Virtual Machine Scale Set.
    5. Configure Autoscaling rules.
    6. Deploy applications using Custom Script Extensions or Azure Image Builder.
    7. Monitor and manage the environment with Azure Monitor.

    Once you provide the specific lab requirements or challenge statement, I can provide the exact step-by-step Azure Portal instructions and the equivalent Azure CLI commands.

    References

    Autoscale Virtual Machine Scale Sets: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-monitor/autoscale/autoscale-virtual-machine-scale-sets

    Azure CLI VMSS Quickstart: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machine-scale-sets/quick-create-cli

    If my answer helped you resolve your issue, please consider marking it as the correct answer. This helps others in the community find solutions more easily.

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