Create virtual machines in a scale set using Azure CLI
This article steps through using the Azure CLI to create a Virtual Machine Scale Set.
Make sure that you've installed the latest Azure CLI and are logged in to an Azure account with az login.
Launch Azure Cloud Shell
The Azure Cloud Shell is a free interactive shell that you can use to run the steps in this article. It has common Azure tools preinstalled and configured to use with your account.
To open the Cloud Shell, select Open Cloud Shell from the upper right corner of a code block. You can also launch Cloud Shell in a separate browser tab by going to https://shell.azure.com/cli. Select Copy to copy the blocks of code, paste it into the Cloud Shell, and press enter to run it.
Define environment variables
Define environment variables as follows.
export RANDOM_ID="$(openssl rand -hex 3)"
export MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME="myVMSSResourceGroup$RANDOM_ID"
export REGION=EastUS
export MY_VMSS_NAME="myVMSS$RANDOM_ID"
export MY_USERNAME=azureuser
export MY_VM_IMAGE="Ubuntu2204"
export MY_VNET_NAME="myVNet$RANDOM_ID"
export NETWORK_PREFIX="$(($RANDOM % 254 + 1))"
export MY_VNET_PREFIX="10.$NETWORK_PREFIX.0.0/16"
export MY_VM_SN_NAME="myVMSN$RANDOM_ID"
export MY_VM_SN_PREFIX="10.$NETWORK_PREFIX.0.0/24"
export MY_APPGW_SN_NAME="myAPPGWSN$RANDOM_ID"
export MY_APPGW_SN_PREFIX="10.$NETWORK_PREFIX.1.0/24"
export MY_APPGW_NAME="myAPPGW$RANDOM_ID"
export MY_APPGW_PUBLIC_IP_NAME="myAPPGWPublicIP$RANDOM_ID"
Create a resource group
A resource group is a logical container into which Azure resources are deployed and managed. All resources must be placed in a resource group. The following command creates a resource group with the previously defined $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME and $REGION parameters.
az group create --name $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --location $REGION -o JSON
Results:
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"location": "eastus",
"managedBy": null,
"name": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded"
},
"tags": null,
"type": "Microsoft.Resources/resourceGroups"
}
Create network resources
Now you'll create network resources. In this step you're going to create a virtual network, one subnet 1 for Application Gateway, and one subnet for VMs. You also need to have a public IP to attach your Application Gateway to reach your web application from the internet.
Create virtual network and subnet
az network vnet create --name $MY_VNET_NAME --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --location $REGION --address-prefix $MY_VNET_PREFIX --subnet-name $MY_VM_SN_NAME --subnet-prefix $MY_VM_SN_PREFIX -o JSON
Results:
{
"newVNet": {
"addressSpace": {
"addressPrefixes": [
"10.X.0.0/16"
]
},
"enableDdosProtection": false,
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/myVNetxxxxxx",
"location": "eastus",
"name": "myVNetxxxxxx",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"resourceGuid": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"subnets": [
{
"addressPrefix": "10.X.0.0/24",
"delegations": [],
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/myVNetxxxxxx/subnets/myVMSNxxxxxx",
"name": "myVMSNxxxxxx",
"privateEndpointNetworkPolicies": "Disabled",
"privateLinkServiceNetworkPolicies": "Enabled",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets"
}
],
"type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks",
"virtualNetworkPeerings": []
}
}
Create Application Gateway resources
Azure Application Gateway requires a dedicated subnet within your virtual network. The following command creates a subnet named $MY_APPGW_SN_NAME with a specified address prefix named $MY_APPGW_SN_PREFIX in your virtual network $MY_VNET_NAME.
