Managing Azure Virtual Machines, Disks, and Continuous Delivery

Azure Virtual Machine Data Disk Management

• Running Windows Server on Azure virtual machines (VMs) reduces operational costs and streamlines infrastructure management in hybrid environments.

• Virtual data disks store all operating system files, databases, and application data, behaving identically to physical hard drives.

• Disks must be initialized through disk management prior to use.

• Disk sizes can be modified (increased or decreased) directly within the Azure portal even after initialization.

Continuous Delivery and DevOps

• DevOps integration is required before configuring continuous delivery, uniting development and operations teams for streamlined collaboration.

• Continuous delivery automates the software lifecycle stages: building, testing, configuration, and deployment from a build to production.

• Automated deployment to application servers reduces manual handoff errors and enables scripted tasks and application upgrades.

Virtual Machine Networking and Remote Access

• New VMs must connect to either a newly created virtual network or an existing virtual network, requiring predefined IP addresses, subnet masks, and configurations.

• Prerequisites for remote desktop connections to an Azure VM running Windows Server:

  • Established TCP connectivity.

  • An assigned public IP address.

  • A fully up and operational VM state.

• Connections are established via Remote Desktop Protocol using either the Azure portal or PowerShell.