Posted on Aug 26 Azure Compute Gallery is a service in Microsoft Azure that allows you to create, manage, and share custom virtual machine (VM) images with ease. This write-up will guide you through the process of creating an Azure Compute Gallery step by step.PrerequisitesBefore you begin, ensure that you have the following prerequisites in place:Azure Subscription: You need an active Azure subscription. If you don't have one, you can sign up for a free trial at Azure Portal.Azure Resource Group: Create an Azure Resource Group to organize and manage your gallery resources.Virtual Machine: An existing Azure virtual machine that you want to capture an image from.In the left-hand menu, click on Create a resource..Leave the Tags on default or you can create a Tag or you can assign tags based on your preference. Click the Review + create button to review your settings. Make sure everything is configured correctly.Once your deployment is completed, you have successfully created an Azure Compute Gallery. Click on the 'Go to resource' button to access your newly deployed compute gallery.Prepare the Virtual MachineBefore capturing the VM image, ensure that your VM is in a suitable state:Stop the VM: It's recommended to stop the VM to ensure a consistent state during the capture process. You can stop it from the Azure Portal.Deallocate the VM: If you are capturing an image from a VM that is not in a deallocated state, you can deallocate it from the Azure Portal to avoid additional charges. Azure deallocates VM automatically during this process if you don't do it manually.In the Azure Portal, navigate to the Virtual machines section.Select the VM you want to capture an image from.In the VM's overview page, under Settings, click on Capture. This action initiates the image capture process.Provide the required information:Generalized: When a VM is in a "Generalized" state, it has been prepared to be a reusable image. In this state, any specific configuration and unique information, such as the computer name, have been removed or generalized. This process typically involves running the "Sysprep" tool on a Windows VM or executing similar steps on a Linux VM. After this, the VM is often shut down. Generalized VMs are suitable for creating custom images that can be used to deploy multiple VM instances with the same base configuration.Specialized: A VM in a "Specialized" state is one that hasn't undergone the generalization process. It's in a specific, unique configuration with potentially personalized settings and data. Specialized VMs are typically used for ongoing production purposes and are not intended to be used as a template for creating new VM instances.When capturing an image of an Azure VM, it's essential to generalize the VM first if you want to create a reusable image. Specialized VMs, on the other hand, are kept as-is for ongoing operations. Understanding and appropriately managing the state of your VMs is crucial for efficient image management in Azure. Here we picked Specialized since we are having an ongoing operation and want to have the ease of not authenticating when we scale.Once the process is complete, the captured image will be stored in your specified Azure Compute Gallery. Once deployment is complete you can now 'Go to resource'.Tadaa! 🎉This is our captured VM Image in our compute gallery.You've successfully captured an image from an Azure virtual machine and stored it in an Azure Compute Gallery. This process allows you to maintain a library of custom VM images, making it easier to provision standardized virtual machines for your Azure deployments. Remember to update your gallery with new versions as your VM images evolve over time.Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Are you sure you want to hide this comment? It will become hidden in your post, but will still be visible via the comment's permalink. Hide child comments as well Confirm For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse emmilly immaculate - May 20 Cynthia Zanoni - May 31 Arindam Mitra - May 31 Sanchit Bajaj - May 1 Once suspended, princemaxi will not be able to comment or publish posts until their suspension is removed. Once unsuspended, princemaxi will be able to comment and publish posts again. Once unpublished, all posts by princemaxi will become hidden and only accessible to themselves. 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