az network vnet subnet create --name $MY_APPGW_SN_NAME --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --vnet-name $MY_VNET_NAME --address-prefix $MY_APPGW_SN_PREFIX -o JSON
Results:
{
"addressPrefix": "10.66.1.0/24",
"delegations": [],
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/myVNetxxxxxx/subnets/myAPPGWSNxxxxxx",
"name": "myAPPGWSNxxxxxx",
"privateEndpointNetworkPolicies": "Disabled",
"privateLinkServiceNetworkPolicies": "Enabled",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets"
}
The following command creates a standard, zone redundant, static, public IPv4 in your resource group.
az network public-ip create --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --name $MY_APPGW_PUBLIC_IP_NAME --sku Standard --location $REGION --allocation-method static --version IPv4 --zone 1 2 3 -o JSON
Results:
{
"publicIp": {
"ddosSettings": {
"protectionMode": "VirtualNetworkInherited"
},
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses//myAPPGWPublicIPxxxxxx",
"idleTimeoutInMinutes": 4,
"ipAddress": "X.X.X.X",
"ipTags": [],
"location": "eastus",
"name": "/myAPPGWPublicIPxxxxxx",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"publicIPAddressVersion": "IPv4",
"publicIPAllocationMethod": "Static",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"resourceGuid": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"sku": {
"name": "Standard",
"tier": "Regional"
},
"type": "Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses",
"zones": [
"1",
"2",
"3"
]
}
}
In this step, you create an Application Gateway that you're going to integrate with your Virtual Machine Scale Set. This example creates a zone redundant Application Gateway with Standard_v2 SKU and enables Http communication for the Application Gateway. The public IP $MY_APPGW_PUBLIC_IP_NAME created in previous step is attached to the Application Gateway.
az network application-gateway create --name $MY_APPGW_NAME --location $REGION --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --vnet-name $MY_VNET_NAME --subnet $MY_APPGW_SN_NAME --capacity 2 --zones 1 2 3 --sku Standard_v2 --http-settings-cookie-based-affinity Disabled --frontend-port 80 --http-settings-port 80 --http-settings-protocol Http --public-ip-address $MY_APPGW_PUBLIC_IP_NAME --priority 1001 -o JSON
{
"applicationGateway": {
"backendAddressPools": [
{
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/backendAddressPools/appGatewayBackendPool",
"name": "appGatewayBackendPool",
"properties": {
"backendAddresses": [],
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"requestRoutingRules": [
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/requestRoutingRules/rule1",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
]
},
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/backendAddressPools"
}
],
"backendHttpSettingsCollection": [
{
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/backendHttpSettingsCollection/appGatewayBackendHttpSettings",
"name": "appGatewayBackendHttpSettings",
"properties": {
"connectionDraining": {
"drainTimeoutInSec": 1,
"enabled": false
},
"cookieBasedAffinity": "Disabled",
"pickHostNameFromBackendAddress": false,
"port": 80,
"protocol": "Http",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"requestRoutingRules": [
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/requestRoutingRules/rule1",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
],
"requestTimeout": 30
},
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/backendHttpSettingsCollection"
}
],
"backendSettingsCollection": [],
"frontendIPConfigurations": [
{
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/frontendIPConfigurations/appGatewayFrontendIP",
"name": "appGatewayFrontendIP",
"properties": {
"httpListeners": [
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/httpListeners/appGatewayHttpListener",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
],
"privateIPAllocationMethod": "Dynamic",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"publicIPAddress": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses/myAPPGWPublicIPxxxxxx",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
