Deploying a VM instance from the Microsoft Azure Stack Hub portal

After uploading the converted, fixed-size VHD (virtual hard disk) vNIOS image to the Azure Stack Hub Blob storage, use it to create a managed image in Azure and then use the image to deploy a vNIOS for Azure Stack Hub instance as a VM.

Creating an Azure Managed Image

1. Log in on your page of the Azure Stack Hub portal: https://adminportal.<regionname>.<FQDN>.
2. Navigate to Dashboard > Images.
3. On the Images page, select an existing image or click Add to add a new image.
4. On the Create Image page, complete the following: 
   1. In the Name field, type a name for the image.
   2. From the Subscription drop-down list, choose the Azure Stack Hub subscription on which you want to create the instance.
   3. From the Resource group drop-down list, choose the resource group to which the instance must belong.
   4. From the Location drop-down list, choose the location where the instance must reside.
   5. For OS disk, select Linux.
   6. In the Storage blob field, browse to and select the Azure Blob storage folder that contains the converted image as follows:
      1. Click Browse.
      2. From the list of Storage accounts, select the storage account, and then select the container to open its details page.
      3.  On the container details page, click Upload.
      4. In the Upload blob panel, browse to and select the converted vNIOS image, and then click Upload.
      5. Click the uploaded image, and then click Select.
   7. Keep the Storage type as Standard HDD and Host caching as Read/write.
   8. Click Create.
      The created image appears in the list of images on the Images page.
      
      

Creating and deploying a VM

1. On the Images page of the Azure Stack Hub portal, click the newly created image to open its details page.
2. On the details page, click Create VM.
3. Open the Basics tab in the Create Virtual Machine window, and specify the following information:
   1. In the Project details section, verify that your subscription is selected in the Subscription drop-down list.
   2. From the Resource group drop-down list, choose the resource group you want to use to manage your resources.
   3. In the Instance details section, type a name for the VM in the Virtual machine name field.
   4. From the Image drop-down list, choose the image that you created.
   5. In the Size field, click Select size and choose the size of the VM according to the vNIOS appliance.
      For the list of VM sizes, see Supported vNIOS for Azure Appliances.
   6. In the Administrator account section, select the Authentication type as Password.
   7. In the username field, enter the user name that you use to access the VM.
   8. In the Password field, enter the password.
   9. In the Confirm password field, enter the password again to confirm it.
   10. In the Inbound port rules section, select which VMs are accessible from the public internet as follows; If required, you may set advanced rules on the Networking tab as explained later.
       1. Select Public inbound ports as Allowed selected ports.
       2. From the Select inbound ports drop-down list, choose the required ports: HTTP (80), HTTPS (443), and SSH (22).
       3. Click Next: Disks >.
4. On the Disks tab, complete the following:
   1. In the Disk options section, verify that OS disk type is Standard HDD.
   2. In the Advanced section, verify that the value is Yes. This value is selected for Use managed disks by default, because creating a VM from a disk or an image requires managed disks.
   3. Click Next: Networking >.
5. On the Networking tab, complete the following:
   1. Choose a Virtual network, the Subnet, and the Public IP address. This will configure the network settings of the Azure environment where you want to deploy the VM.
   2. In the Network Security Group field, use a network security group to limit public access to specific ports:
      1. None (not recommended): Selecting this option might expose all ports on the VM to the public internet.
      2. Basic: Select Basic > Allow selected ports, and then choose the required ports from the Select inbound ports drop-down list.
      3. Advanced: Select this option and choose an existing security group from the Configure network security drop-down list. Alternatively, click Create new to create a new security group.
   3. Click Next: Management >.
6. On the Management tab, complete the following:
   1. Select On for Boot diagnostics.
   2. From the Diagnostics storage account drop-down list, select a storage account.
   3. Click Next: Advanced >.
7. On the Advanced tab, in the Custom data field, configure a cloud-init script.
   
   
   
   
8. On the Review + create tab, review the configured settings, and then click Create to start the deployment.