Quickstart: Create an internal load balancer to load balance VMs using an ARM template
This quickstart describes how to use an Azure Resource Manager template (ARM template) to create an internal Azure load balancer.
An Azure Resource Manager template is a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) file that defines the infrastructure and configuration for your project. The template uses declarative syntax. You describe your intended deployment without writing the sequence of programming commands to create the deployment.
If your environment meets the prerequisites and you're familiar with using ARM templates, select the Deploy to Azure button. The template opens in the Azure portal.
Prerequisites
If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.
Review the template
The template used in this quickstart is from the Azure Quickstart Templates.
{
"$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
"contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
"metadata": {
"_generator": {
"name": "bicep",
"version": "0.25.53.49325",
"templateHash": "6587483520975479408"
}
},
"parameters": {
"adminUsername": {
"type": "string",
"metadata": {
"description": "Admin username"
}
},
"adminPassword": {
"type": "securestring",
"metadata": {
"description": "Admin password"
}
},
"vmNamePrefix": {
"type": "string",
"defaultValue": "BackendVM",
"metadata": {
"description": "Prefix to use for VM names"
}
},
"location": {
"type": "string",
"defaultValue": "[resourceGroup().location]",
"metadata": {
"description": "Location for all resources."
}
},
"vmSize": {
"type": "string",
"defaultValue": "Standard_D2s_v3",
"metadata": {
"description": "Size of the virtual machines"
}
}
},
"variables": {
"availabilitySetName": "AvSet",
"storageAccountType": "Standard_LRS",
"storageAccountName": "[uniqueString(resourceGroup().id)]",
"virtualNetworkName": "vNet",
"subnetName": "backendSubnet",
"loadBalancerName": "ilb",
"networkInterfaceName": "nic",
"subnetRef": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets', variables('virtualNetworkName'), variables('subnetName'))]",
"numberOfInstances": 2
},
"resources": [
{
"type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
"apiVersion": "2023-01-01",
"name": "[variables('storageAccountName')]",
"location": "[parameters('location')]",
"sku": {
"name": "[variables('storageAccountType')]"
},
"kind": "StorageV2"
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Compute/availabilitySets",
"apiVersion": "2023-09-01",
"name": "[variables('availabilitySetName')]",
"location": "[parameters('location')]",
"sku": {
"name": "Aligned"
},
"properties": {
"platformUpdateDomainCount": 2,
"platformFaultDomainCount": 2
}
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks",
"apiVersion": "2023-09-01",
"name": "[variables('virtualNetworkName')]",
"location": "[parameters('location')]",
"properties": {
"addressSpace": {
"addressPrefixes": [
"10.0.0.0/16"
]
},
"subnets": [
{
"name": "[variables('subnetName')]",
"properties": {
"addressPrefix": "10.0.2.0/24"
}
}
]
}
},
{
"copy": {
"name": "networkInterface",
"count": "[length(range(0, variables('numberOfInstances')))]"
},
"type": "Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces",
"apiVersion": "2023-09-01",
"name": "[format('{0}{1}', variables('networkInterfaceName'), range(0, variables('numberOfInstances'))[copyIndex()])]",
"location": "[parameters('location')]",
"properties": {
"ipConfigurations": [
{
"name": "ipconfig1",
"properties": {
"privateIPAllocationMethod": "Dynamic",
"subnet": {
"id": "[variables('subnetRef')]"
},
"loadBalancerBackendAddressPools": [
{
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/backendAddressPools', variables('loadBalancerName'), 'BackendPool1')]"
}
]
}
}
]
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers', variables('loadBalancerName'))]",
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks', variables('virtualNetworkName'))]"
]
},
{
"type": "Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers",
"apiVersion": "2023-09-01",
"name": "[variables('loadBalancerName')]",
"location": "[parameters('location')]",
"sku": {
"name": "Standard"
},
"properties": {
"frontendIPConfigurations": [
{
"properties": {
"subnet": {
"id": "[variables('subnetRef')]"
},
"privateIPAddress": "10.0.2.6",
"privateIPAllocationMethod": "Static"
},
"name": "LoadBalancerFrontend"
}
],
"backendAddressPools": [
{
"name": "BackendPool1"
}
],
"loadBalancingRules": [
{
"properties": {
"frontendIPConfiguration": {
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/frontendIpConfigurations', variables('loadBalancerName'), 'LoadBalancerFrontend')]"
},
"backendAddressPool": {
