How to Create a Virtual Machine Running Windows Server in Windows Azure

          This tutorial shows you how to use the From Gallery method in the Management Portal to create a custom virtual machine. This method provides more options than the Quick Create method does for configuring the virtual machine when you create it, such as the connected resources, the DNS name, and the network connectivity if needed.

1.      Sign in to the Windows Azure Management Portal.

2.      On the command bar, click New.

3.      Click Virtual Machine, and then click From Gallery.

4.      Click Platform Images, select Windows Server 2012 Datacenter of the images, and then click the arrow to continue.

5.      If multiple versions of the image are available, in Version Release Date, pick the version you want to use.

6.      In Virtual Machine Name, type the name that you want to use for the virtual machine. For this virtual machine, type XXXLabYYY.

7.      In Size, select the size of the virtual machine. The size you should select depends on the number of cores required to run your application. For this virtual machine, choose the smallest available size.

8.      In New User Name, type a name for the administrative account that you want to use to manage the server. For this virtual machine, type Admin.

9.      In New Password, type a strong password for the administrative account on the virtual machine. In Confirm Password, retype the password.

10. Click the arrow to continue.

11. You can place virtual machines together under a cloud service to provide robust applications, but for this tutorial, you only create a single virtual machine. To do this, select Create a new cloud service.

12. In Cloud Service DNS Name, type a name that uses between 3 and 24 lowercase letters and numbers. This name becomes part of the URI that is used to contact the virtual machine through the cloud service. For this virtual machine, type XXXMyServiceYYY.

13. In Region/Affinity Group/Virtual Network, select where you want to locate the virtual machine.

14. You can select a storage account where the VHD file is stored. For this tutorial, accept the default setting of Use an Automatically Generated Storage Account.

15. Under Availability Set, for the purposes of this tutorial use the default setting of None.

16. Click the arrow to continue.

17. Under Endpoints, new endpoints are created to allow connections for Remote Desktop and Windows PowerShell remoting. (Endpoints allow resources on the Internet or other virtual networks to communicate with a virtual machine.) Click the check mark to create the virtual machine.

After the virtual machine and cloud service are created, the Management Portal lists the new virtual machine under Virtual Machines and lists the cloud service under Cloud Services. Both the virtual machine and the cloud service are started automatically.