},
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/frontendIPConfigurations"
}
],
"frontendPorts": [
{
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/frontendPorts/appGatewayFrontendPort",
"name": "appGatewayFrontendPort",
"properties": {
"httpListeners": [
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/httpListeners/appGatewayHttpListener",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
],
"port": 80,
"provisioningState": "Succeeded"
},
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/frontendPorts"
}
],
"gatewayIPConfigurations": [
{
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/gatewayIPConfigurations/appGatewayFrontendIP",
"name": "appGatewayFrontendIP",
"properties": {
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"subnet": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/myVNetxxxxxx/subnets/myAPPGWSNxxxxxx",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
},
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/gatewayIPConfigurations"
}
],
"httpListeners": [
{
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/httpListeners/appGatewayHttpListener",
"name": "appGatewayHttpListener",
"properties": {
"frontendIPConfiguration": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/frontendIPConfigurations/appGatewayFrontendIP",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
},
"frontendPort": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/frontendPorts/appGatewayFrontendPort",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
},
"hostNames": [],
"protocol": "Http",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"requestRoutingRules": [
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/requestRoutingRules/rule1",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
],
"requireServerNameIndication": false
},
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/httpListeners"
}
],
"listeners": [],
"loadDistributionPolicies": [],
"operationalState": "Running",
"privateEndpointConnections": [],
"privateLinkConfigurations": [],
"probes": [],
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"redirectConfigurations": [],
"requestRoutingRules": [
{
"etag": "W/\"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx\"",
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/requestRoutingRules/rule1",
"name": "rule1",
"properties": {
"backendAddressPool": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/backendAddressPools/appGatewayBackendPool",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
},
"backendHttpSettings": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/backendHttpSettingsCollection/appGatewayBackendHttpSettings",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
},
"httpListener": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxxxx/httpListeners/appGatewayHttpListener",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
},
"priority": 1001,
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"ruleType": "Basic"
},
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/requestRoutingRules"
}
],
"resourceGuid": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"rewriteRuleSets": [],
"routingRules": [],
"sku": {
"capacity": 2,
"family": "Generation_1",
"name": "Standard_v2",
"tier": "Standard_v2"
},
"sslCertificates": [],
"sslProfiles": [],
"trustedClientCertificates": [],
"trustedRootCertificates": [],
"urlPathMaps": []
}
}
Create a Virtual Machine Scale Set
Important
Starting November 2023, VM scale sets created using PowerShell and Azure CLI will default to Flexible Orchestration Mode if no orchestration mode is specified. For more information about this change and what actions you should take, go to Breaking Change for VMSS PowerShell/CLI Customers - Microsoft Community Hub
Now create a Virtual Machine Scale Set with az vmss create. The following example creates a zone redundant scale set with an instance count of 2 with public IP in subnet $MY_VM_SN_NAME within your resource group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME, integrates the Application Gateway, and generates SSH keys. Make sure to save the SSH keys if you need to log into your VMs via ssh.
