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Create Your Custom Virtual Machine Image In Azure

In this article, we will create a custom virtual machine image in Azure.

What Is An Image?

An image is a template that contains the following information: -

Operating system to be installed on the virtual machine
List of components to be installed on the virtual machine
List of software installed on the virtual machine

What Is The Process Of Creating An Image Called?

The process of creating an image is called the generalization of virtual machines.

What Is The Impact Of Creating An Image On The Virtual Machine?

The virtual machine that is used for creating an image will no longer be usable. So, it is not recommended to use the virtual machine that is used for some purpose in your project.

Steps Of Creating An Image

First, create a virtual machine with IIS installed. In the next step, you must prepare the system for creating an image. For that, go to the following path.

c:\windows\system32\Sysprep

Picture showing the Sysprep utility for preparing the virtual machine to be used as an image

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Click on the "sysprep.exe" file. The following popup window will appear.

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Select the "System Cleanup Action", check the checkbox "Generalize" and select the "Shutdown Options". Click on the "OK" button.

The process of system preparation will start.

Picture showing the progress bar of the Sysprep utility while preparing the virtual machine to be used as an image

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Once the preparation is done, the system will shut down. The next step is to force-stop the virtual machine using the following PowerShell command.

Stop-AzVM -ResourceGroupName rg -Name vmimage -Force

Picture showing the script execution for stopping the virtual machine using the powershell

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Finally, go to the "Overview" submenu of the virtual machine and click on the "Capture" button.

Picture showing the Capture button in the virtual machine to start the process of creating an image

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A screen will appear to enter the details.

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Click on the "Review + create" button to start the validation. Once the validation is completed, click on the "Create" button to create an image.

Please note that you can click on the "Create new" link to create the new "Target image definition". Once you click on the link, a docked window will appear on the right-hand side.

Picture showing a section of the screen to create the image definition

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Using An Image In The Virtual Machine

While creating a new virtual machine, you have the option to select the image.

Picture showing a See all images link to select the virtual machine image

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If you do not find your custom image, you can click on the "See all images" link. Once you click on the link, a page appears where you can select your custom image.

Picture showing the shared images section that contains the custom created image

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Finally, your custom image will appear in the dropdown.

Picture showing the custom virtual machine image selected while creating the virtual machine

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Once your virtual machine is created, the IIS is installed on the machine by default.

Posted By -	Karan Gupta

Posted On -	Tuesday, May 11, 2021

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