Microsoft Azure for Beginners: Best Practices for deploying your IaaS VM on Azure : Part 32

The first step in Azure is often to deploy virtual machines. Deploying Azure IaaS resources in Azure requires the right approach to ensure they are optimally functional and secure. In this blog post, the essential best practices to consider when deploying Azure IaaS resources in Azure:

Start using Managed disks

For several reasons, it would be best if you use managed disks for your IaaS virtual machines.

1. Managed disks provide enhanced reliability and scalability compared to traditional storage accounts, as Azure manages the underlying storage infrastructure
2. Managed disks are highly scalable, allowing you to easily increase the size of your disks without the need for manual intervention
3. Managed disks simplify the management of your disks, as Azure takes care of tasks such as disk replication and snapshots
4. Managed disks use Azure Active Directory authentication, providing an additional layer of security for your data
5. Managed disks integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Backup, providing a streamlined experience for deploying and managing your VMs
6. Managed disks can be more cost-effective than traditional storage accounts, as you only pay for the storage you consume, and there are no additional storage management costs

Depending on your specific setting, when creating a virtual machine in the Azure Portal, managed disks are selected by default. But within the disks section, you always have the option to enable it.

Use templates for deploying your Virtual Machines

There are multiple benefits to using templates when deploying IaaS virtual machines to Azure :

1. They provide a consistent and repeatable method for deploying resources, which helps reduce errors and ensures that your resources are deployed correctly
2. I recommend using a source control repository, such as GitHub, allowing you to track changes over time and revert to previous versions if needed
3. They are ideal to be reused to deploy similar resources, saving time and reducing the risk of errors
4. Templates can be used as part of an automated deployment pipeline, allowing you to quickly deploy resources as part of a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) process
5. Multiple team members can share and collaborate on templates, making it easier to work together on deploying resources
6. Start using templates to deploy resources at scale, allowing you to provision multiple resources as needed quickly

Use Managed identities

Using Managed identities for virtual machines in Azure can provide several benefits :

1. Secure access to Azure resources: Managed identities allow your virtual machines to authenticate with Azure resources securely without the need for you to manage credentials
2. Simplified access to Azure resources: With Managed identities, you don’t need to manage the credentials or keys required for authentication. This simplifies the process of accessing Azure resources from your virtual machines
3. Improved security: Managed identities provide a more secure way to access Azure resources, as the credentials are managed by Azure and are automatically rotated
4. Compliance: Using managed identities helps you meet regulatory requirements related to securing credentials

Enable Managed disk encryption

Using managed disk encryption for virtual machines can provide several benefits:

1. Data security: Managed disk encryption provides encryption of the virtual machine disks, helping to protect sensitive data stored on the virtual machine
2. Compliance: Managed disk encryption can help you meet regulatory requirements related to data encryption at rest
3. Ease of use: Managed disk encryption is integrated into Azure, and you can enable it through the Azure portal, CLI, or APIs, making it easy to use and manage
4. Key management: Azure manages the encryption keys for you, eliminating your need to manage keys and reducing the risks of human error

Use Virtual Network service endpoints

Using virtual network service endpoints when deploying virtual machines to Azure can provide several benefits:

1. Enhanced security: Virtual network service endpoints allow you to restrict access to your Azure storage accounts to only virtual networks, helping to secure your data
2. Improved performance: By eliminating the need for internet-based access to your storage accounts, virtual network service endpoints can improve the performance of accessing data stored in your storage accounts
3. Reduced data transfer costs: You can reduce data transfer costs by eliminating the need for internet-based access to your storage accounts
4. Simplified network design: Virtual network service endpoints simplify your network design by eliminating the need for public IP addresses and network security groups (NSGs) for your storage accounts

Enable Network Security Group rules

Using Network Security Group (NSG) rules when deploying a virtual machine on Azure is essential for several reasons:

1. Security: NSG rules allow you to control incoming and outgoing network traffic to your virtual machine, helping to secure your resources from potential security threats
2. Access control: NSG rules give you fine-grained control over which resources can access your virtual machine, ensuring that only authorized users and systems can connect
3. Performance: NSG rules can also be used to optimize network performance by blocking traffic that is not necessary for your virtual machine to function
4. Compliance: In regulated industries, using NSG rules may be a requirement for compliance with security standards

Use the latest version of the OS

Using the latest version of the Operating System (OS) when deploying a new virtual machine on Azure is recommended for several reasons:

1. Security: Newer OS versions often include updates and patches to address security vulnerabilities, helping to keep your virtual machine secure
2. Compatibility: The latest OS version is more likely to be compatible with new and updated Azure features, allowing you to take advantage of the latest advancements
3. Performance: Newer OS versions may include performance improvements, helping to ensure that your virtual machine runs efficiently and effectively
4. Support: The latest OS version is more likely to be supported by the vendor, providing you access to the latest updates, patches, and technical support

By using the latest version of the OS when deploying a new virtual machine on Azure, you can benefit from improved security, compatibility, performance, and support, helping to ensure that your virtual machine runs smoothly and effectively.