az vmss create --name $MY_VMSS_NAME --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --image $MY_VM_IMAGE --admin-username $MY_USERNAME --generate-ssh-keys --public-ip-per-vm --orchestration-mode Uniform --instance-count 2 --zones 1 2 3 --vnet-name $MY_VNET_NAME --subnet $MY_VM_SN_NAME --vm-sku Standard_DS2_v2 --upgrade-policy-mode Automatic --app-gateway $MY_APPGW_NAME --backend-pool-name appGatewayBackendPool -o JSON
Results:
{
"vmss": {
"doNotRunExtensionsOnOverprovisionedVMs": false,
"orchestrationMode": "Uniform",
"overprovision": true,
"platformFaultDomainCount": 1,
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"singlePlacementGroup": false,
"timeCreated": "20xx-xx-xxTxx:xx:xx.xxxxxx+00:00",
"uniqueId": "xxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx",
"upgradePolicy": {
"mode": "Automatic",
"rollingUpgradePolicy": {
"maxBatchInstancePercent": 20,
"maxSurge": false,
"maxUnhealthyInstancePercent": 20,
"maxUnhealthyUpgradedInstancePercent": 20,
"pauseTimeBetweenBatches": "PT0S",
"rollbackFailedInstancesOnPolicyBreach": false
}
},
"virtualMachineProfile": {
"networkProfile": {
"networkInterfaceConfigurations": [
{
"name": "myvmsa53cNic",
"properties": {
"disableTcpStateTracking": false,
"dnsSettings": {
"dnsServers": []
},
"enableAcceleratedNetworking": false,
"enableIPForwarding": false,
"ipConfigurations": [
{
"name": "myvmsa53cIPConfig",
"properties": {
"applicationGatewayBackendAddressPools": [
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGW7xxxxx/backendAddressPools/appGatewayBackendPool",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
],
"privateIPAddressVersion": "IPv4",
"publicIPAddressConfiguration": {
"name": "instancepublicip",
"properties": {
"idleTimeoutInMinutes": 10,
"ipTags": [],
"publicIPAddressVersion": "IPv4"
}
},
"subnet": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/myVNetxxxxx/subnets/myVMSN7xxxxx",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxxx"
}
}
}
],
"primary": true
}
}
]
},
"osProfile": {
"adminUsername": "azureuser",
"allowExtensionOperations": true,
"computerNamePrefix": "myvmsa53c",
"linuxConfiguration": {
"disablePasswordAuthentication": true,
"enableVMAgentPlatformUpdates": false,
"provisionVMAgent": true,
"ssh": {
"publicKeys": [
{
"keyData": "ssh-rsa xxxxxxxx",
"path": "/home/azureuser/.ssh/authorized_keys"
}
]
}
},
"requireGuestProvisionSignal": true,
"secrets": []
},
"storageProfile": {
"diskControllerType": "SCSI",
"imageReference": {
"offer": "0001-com-ubuntu-server-jammy",
"publisher": "Canonical",
"sku": "22_04-lts-gen2",
"version": "latest"
},
"osDisk": {
"caching": "ReadWrite",
"createOption": "FromImage",
"diskSizeGB": 30,
"managedDisk": {
"storageAccountType": "Premium_LRS"
},
"osType": "Linux"
}
},
"timeCreated": "20xx-xx-xxTxx:xx:xx.xxxxxx+00:00"
},
"zoneBalance": false
}
}
Install ngnix with Virtual Machine Scale Sets extensions
The following command uses the Virtual Machine Scale Sets extension to run a custom script that installs ngnix and publishes a page that shows the hostname of the Virtual Machine that your HTTP requests hits.
az vmss extension set --publisher Microsoft.Azure.Extensions --version 2.0 --name CustomScript --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --vmss-name $MY_VMSS_NAME --settings '{ "fileUris": ["https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure-Samples/compute-automation-configurations/master/automate_nginx.sh"], "commandToExecute": "./automate_nginx.sh" }' -o JSON
Results:
{
"additionalCapabilities": null,
"automaticRepairsPolicy": null,
"constrainedMaximumCapacity": null,
"doNotRunExtensionsOnOverprovisionedVMs": false,
"extendedLocation": null,
"hostGroup": null,
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets/myVMSSxxxxx",
"identity": null,
"location": "eastus",
"name": "myVMSSxxxx",
"orchestrationMode": "Uniform",
"overprovision": true,
"plan": null,
"platformFaultDomainCount": 1,
"priorityMixPolicy": null,
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"proximityPlacementGroup": null,
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx",
"scaleInPolicy": null,
"singlePlacementGroup": false,
"sku": {
"capacity": 2,
