How to access a VM on Azure from a Windows PC?

Question

My colleague set up a VM on Azure running Ubuntu OS, and gave me the following information:

• abc.cloudapp.net
• username + password (for Ubuntu login, I assume)

How can I access that VM? (I do NOT have an Azure account)

Answer 1

Since this is a Linux based VM, the SSH is enabled by default. So you just need a SSH client to connect to this VM. Just search "Windows SSH client", you will find many solutions.

If the connection fails, you may let your colleague check the settings of this VM on Azure portal.

Answer 2

As I mentioned on your original StackOverflow post: There's no need at all for any Azure-specific credentials:

• Your colleague provided the abc.cloudapp.net dns name, which is how to reach the VM itself.
• The username+password credentials are what you'll use to login to the VM.
• Since the VM is Linux-based, you'll need a client supporting SSH (vs RDP, the default for Windows).

If you were on a Linux desktop, you'd simply type ssh [email protected] and would be prompted for a password.

I believe you mentioned on SO that you're on Windows. In that case: once you find/install an ssh client, you just need to provide the dns name, username, and password, you should be presented with a shell prompt (similar to the Windows command prompt).

The only snag you might run into: With the "classic" style of VM creation in Azure, you may have potentially multiple VM's all addressable with the exact same dns name (in your example, abc.cloudapp.net). If that is the case here, then each VM would get a unique ssh port assigned to it (ssh uses a default port = 22). Since each VM needs its own ssh port, it's possible that this particular vm is listening to a port other than 22. If that's the case, there's really no way to find out that port number, other than asking your colleague (or logging in to the Azure portal and reviewing the settings for this VM).

Oh - almost forgot: I don't know which version of Windows you're using, but on Windows 10, it's possible to install Linux tools (as an option under Features you can insstall). This provides, among other things, a command-line ssh client.