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/backendAddressPools', variables('loadBalancerName'), 'BackendPool1')]"
},
"probe": {
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/probes', variables('loadBalancerName'), 'lbprobe')]"
},
"protocol": "Tcp",
"frontendPort": 80,
"backendPort": 80,
"idleTimeoutInMinutes": 15
},
"name": "lbrule"
}
],
"probes": [
{
"properties": {
"protocol": "Tcp",
"port": 80,
"intervalInSeconds": 15,
"numberOfProbes": 2
},
"name": "lbprobe"
}
]
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks', variables('virtualNetworkName'))]"
]
},
{
"copy": {
"name": "vm",
"count": "[length(range(0, variables('numberOfInstances')))]"
},
"type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines",
"apiVersion": "2023-09-01",
"name": "[format('{0}{1}', parameters('vmNamePrefix'), range(0, variables('numberOfInstances'))[copyIndex()])]",
"location": "[parameters('location')]",
"properties": {
"availabilitySet": {
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Compute/availabilitySets', variables('availabilitySetName'))]"
},
"hardwareProfile": {
"vmSize": "[parameters('vmSize')]"
},
"osProfile": {
"computerName": "[format('{0}{1}', parameters('vmNamePrefix'), range(0, variables('numberOfInstances'))[copyIndex()])]",
"adminUsername": "[parameters('adminUsername')]",
"adminPassword": "[parameters('adminPassword')]"
},
"storageProfile": {
"imageReference": {
"publisher": "MicrosoftWindowsServer",
"offer": "WindowsServer",
"sku": "2019-Datacenter",
"version": "latest"
},
"osDisk": {
"createOption": "FromImage"
}
},
"networkProfile": {
"networkInterfaces": [
{
"id": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', format('{0}{1}', variables('networkInterfaceName'), range(0, variables('numberOfInstances'))[range(0, variables('numberOfInstances'))[copyIndex()]]))]"
}
]
},
"diagnosticsProfile": {
"bootDiagnostics": {
"enabled": true,
"storageUri": "[reference(resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', variables('storageAccountName')), '2023-01-01').primaryEndpoints.blob]"
}
}
},
"dependsOn": [
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Compute/availabilitySets', variables('availabilitySetName'))]",
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces', format('{0}{1}', variables('networkInterfaceName'), range(0, variables('numberOfInstances'))[range(0, variables('numberOfInstances'))[copyIndex()]]))]",
"[resourceId('Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts', variables('storageAccountName'))]"
]
}
],
"outputs": {
"location": {
"type": "string",
"value": "[parameters('location')]"
},
"name": {
"type": "string",
"value": "[variables('loadBalancerName')]"
},
"resourceGroupName": {
"type": "string",
"value": "[resourceGroup().name]"
},
"resourceId": {
"type": "string",
"value": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers', variables('loadBalancerName'))]"
}
}
}
Multiple Azure resources have been defined in the template:
- Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts: Virtual machine storage accounts for boot diagnostics.
- Microsoft.Compute/availabilitySets: Availability set for virtual machines.
- Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks: Virtual network for load balancer and virtual machines.
- Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces: Network interfaces for virtual machines.
- Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers: Internal load balancer.
- Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines: Virtual machines.
To find more templates that are related to Azure Load Balancer, see Azure Quickstart Templates.
Deploy the template
Azure CLI
read -p "Enter the location (i.e. westcentralus): " location
resourceGroupName="myResourceGroupLB"
templateUri="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/master/quickstarts/microsoft.compute/2-vms-internal-load-balancer/azuredeploy.json"
az group create \
--name $resourceGroupName \
--location $location
az deployment group create \
--resource-group $resourceGroupName \
--template-uri $templateUri
Review deployed resources
Sign in to the Azure portal.
Select Resource groups from the left pane.
Select the resource group that you created in the previous section. The default resource group name is myResourceGroupLB
Verify the following resources were created in the resource group:
Clean up resources
When no longer needed, you can use the az group delete command to remove the resource group and all resources contained within.
az group delete \
--name myResourceGroupLB
Next steps
For a step-by-step tutorial that guides you through the process of creating a template, see:
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