Use Azure Backup

Using Azure Backup is critical to protecting your data in Azure IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). Here are some reasons why:

• Protection against data loss: Azure Backup provides automatic backups of your virtual machines, protecting you from data loss due to human error, hardware failure, or cyber-attacks
• Integration with Azure: Azure Backup is integrated with Azure, making it easy to deploy and manage. This makes it easier to implement backup strategies tailored to your organization’s specific needs
• Scalability: Azure Backup is scalable, making it easy to adapt your backup solution to your growing storage needs
• Compliance: Azure Backup can help meet regulatory requirements for data security and backup policy compliance. Azure Backup also offers advanced security features, allowing encryption and RBAC authorizations, allowing you to ensure the safety of your data
• Easy to manage: Azure Backup is easy to manage via the Azure portal, CLI or APIs, making it simple to implement and manage your backup strategy
• Flexibility: Azure Backup offers several storage options, including local and cloud storage, allowing you to customize your backup solution to meet your specific needs

In short, using Azure Backup is essential for protecting your data in Azure IaaS, meeting regulatory requirements, efficiently managing backups, and having the flexibility to customize your backup solution to your specific needs.

Monitor and troubleshoot your VM’s

It is advised to follow the best practices regarding monitoring and troubleshooting.

The best practices for monitoring and troubleshooting Azure IaaS virtual machines include the following steps:

1. Monitoring: It is crucial to monitor your virtual machines regularly to ensure they function correctly. Here are some things to watch out for:
   1. CPU usage
   2. Memory usage
   3. Network bandwidth
   4. Storage usage
   5. Analyze logs
2. Set Alerts: Set alerts on crucial performance parameters so that you are aware of potential problems on time
3. Analyze logs: Analyzing logs is crucial for quickly identifying and fixing problems. Use tools such as Azure Monitor to collect and analyze logs
4. Proactive Management: Perform regular proactive maintenance to avoid problems, such as updating software and removing no-longer-used virtual machines
5. Backups: Ensure sufficient backups of your virtual machines so that you can quickly revert to a known working point in case of problems

Auto-join Active Directory

If you use templates (or a CI/CD pipeline), you can automatically make your virtual machine a domain member.

An example of automatically joining a server in a domain :

resource vm ‘Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines@2020-06-30’ = {
name: ‘myVM’,
location: ‘westus’,
properties: {
osProfile: {
computerName: ‘myVM’,
adminUsername: ‘adminUser’,
adminPassword: ‘securePassword’
},
// … other properties …
extensionProfile: {
extensions: [
{
name: ‘JoinDomain’,
type: ‘CustomScript’,
properties: {
fileUris: [
‘https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/master/101-vm-domain-join-windows/scripts/JoinAD.ps1’
],
commandToExecute: ‘powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -File JoinAD.ps1 -ADFQDN mydomain.com -Username adminUser -Password securePassword’
}
}
]
}
}
};

Component naming

If you use templates (or a CI/CD pipeline), you can properly name all components the virtual machine uses. Think about :

• Virtual machine name
• Disk name
• Network Interface Name
• Public IP name (if used)

Also, consider related issues such as backup schedule naming and the use of proper Tags .

In conclusion, deploying Azure IaaS virtual machines requires careful consideration and planning to ensure that they are optimized, secure, and cost-effective.

By following the best practices outlined in this blog post, you can ensure that your virtual machines are deployed and managed effectively, taking advantage of Azure’s many benefits. In addition, by keeping these best practices in mind, you can ensure that your Azure IaaS virtual machines are deployed and managed to meet your specific needs and requirements.

Read More:

Mastering Microsoft Azure from Scratch: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
AZ-104 : Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Comprehensive Training Series
Microsoft Azure for Beginners: Real-World Success with GitHub Copilot in Azure Management: Part 31

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