Hosting Virtual Machines in Azure IaaS - Part 1 Prepare the Workstation for connecting to the azure subscription

I have been using azure for hosting my virtual machines for several months. I will not list the advantages it gives me in this blob, but since i did not find any blog listing out the steps for an ITpro to simply follow, i am putting the steps i personally follow in a multi-part series.

I am aware that there are enhancements & added features to the PowerShell commands since the time i put together these steps. I plan to cover them at a later stage possibly as a version 2.0

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# Prepare the Workstation for connecting to the azure subscription #

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# Download & install the Windows Azure PowerShell Cmdlets from https://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9811175\&clcid=0x409

# Import the module with the below command:

Import-Module 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows Azure\PowerShell\Azure\Azure.psd1'

# Download the Publish setting file from https://windows.azure.com/download/publishprofile.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

# This file contains your secure credentials and additional information about your subscriptions for use in your development environment.

# Security Note: This file contains an encoded management certificate that will serve as your credentials to administer all aspects of your subscriptions and related services.

# Store this file in a secure location, or delete it after you use it.

# Import the Publish File using the below command:

Import-AzurePublishSettingsFile 'C:\azure\xxx.publishsettings'