Azure Connected Machine agent deployment options
Connecting machines in your hybrid environment directly with Azure can be accomplished using different methods, depending on your requirements and the tools you prefer to use.
Onboarding methods
The following table highlights each method so that you can determine which works best for your deployment. For detailed information, follow the links to view the steps for each topic.
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Interactively | Manually install the agent on a single or small number of machines by connecting machines using a deployment script. From the Azure portal, you can generate a script and execute it on the machine to automate the install and configuration steps of the agent. |
| Interactively | Connect machines from Windows Admin Center |
| Interactively or at scale | Connect machines using PowerShell |
| At scale | Connect machines using a service principal to install the agent at scale non-interactively. |
| At scale | Connect machines by running PowerShell scripts with Configuration Manager |
| At scale | Connect machines with a Configuration Manager custom task sequence |
| At scale | Connect Windows machines using Group Policy |
| At scale | Connect machines from Automation Update Management to create a service principal that installs and configures the agent for multiple machines managed with Azure Automation Update Management to connect machines non-interactively. |
| At scale | Install the Arc agent on VMware VMs at scale using Arc enabled VMware vSphere. Arc enabled VMware vSphere allows you to connect your VMware vCenter server to Azure, automatically discover your VMware VMs, and install the Arc agent on them. Requires VMware tools on VMs. |
| At scale | Install the Arc agent on SCVMM VMs at scale using Arc-enabled System Center Virtual Machine Manager. Arc-enabled System Center Virtual Machine Manager allows you to connect your SCVMM management server to Azure, automatically discover your SCVMM VMs, and install the Arc agent on them. |
| At scale | Connect your AWS cloud through the multicloud connector enabled by Azure Arc and enable the Arc onboarding solution to auto-discover and onboard EC2 VMs. |
Important
The Connected Machine agent cannot be installed on an Azure virtual machine. The install script will warn you and roll back if it detects the server is running in Azure.
Be sure to review the basic prerequisites and network configuration requirements before deploying the agent, as well as any specific requirements listed in the steps for the onboarding method you choose. To learn more about what changes the agent will make to your system, see Overview of the Azure Connected Machine Agent.
Automatic connection for SQL Server
When you connect a Windows or Linux server to Azure Arc that also has Microsoft SQL Server installed, the SQL Server instances will automatically be connected to Azure Arc as well. SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc provides a detailed inventory and additional management capabilities for your SQL Server instances and databases. As part of the connection process, an extension is deployed to your Azure Arc-enabled server and new roles will be applied to your SQL Server and databases. If you don't want to automatically connect your SQL Servers to Azure Arc, you can opt out by adding a tag to the Windows or Linux server with the name ArcSQLServerExtensionDeployment and value Disabled when it's connected to Azure Arc.
For more information, see Manage automatic connection for SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc.
Next steps
- Learn about the Azure Connected Machine agent prerequisites and network requirements.
- Review the Planning and deployment guide for Azure Arc-enabled servers
- Learn about reconfiguring, upgrading, and removing the Connected Machine agent.
- Try out Arc-enabled servers by using the Azure Arc Jumpstart.