Create a virtual machine on VMware vSphere using Azure Arc

Once your administrator has connected a VMware vCenter server to Azure, enabled vCenter resources such as Resource Pools, Clusters, Hosts, VM templates and VM networks in Azure, and provided you the required permissions on those resources, you'll be able to create a new VMware vCenter managed virtual machine in Azure.

In this article, you learn how to create a new VMware vCenter managed virtual machine from Azure Arc portal. Refer to the Reference section of this documentation to explore nonportal methods such as Azure CLI, PowerShell, REST APIs, SDKs, and Infrastructure-as-Code mechanisms.

Prerequisites

• An Azure subscription and resource group where you have Azure Arc VMware VM Contributor role.
• A resource pool or a cluster or a host resource on which you have Azure Arc VMware Private Cloud Resource User role.
• A virtual machine template resource on which you have Azure Arc VMware Private Cloud Resource User role.
• A virtual network resource on which you have Azure Arc VMware Private Cloud Resource User role.
• A datastore resource on which you have Azure Arc VMware Private Cloud Resource User role.

Create a VM in Azure portal

1. Go to Azure portal.

2. You can initiate the creation of a new VM in either of the following two ways:

   • Select Azure Arc as the service and then select VMware vCenters under Host environments from the left blade. Search and select your VMware vCenters. Select Virtual machines under vCenter inventory from the left blade and select Add.

     

   Or

   • Select Azure Arc as the service and then select Machine under Azure Arc resources from the left blade. Select Add/Create and select Create a machine in a connected host environment from the dropdown.

     

3. Once the Create an Azure Arc virtual machine page opens, under Basics > Project details, select the Subscription and Resource group where you want to deploy the VM.

4. Under Instance details, provide the following details:

   • Virtual machine name - Specify the name of the virtual machine.

   • Custom location - Select the custom location that your administrator has shared with you.

   • Virtual machine kind - Select VMware.

   • Resource pool/cluster/host - Select a resource pool/cluster/host from the dropdown menu.

   • Datastore - Select a datastore from the dropdown menu.

     

5. Under Template details, provide the following details:

   • Template - Choose the VM template for deployment.
   • Override template defaults - Select the checkbox to override the default CPU cores and memory on the VM templates.
   • Specify computer name for the VM if the VM template has computer name associated with it.

6. Keep the Enable Guest Management checkbox selected to automatically install Azure connected machine agent immediately after the creation of the VM. Azure connected machine agent (Arc agent) is required if you're planning to use Azure management services to govern, patch, monitor, and secure your VM through Azure.

7. Under Administrator account, provide the following details:

   • Username
   • Password
   • Confirm password

   

   If you're creating a Linux virtual machine, SSH key can be used as an authentication method instead of administrator account.

8. If you chose to enable guest management, choose the Connectivity method for the Arc agent that is installed in your VM connect to Azure. The available options are Public endpoint, Proxy server, and Private endpoint.

   • If you want to connect the Arc agent via proxy, provide the proxy server details.

   • If you want to connect Arc agent via private endpoint, follow these steps to set up Azure private link and provide the same details.

9. Under Disks, you can optionally change the disks configured in the template. You can add more disks or update existing disks.

   

10. Under Networking, you can optionally change the network interfaces configured in the template. You can add Network interface cards (NICs) or update the existing NICs. You can also change the network that this NIC will be attached to provided you have appropriate permissions to the network resource.

    

11. Under Advanced, customize the guest operating system settings of the VM as required.

    

12. Under Tags, you can optionally add tags to the VM resource.

    

13. Under Review + create, review all the properties and select Create. The VM will be created in a few minutes.

Next steps

• Set up and manage self-service access.
• Perform VM powercycle operations.
• Update configuration and resize a VM.