Guided Lab: How to Launch a Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS)

1. In the Azure portal, go to the unified search bar at the top.

2. Type “VMSS” and select Virtual machine scale set from the results.

3. On the VMSS blade, click Create to begin provisioning.

1. Under the Basics tab:

• Select an existing Resource Group from the dropdown.
• In the Virtual machine scale set name field, enter your preferred name.
• Set the Region to Central US.
• In the Availability zone, choose Zones 1,2, and 3.

2. Under Orchestration mode, choose Uniform since you are only allowed to create one virtual machine type. Set the Instance count to 3.

3. For Instance details, choose one of the following OS images: Canonical (Ubuntu), Debian, or AlmaLinux. Note that only non-Pro versions are permitted.

4. Under Size, click See all sizes to view available VM SKUs.

5. Select a VM size. You’re limited to choosing B1ls, B1s, or B1ms. After selecting, click Select to save your choice. You’ll be automatically redirected back to the main configuration page.

6. In the Administrator account section, configure the following:

• Authentication type: SSH public key
• Username: Set your desired username.
• SSh public key source: Generate new key pair
• SSH Key Type: Choose RSA SSH format
• Key pair name should be automatically generated.

7. Navigate to the Disks tab.

8. Change the OS disk type to either Standard SSD or Standard HDD.

9. Once done, proceed to the Networking tab.

10. Scroll down to the Load Balancing section and set Load Balancing Options to None.

11. Once you’ve completed the required configurations, feel free to explore the other tabs, such as Spot, Management, Health, and others. The default settings in these sections are typically sufficient and can be left unchanged.

12. When you’re ready, click the Create button to initiate the VMSS deployment.

13. After clicking Create, a prompt will appear regarding the newly generated key pair. Choose Download private key and create resource. Be sure to store the private key securely — you’ll need it later for SSH access.

Once the deployment begins, Azure will start provisioning your VMSS and its associated resources. You’ll be redirected to the Deployment Overview blade, where you can monitor progress in real time.

Key elements to review include:

• Deployment Name – The unique identifier for this deployment session. Useful for tracking and referencing in logs or support cases.
• Status – Indicates the current state of the deployment (e.g., In progress, Succeeded, Failed). Watch for errors or warnings here.
• Start Time – Timestamp showing when the deployment was initiated. Helpful for auditing and performance tracking.
• Resource Group – The container that holds your VMSS and related resources.
• Subscription – The Azure subscription under which the resources are being billed. Double-check this to avoid unexpected charges.
• Correlation ID – A unique GUID used for backend tracking and support diagnostics. Include this when contacting Microsoft support.
• Resource Details – A breakdown of all resources created during deployment, including VM instances, networking components, and disks.

Once the deployment is complete, click Go to resource to open your newly launched VMSS. This takes you directly to the resource blade, where you can begin managing and monitoring your scale set.

That’s it! You’ve successfully completed the guided lab and deployed a Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) using the Azure portal. Along the way, you configured key settings including resource group selection, scale set naming, orchestration mode, instance count, OS image, VM size, authentication method, disk type, and networking options. You also learned how to monitor deployment progress and navigate to your newly provisioned resource.

Your VMSS is now ready to host scalable, zone-redundant virtual machines for cloud-native workloads.