Automate the Shutdown and Startup of your Azure VMs

If you’re using Microsoft Azure, you know that time is money when it comes to running virtual machines. Fortunately, you can automate the shutdown and startup of your Azure VMs to save both. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of automating your virtual machine schedules and provide a step-by-step guide to getting started..

Azure Overview

As one of the leading providers of IAAS, SAAS, PAAS, and DRAAS, Microsoft’s Azure cloud is flexible and supports a huge selection of operating systems and programming languages. You can run Windows or Linux servers, as well as Windows and Linux containers with Docker integration. Azure also allows you to build applications on a solid, highly scalable infrastructure built by Microsoft.

Benefits of Microsoft Azure Cloud Offering

Some of the benefits of Microsoft’s Azure cloud offering include:

  • No upfront costs
  • No termination fees
  • Pay only for what you use
  • Per minute billing
  • Quick to build, deploy, and scale (up or down)

Automating Azure VM Shutdown and Startup

To save time and money, especially with virtual machines that aren’t required to operate outside regular business hours (for example, development and test VMs), having the ability to automate a scheduled shutdown and power back on of your virtual machines is crucial. Here’s how to get started:

Download and Install Azure Virtual Machine Scheduler (AVMS)

First, download and install the Azure Virtual Machine Scheduler (AVMS) that we’ve developed. You can run this application within your on-premise network as long as it has internet access, or alternatively, as a Virtual Machine running within Azure itself. However, if you’re running it in Azure, be mindful not to select this machine to be one of those you choose to power down.

Configure Azure Virtual Machine Scheduler (AVMS)

Once installed, configure the Azure Virtual Machine Scheduler by following the instructions provided in the link.

Automate Azure VM Shutdown and Startup

Now that you’ve installed and configured the Azure Virtual Machine Scheduler, it’s time to automate the shutdown and startup of your VMs. Follow the link to see how to automate Azure shutdown and power on of your virtual machines.

Automating the shutdown and startup of your Azure VMs is a simple but effective way to save time and money. With Microsoft’s Azure cloud, you have the flexibility and scalability to meet all your business needs. Follow the step-by-step guide we’ve provided to start automating your virtual machine schedules today.