Exercise - Create Azure Resources with Azure PowerShell using a script

In this unit, you continue with the example of a company that develops Linux admin tools. The goal is to use Linux virtual machines (VMs) to allow potential customers to test your software. With a resource group already set up, it's time to create the VMs.

Your company secured a booth at a large Linux trade show. You plan to set up a demo area with three terminals, each connected to a separate Linux VM. You must delete the VMs and re-create them at the end of each day so they start fresh every morning. Creating the VMs manually after a long day is error-prone, so you need to write a PowerShell script to automate the VM creation process.

Write a script to create virtual machines

Follow these steps to write a script in Azure Cloud Shell that automates the creation of virtual machines.

1. Switch to your home folder:

   Set-Location -Path $HOME
   

2. Create a new PowerShell script file:

   New-Item -Name ConferenceDailyReset.ps1 -ItemType File
   

3. Open the integrated Visual Studio Code (VS Code) editor:

   code ./ConferenceDailyReset.ps1
   

   Tip

   The integrated Cloud Shell editor also supports vim, nano, and emacs if you prefer to use one of those editors.

4. Define a parameter for your resource group name:

   Add the following line to your script:

   param (
       [string]$ResourceGroupName
   )
   

5. Prompt for VM administrator credentials:

   $adminCredential = Get-Credential -Message 'Enter a username and password for the VM administrator.'
   

6. Create a loop to execute three times:

   $vms = 'web','app','sql'
   foreach ($vm in $vms) {
       $vm
   }
   

7. In the loop, return the name for each VM:

   Write-Output "Creating VM: $vm"
   

8. Create a VM using the $vm variable:

   $azVmParams = @{
       ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
       Name              = $vm
       Credential        = $adminCredential
       Image             = 'Canonical:0001-com-ubuntu-server-jammy:22_04-lts:latest'
       OpenPorts         = 22
   }
   New-AzVm @azVmParams
   

9. Save the file:

   To save the script, use the ellipsis (...) context menu at the top-right corner of the editor or the Ctrl + S keyboard shortcut.

Completed script

The completed script should look like the following example:

param (
    [string]$ResourceGroupName
)

$adminCredential = Get-Credential -Message 'Enter a username and password for the VM administrator.'

$vms = 'web','app','sql'

foreach ($vm in $vms) {

    Write-Output "Creating VM: $vm"

    $azVmParams = @{
        ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
        Name              = $vm
        Credential        = $adminCredential
        Image             = 'Canonical:0001-com-ubuntu-server-jammy:22_04-lts:latest'
        OpenPorts         = 22
    }
    New-AzVm @azVmParams
}

Once you confirm your script looks like the code in the previous example, close the editor using the ellipsis (...) context menu at the top-right corner of the editor, or the Ctrl + Q keyboard shortcut.

Run the script

1. Execute the script using the following command:

   ./ConferenceDailyReset.ps1 -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroupName
   

2. Wait for completion. The script takes several minutes to complete.

3. Verify the VMs. Once the script finishes, verify it completed successfully by listing the VMs in the resource group:

   Get-AzVM -ResourceGroupName myResourceGroupName
   

   You should see three VMs, each with a unique name.

You successfully created a script that automates the creation of three VMs, each in a specific resource group, ensuring they're ready for daily demos at the trade show. Although the script is short and straightforward, it significantly speeds up a process that would otherwise be time-consuming and error-prone if performed manually through the Azure portal.