Quickstart: Create a Linux VM cluster in Azure using Terraform
Applies to: ✔️ Linux VMs
This article shows you how to create a Linux VM cluster (containing two Linux VM instances) in Azure using Terraform.
In this article, you learn how to:
- Create a random value for the Azure resource group name using random_pet.
- Create an Azure resource group using azurerm_resource_group.
- Create a virtual network using azurerm_virtual_network
- Create a subnet using azurerm_subnet
- Create a public IP using azurerm_public_ip
- Create a load balancer using azurerm_lb
- Create a load balancer address pool using azurerm_lb_backend_address_pool
- Create a network interface using azurerm_network_interface
- Create a managed disk using azurerm_managed_disk
- Create a availability set using azurerm_availability_set
- Create a Linux virtual machine using azurerm_linux_virtual_machine
- Create an AzAPI resource azapi_resource.
- Create an AzAPI resource to generate an SSH key pair using azapi_resource_action.
Prerequisites
Implement the Terraform code
Note
The sample code for this article is located in the Azure Terraform GitHub repo. You can view the log file containing the test results from current and previous versions of Terraform.
See more articles and sample code showing how to use Terraform to manage Azure resources
Create a directory in which to test the sample Terraform code and make it the current directory.
Create a file named
providers.tf
and insert the following code:terraform { required_version = ">=1.0" required_providers { azapi = { source = "azure/azapi" version = "~>1.5" } azurerm = { source = "hashicorp/azurerm" version = "~>3.0" } random = { source = "hashicorp/random" version = "~>3.0" } } } provider "azurerm" { features {} }
Create a file named
ssh.tf
and insert the following code:resource "random_pet" "ssh_key_name" { prefix = "ssh" separator = "" } resource "azapi_resource_action" "ssh_public_key_gen" { type = "Microsoft.Compute/sshPublicKeys@2022-11-01" resource_id = azapi_resource.ssh_public_key.id action = "generateKeyPair" method = "POST" response_export_values = ["publicKey", "privateKey"] } resource "azapi_resource" "ssh_public_key" { type = "Microsoft.Compute/sshPublicKeys@2022-11-01" name = random_pet.ssh_key_name.id location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location parent_id = azurerm_resource_group.rg.id } output "key_data" { value = azapi_resource_action.ssh_public_key_gen.output.publicKey }
Create a file named
main.tf
and insert the following code:resource "random_pet" "rg_name" { prefix = var.resource_group_name_prefix } resource "azurerm_resource_group" "rg" { name = random_pet.rg_name.id location = var.resource_group_location } resource "random_pet" "azurerm_virtual_network_name" { prefix = "vnet" } resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "test" { name = random_pet.azurerm_virtual_network_name.id address_space = ["10.0.0.0/16"] location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name } resource "random_pet" "azurerm_subnet_name" { prefix = "sub" } resource "azurerm_subnet" "test" { name = random_pet.azurerm_subnet_name.id resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name virtual_network_name = azurerm_virtual_network.test.name address_prefixes = ["10.0.2.0/24"] } resource "azurerm_public_ip" "test" { name = "publicIPForLB" location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name allocation_method = "Static" } resource "azurerm_lb" "test" { name = "loadBalancer" location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name frontend_ip_configuration { name = "publicIPAddress" public_ip_address_id = azurerm_public_ip.test.id } } resource "azurerm_lb_backend_address_pool" "test" { loadbalancer_id = azurerm_lb.test.id name = "BackEndAddressPool" } resource "azurerm_network_interface" "test" { count = 2 name = "acctni${count.index}" location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name ip_configuration { name = "testConfiguration" subnet_id = azurerm_subnet.test.id private_ip_address_allocation = "Dynamic" } } resource "azurerm_availability_set" "avset" { name = "avset" location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name platform_fault_domain_count = 2 platform_update_domain_count = 2 managed = true } resource "random_pet" "azurerm_linux_virtual_machine_name" { prefix = "vm" } resource "azurerm_linux_virtual_machine" "test" { count = 2 name = "${random_pet.azurerm_linux_virtual_machine_name.id}${count.index}" location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location availability_set_id = azurerm_availability_set.avset.id resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name network_interface_ids = [azurerm_network_interface.test[count.index].id] size = "Standard_DS1_v2" # Uncomment this line to delete the OS disk automatically when deleting the