Create your first VM

Before you begin

Check these first — each one is something the VM depends on.

• You need permission to create storage pools, networks and virtual machines. If you are not sure, ask your administrator.
• A compute quota must already exist in your account — you select one when you create the network, and again when you create the VM.
• If a menu below is missing, your role probably does not include it — see the Permissions reference (click here).

Create a storage pool

A storage pool is the pooled capacity your VM's disk is placed on.

1. Open Compute → Storage Pools and select Create Storage Pool.
2. Enter a pool name.
3. Enter the storage guarantee as a whole number of GB; it must not exceed available capacity.
4. Optionally select a storage quota or parent pool and add tags, then Save.

Expected result: the storage pool is created and ready to hold disks and VMs.

Create a network

A VNet (virtual network) is what the VM connects to. It holds one subnet — an address range written in CIDR notation, such as 10.0.10.0/24.

1. Open Networking → Networks and select Create VNet.
2. Enter a Name and select a Compute Quota.
3. Configure the subnet: choose Create new subnet and enter a subnet name, the CIDR address range, and an optional default gateway (one subnet maps to one network).
4. Optionally leave Inherit tags ticked and add a resource group and tags, then Save.

Expected result: the VNet and its subnet are queued for creation and you return to the Networks list.

Create the VM

1. Open Compute → Virtual Machines and select Create VM.
2. Enter a name; it must be a valid resource name.
3. Select the guest OS, vCPUs, and RAM; optionally choose a compute quota.
4. Under Disks, choose Create a New Disk and set a name, a whole-number size in GB, and the storage pool you created.
5. Select the VNet you created to add a vNIC; optionally attach an ISO, tags, or a resource group.
6. Save, then open Task Manager (top bar) to watch the VM-create task.

Expected result: a VM-create task is queued in Task Manager; the VM is listed once it completes.

Notes

• To build from a ready-made image instead of a blank VM, enable Deploy from template when you select Create VM — this is available once a template exists.
• Set up a backup as soon as the VM is running, rather than leaving it until later.

Next steps

• Create your first backup — protect the VM you have just built (click here)
• Quotas explained — how compute quotas govern vCPU, RAM, and network creation (click here)
• Storage pools explained — capacity planning and utilisation thresholds (click here)