"name": "Standard_DS2_v2",
"tier": "Standard"
},
"spotRestorePolicy": null,
"tags": {},
"timeCreated": "20xx-xx-xxTxx:xx:xx.xxxxxx+00:00",
"type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets",
"uniqueId": "xxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxx",
"upgradePolicy": {
"automaticOsUpgradePolicy": null,
"mode": "Automatic",
"rollingUpgradePolicy": {
"enableCrossZoneUpgrade": null,
"maxBatchInstancePercent": 20,
"maxSurge": false,
"maxUnhealthyInstancePercent": 20,
"maxUnhealthyUpgradedInstancePercent": 20,
"pauseTimeBetweenBatches": "PT0S",
"prioritizeUnhealthyInstances": null,
"rollbackFailedInstancesOnPolicyBreach": false
}
},
"virtualMachineProfile": {
"applicationProfile": null,
"billingProfile": null,
"capacityReservation": null,
"diagnosticsProfile": null,
"evictionPolicy": null,
"extensionProfile": {
"extensions": [
{
"autoUpgradeMinorVersion": true,
"enableAutomaticUpgrade": null,
"forceUpdateTag": null,
"id": null,
"name": "CustomScript",
"protectedSettings": null,
"protectedSettingsFromKeyVault": null,
"provisionAfterExtensions": null,
"provisioningState": null,
"publisher": "Microsoft.Azure.Extensions",
"settings": {
"commandToExecute": "./automate_nginx.sh",
"fileUris": [
"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure-Samples/compute-automation-configurations/master/automate_nginx.sh"
]
},
"suppressFailures": null,
"type": null,
"typeHandlerVersion": "2.0",
"typePropertiesType": "CustomScript"
}
],
"extensionsTimeBudget": null
},
"hardwareProfile": null,
"licenseType": null,
"networkProfile": {
"healthProbe": null,
"networkApiVersion": null,
"networkInterfaceConfigurations": [
{
"deleteOption": null,
"disableTcpStateTracking": false,
"dnsSettings": {
"dnsServers": []
},
"enableAcceleratedNetworking": false,
"enableFpga": null,
"enableIpForwarding": false,
"ipConfigurations": [
{
"applicationGatewayBackendAddressPools": [
{
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/applicationGateways/myAPPGWxxxx/backendAddressPools/appGatewayBackendPool",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx"
}
],
"applicationSecurityGroups": null,
"loadBalancerBackendAddressPools": null,
"loadBalancerInboundNatPools": null,
"name": "myvmsdxxxIPConfig",
"primary": null,
"privateIpAddressVersion": "IPv4",
"publicIpAddressConfiguration": null,
"subnet": {
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/myVNetxxxxx/subnets/myVMSNxxxxx",
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupaxxxxx"
}
}
],
"name": "myvmsxxxxxx",
"networkSecurityGroup": null,
"primary": true
}
]
},
"osProfile": {
"adminPassword": null,
"adminUsername": "azureuser",
"allowExtensionOperations": true,
"computerNamePrefix": "myvmsdxxx",
"customData": null,
"linuxConfiguration": {
"disablePasswordAuthentication": true,
"enableVmAgentPlatformUpdates": false,
"patchSettings": null,
"provisionVmAgent": true,
"ssh": {
"publicKeys": [
{
"keyData": "ssh-rsa xxxxxxxx",
"path": "/home/azureuser/.ssh/authorized_keys"
}
]
}
},
"requireGuestProvisionSignal": true,
"secrets": [],
"windowsConfiguration": null
},
"priority": null,
"scheduledEventsProfile": null,
"securityPostureReference": null,
"securityProfile": null,
"serviceArtifactReference": null,
"storageProfile": {
"dataDisks": null,
"diskControllerType": "SCSI",
"imageReference": {
"communityGalleryImageId": null,
"exactVersion": null,
"id": null,
"offer": "0001-com-ubuntu-server-jammy",
"publisher": "Canonical",
"sharedGalleryImageId": null,
"sku": "22_04-lts-gen2",
"version": "latest"
},
"osDisk": {
"caching": "ReadWrite",
"createOption": "FromImage",
"deleteOption": null,
"diffDiskSettings": null,
"diskSizeGb": 30,
"image": null,
"managedDisk": {
"diskEncryptionSet": null,
"securityProfile": null,
"storageAccountType": "Premium_LRS"
},
"name": null,
"osType": "Linux",
"vhdContainers": null,
"writeAcceleratorEnabled": null
}
},
"userData": null
},
"zoneBalance": false,
"zones": [
"1",
"2",
"3"
]
}
Define an autoscale profile