VM # delete_os_disk_on_termination = true # Uncomment this line to delete the data disks automatically when deleting the VM # delete_data_disks_on_termination = true source_image_reference { publisher = "Canonical" offer = "UbuntuServer" sku = "16.04-LTS" version = "latest" } admin_ssh_key { username = var.username public_key = azapi_resource_action.ssh_public_key_gen.output.publicKey } os_disk { caching = "ReadWrite" storage_account_type = "Standard_LRS" name = "myosdisk${count.index}" } computer_name = "hostname" admin_username = var.username } resource "azurerm_managed_disk" "test" { count = 2 name = "datadisk_existing_${count.index}" location = azurerm_resource_group.rg.location resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name storage_account_type = "Standard_LRS" create_option = "Empty" disk_size_gb = "1024" } resource "azurerm_virtual_machine_data_disk_attachment" "test" { count = 2 managed_disk_id = azurerm_managed_disk.test[count.index].id virtual_machine_id = azurerm_linux_virtual_machine.test[count.index].id lun = "10" caching = "ReadWrite" }
Create a file named
variables.tf
and insert the following code:variable "resource_group_location" { type = string description = "Location for all resources." default = "eastus" } variable "resource_group_name_prefix" { type = string description = "Prefix of the resource group name that's combined with a random ID so name is unique in your Azure subscription." default = "rg" } variable "username" { type = string description = "The username for the local account that will be created on the new VM." default = "azureadmin" }
Create a file named
outputs.tf
and insert the following code:output "resource_group_name" { value = azurerm_resource_group.rg.name } output "virtual_network_name" { value = azurerm_virtual_network.test.name } output "subnet_name" { value = azurerm_subnet.test.name } output "linux_virtual_machine_names" { value = [for s in azurerm_linux_virtual_machine.test : s.name[*]] }
Initialize Terraform
Run terraform init to initialize the Terraform deployment. This command downloads the Azure provider required to manage your Azure resources.
terraform init -upgrade
Key points:
- The
-upgrade
parameter upgrades the necessary provider plugins to the newest version that complies with the configuration's version constraints.
Create a Terraform execution plan
Run terraform plan to create an execution plan.
terraform plan -out main.tfplan
Key points:
- The
terraform plan
command creates an execution plan, but doesn't execute it. Instead, it determines what actions are necessary to create the configuration specified in your configuration files. This pattern allows you to verify whether the execution plan matches your expectations before making any changes to actual resources. - The optional
-out
parameter allows you to specify an output file for the plan. Using the-out
parameter ensures that the plan you reviewed is exactly what is applied.
Apply a Terraform execution plan
Run terraform apply to apply the execution plan to your cloud infrastructure.
terraform apply main.tfplan
Key points:
- The example
terraform apply
command assumes you previously ranterraform plan -out main.tfplan
. - If you specified a different filename for the
-out
parameter, use that same filename in the call toterraform apply
. - If you didn't use the
-out
parameter, callterraform apply
without any parameters.
Cost information isn't presented during the virtual machine creation process for Terraform like it is for the Azure portal. If you want to learn more about how cost works for virtual machines, see the Cost optimization Overview page.
Verify the results
Get the Azure resource group name.
resource_group_name=$(terraform output -raw resource_group_name)
Run az vm list with a JMESPath query to display the names of the virtual machines created in the resource group.
az vm list \ --resource-group $resource_group_name \ --query "[].{\"VM Name\":name}" -o table
Clean up resources
When you no longer need the resources created via Terraform, do the following steps:
Run terraform plan and specify the
destroy
flag.terraform plan -destroy -out main.destroy.tfplan
Key points:
- The
terraform plan
command creates an execution plan, but doesn't execute it. Instead, it determines what actions are necessary to create the configuration specified in your configuration files. This pattern allows you to verify whether the execution plan matches your expectations before making any changes to actual resources. - The optional
-out
parameter allows you to specify an output file for the plan. Using the-out
parameter ensures that the plan you reviewed is exactly what is applied.
- The
Run terraform apply to apply the execution plan.
terraform apply main.destroy.tfplan
Troubleshoot Terraform on Azure
Troubleshoot common problems when using Terraform on Azure