3 Using virtual machines
This chapter covers
- Creating a virtual machine with Linux
- Accessing and managing a virtual machine remotely with Remote Desktop Protocol
- Optimizing virtual machines for cost and performance
- Understanding some best practices for virtual machines
As one of the pillars of cloud computing, virtual machines (VMs) serve as the backbone of almost any application, whether explicitly or implicitly. There are few company IT infrastructure ecosystems that don’t require a VM in some capacity to get the job done. Plus, because they are a “raw” machine that you can use for almost any computing task, VMs are very popular and come in a vast array of types, sizes, and flavors.
VMs are one of the core building blocks of computing. Whether you’re running a small app or a massive enterprise system, VMs provide the raw compute power that makes it all possible—and in Azure, they’re everywhere.
3.1 What is a virtual machine?
To understand the purpose and place of a VM in Azure, consider this infrastructure scenario. You’ve been tasked with creating the infrastructure for a new project that has the following requirements and behaviors:
- Host a custom software application in either Windows or Linux
- Increases in use and resource demand over time
- Control over the operating system and platform
- Limited budget to purchase computing resources