To enable autoscale on a scale set, first define an autoscale profile. This profile defines the default, minimum, and maximum scale set capacity. These limits let you control cost by not continually creating VM instances and balance acceptable performance with a minimum number of instances that remain in a scale-in event. The following example sets the default, minimum capacity of two VM instances, and a maximum capacity of 10:
az monitor autoscale create --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --resource $MY_VMSS_NAME --resource-type Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets --name autoscale --min-count 2 --max-count 10 --count 2
Results:
{
"enabled": true,
"id": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx/providers/microsoft.insights/autoscalesettings/autoscale",
"location": "eastus",
"name": "autoscale",
"namePropertiesName": "autoscale",
"notifications": [
{
"email": {
"customEmails": [],
"sendToSubscriptionAdministrator": false,
"sendToSubscriptionCoAdministrators": false
},
"webhooks": []
}
],
"predictiveAutoscalePolicy": {
"scaleLookAheadTime": null,
"scaleMode": "Disabled"
},
"profiles": [
{
"capacity": {
"default": "2",
"maximum": "10",
"minimum": "2"
},
"fixedDate": null,
"name": "default",
"recurrence": null,
"rules": []
}
],
"resourceGroup": "myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxx",
"systemData": null,
"tags": {},
"targetResourceLocation": null,
"targetResourceUri": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets/myVMSSxxxxxx",
"type": "Microsoft.Insights/autoscaleSettings"
}
Create a rule to autoscale out
The following command creates a rule that increases the number of VM instances in a scale set when the average CPU load is greater than 70% over a 5-minute period. When the rule triggers, the number of VM instances increases by three.
az monitor autoscale rule create --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --autoscale-name autoscale --condition "Percentage CPU > 70 avg 5m" --scale out 3
Results:
{
"metricTrigger": {
"dimensions": [],
"dividePerInstance": null,
"metricName": "Percentage CPU",
"metricNamespace": null,
"metricResourceLocation": null,
"metricResourceUri": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets/myVMSSxxxxxx",
"operator": "GreaterThan",
"statistic": "Average",
"threshold": "70",
"timeAggregation": "Average",
"timeGrain": "PT1M",
"timeWindow": "PT5M"
},
"scaleAction": {
"cooldown": "PT5M",
"direction": "Increase",
"type": "ChangeCount",
"value": "3"
}
}
Create a rule to autoscale in
Create another rule with az monitor autoscale rule create that decreases the number of VM instances in a scale set when the average CPU load then drops below 30% over a 5-minute period. The following example defines the rule to scale in the number of VM instances by one.
az monitor autoscale rule create --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --autoscale-name autoscale --condition "Percentage CPU < 30 avg 5m" --scale in 1
Results:
{
"metricTrigger": {
"dimensions": [],
"dividePerInstance": null,
"metricName": "Percentage CPU",
"metricNamespace": null,
"metricResourceLocation": null,
"metricResourceUri": "/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/myVMSSResourceGroupxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachineScaleSets/myVMSSxxxxxx",
"operator": "LessThan",
"statistic": "Average",
"threshold": "30",
"timeAggregation": "Average",
"timeGrain": "PT1M",
"timeWindow": "PT5M"
},
"scaleAction": {
"cooldown": "PT5M",
"direction": "Decrease",
"type": "ChangeCount",
"value": "1"
}
}
Test the page
The following command shows you the public IP of your Application Gateway. Paste the IP address into a browser page for testing.
az network public-ip show --resource-group $MY_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME --name $MY_APPGW_PUBLIC_IP_NAME --query [ipAddress] --output tsv
Clean up resources (optional)
To avoid Azure charges, you should clean up unneeded resources. When you no longer need your scale set and other resources, delete the resource group and all its resources with az group delete. The --no-wait parameter returns control to the prompt without waiting for the operation to complete. The --yes parameter confirms that you wish to delete the resources without another prompt to do so. This tutorial cleans up resources for you.