Creating and Connecting to a Linux Virtual Machine Using Public Key Authentication on Azure Portal

Azure Virtual machines (VMs) can be created through the azure portal. The Azure portal is a browser-based user interface to create Azure resources. This article shows you how to use the Azure portal to deploy a Linux Virtual Machine (VM)using Public key Authentication.

Step 1: Sign in to Azure Portal

1. Open your web browser and access the Azure Portal.
2. Sign in using your Azure account credentials

Step 2: Create a Resource Group (if not available or use an existing one)

1. Resource Group: If a suitable resource group for your VM deployment does not exist, create a new one.

• Click on resource groups in the upper left corner of the Azure portal.

• Click + Create to create a new resource group.

• Assign a Name for your resource group, choose a Subscription, and select a Region.

• Click Review + create and then Create to create the resource group.

Step 3: Create a Virtual Machine

1. Create VM: Now create a new Virtual Machine. There are several methods of searching for virtual machine:

• In the Azure portal, click + Create a resource at the top-left corner.

• Search for Virtual Machine and click Create.

Alternatively, you can:

• In the search bar of the home page, type 'Virtual Machines' and select Virtual Machines **under **Services

• On the Virtual Machines page, select Create, this will open the Create a virtual Machine page

1. Configure the Basics

• Subscription: Select the correct subscription you want to use
• Resource group: Select the resource group you have created or create a new one if you have not (another way of creating resource group)

• Virtual machine name: Specify a name for your VM

• Region: Choose the region where you would want to deploy your VM

• Availability options: Choose any if needed

• Image: Select a Linux distribution (Ubuntu Server from the list)

• Size: Choose a VM size based on what you require.

1. Administrator Account

• Authentication type: Select SSH public key

• Username: Choose a username

• SSH public key source: Keep the default setting of Generate new Key pair

• Key pair name: Name mostly pops up on its own

• Public inbound ports: Select Allow selected ports

• Select inbound ports: Choose HTTP (80) and SSH (22) or as required.

3.Disks and other settings:

Configure the disk, networking, management, and monitoring options according to your requirements.

4. Review + Create:

• Review your VM configuration

• Click create to start deploying your VM after validation passed.

Step 4: Connect to your Linux VM

SSH Connection through PowerShell: Once the deployment is complete, you can connect your VM to SSH through PowerShell.

• Navigate to your VM in the Azure portal.

• Under Settings, click on Connect to get connection information.

Using PowerShell: This can be done with your Laptop.

• Open PowerShell on your physical computer

• Use this command to connect to your Linux VM using SSH:
  ssh username@public-ip-address

whereby, you replace the 'username' with the username you specified during the creation of VM and 'public-ip-address' with the public address of your VM.

• If prompted to confirm the connection, type 'yes' and press Enter.

Step 5: Clean Up Resources

After you've finished using your VM, it's a good practice to clean up resources to avoid unnecessary charges:

• In the Azure portal, navigate to your resource group containing the VM.

• Select the resource group and click Delete.

• Follow the prompts to confirm deletion. This action will delete all resources within the resource group, including the VM, disks, and network interfaces.

In conclusion, setting up and deploying a Linux VM on Azure, along with connecting to it via SSH using PowerShell, offers a versatile and potent environment for development and testing purposes. It's essential to regularly tidy up resources to control costs and uphold an organized Azure setup. Azure's user-friendly interface and comprehensive management tools simplify the process of efficiently handling your virtual machines.