Microsoft has been investing heavily in the Azure platform, and many customers have been adopting it for their needs. One common request I have received from customers is assistance with migrating their SQL Server to Azure. In this blog post, I will guide you through the process of initializing a virtual machine (VM) on Azure using the portal.

Step 1: Log in to Microsoft Azure

If you have an Azure subscription, log in to the Microsoft Azure portal.

Step 2: Select Virtual Machines

On the Azure portal, navigate to the side navigation panel and select “Virtual Machines”.

Step 3: Create a VM

Click the “+Add” button located at the top of the Virtual machines pane. In the Virtual Machine list, select “SQL Server” and “SQL Server 2016 SP1 Developer on Windows Server 2016”. You can choose other images with different editions or versions of SQL Server if needed. Click the “Create” button in the right pane.

Step 4: Configure the VM

On the Virtual Machine Configuration Basics page, fill in the required fields:

• Virtual Machine Name: Choose a name for your VM.
• New User Name: Select a secure local Administrator user account to provision.
• New Password and Confirm Password fields: Choose and confirm a new local Administrator password.
• Resource Group Name: Create a new resource group or select an existing one.

Click “OK” to proceed.

Step 5: Select VM Size

On the Virtual Machine Size page, choose a configuration that suits your needs. The available options may vary depending on the type of disk you select (SSD or HDD). Select the appropriate configuration and click “OK”.

Step 6: Configure Optional Features

On the Virtual Machine Configuration for optional features page, you can leave the default values as they are. Click “OK” to continue.

Note: It is recommended to review each of the configuration values and read about them for a better understanding. I will cover some of the extensions in a separate blog post.

Step 7: Configure SQL Server Settings

On the Virtual Machine Configuration SQL Server Settings page, leave the default values as they are. Make sure to select SQL Authentication and use the other defaults. Click “OK” to proceed.

Step 8: Validate and Start Provisioning

On the Virtual Machine Summary page, review the configuration details and click “OK” to start provisioning the VM. You will see the progress on the dashboard.

And that’s it! You have successfully created a VM using the Azure portal. In future blog posts, we will explore additional settings and features that you can leverage. If you are already using Azure, let us know in the comments if you prefer VMs or SQL Azure Databases and how you use them.