Create a New Azure VM with PowerShell

In Using PowerShell to Get Started in Microsoft Azure, I explained how to set up access to Microsoft Azure with PowerShell, but here's where things start to get interesting. There's a cmdlet called Get-AzureVMImage which returns all of the predefined Azure VM images you can choose from when setting up a new Azure virtual machine (VM). Since we're SQL Server people, here's how I get the list of available VMs specific to SQL Server.

$imgs = Get-AzureVMImage$imgs | where {$_.Label -like 'sql server*'} | select Label, RecommendedVMSize, PublishedDate | Format-Table -AutoSize

Figure 1: List of available VMs specific to SQL Server

You can then look through the list and decide which image you want to use for a new Azure VM. Notice that there are multiple rows for a given label, so for 'SQL Server 2014 RTM Enterprise on Windows Server 2012 R2', there are two rows, one with a PublishedDate of 4/1/2014 and the other for 6/9/2014. To ensure you get the one you want, use both the exact Label and the PublishedDate values to get the ImageName property for the image you want.

$imgnm = $imgs | where {$_.Label -eq 'SQL Server 2014 RTM Enterprise on Windows Server 2012 R2' -and $_.PublishedDate -eq '6/9/2014 3:00:00 AM'} | select ImageName

This gives you the ImageName value of 'fb83b3509582419d99629ce476bcb5c8__SQL-Server-2014-RTM-12.0.2361.0-Enterprise-ENU-Win2012R2-cy14su05', and you use that for your new Azure VM. I use that property to create a new Azure VM configuration.

New-AzureVMConfig -Name 'AVMSQL02' -InstanceSize Basic_A3 -ImageName $imgnm ` | Add-AzureProvisioningConfig -Windows -AdminUsername '[mywindowsadminuser]' -Password '[strongpassword]' ` | New-AzureVM -Location 'Central US' -ServiceName 'AVMSQL02'

The New-AzureVMConfig cmdlet creates a VM configuration object, where you specify the name, the size, and the name of the image. Pipe that to the Add-AzureProvisioningConfig cmdlet, which allows you to set up the admin account details. Then, pipe that to the New-AzureVM cmdlet, specifying the location and service name.

Figure 2: Set up admin account details

Now, you can launch RDP and configure the new server. Here are the SQL Server services it automatically runs in the selected VM.

Figure 3: Launch RDA and configure new SQL Server

Using PowerShell, you have a repeatable process to provision and access your Azure VM environment, making the process consistent and much more easily manageable.

Related: Use PowerShell Remoting to Manage SQL Server Efficiently