Azure Getting Started - Create your SoftNAS Instance

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Last updated: Apr 13, 2023 by Sean HastertVersion comment

Add the SoftNAS® VM from within the Microsoft Azure Management Portal, and associate it to a virtual network.

Create the SoftNAS® VM


  • From the Azure Management Portal, click on the hamburger menu in the upper left corner.
  • Click on Dashboard.
  • Select Marketplace.

  • Type SoftNAS in the search bar and press Enter on your keyboard. SoftNAS' available versions will appear.


Marketplace Results

Pricing and available versions might of changed

  • Select the desired version. Click Create.

Configuring VM Basic Information

Here the appropriate VM Name, user name, password, or public SSH key will be set. The user name must be set as 'softnas' or you will be unable to log into your instance. Other users can be created after initial login. If security is a top concern, SSH should be used later to access the SoftNAS® instance with a Linux login to set the password for User Name softnas. Additional users can be created within the SoftNAS StorageCenter Administrative Interface after initial configuration.

Once the instance has been created, do not use root to log into your softnas instance, as this can place your deployment at risk by allowing Linux settings to take precedence over SoftNAS defaults. 
  1. Subscription - Select the subscription you wish to use, if there is more than one for your organization.

  2. Resource group - Select the resource group you wish to use.

  3. Virtual machine name - Provide a unique name for the virtual machine.

  4. Region - Select the region in which the virtual machine will reside.

  5. Redundancy - Determine what level of redundancy you wish for your virtual machines. Buurst recommends at least configuring an Availability Set. Note that Availability Zones may not be available depending on region. Create a new Availability Set or Zone,  or select an existing.

  6. Image - This will be selected automatically.  If accidentally changed, return the setting to SoftNAS.

  7. Azure Spot instances - Allow you to save money, as spot instances come in at a lower price point.

    Azure Spot Instances

    Spot Instances ARE NOT recommended for a production environment.  Spot instances are better suited for POCs.

  8. Size - This will populate with the recommended size but if the size does not fit your needs, select the desired size by selecting the dropdown OR clicking See all sizes.  More information regarding size selection can be found below.

  9. Authentication type - Determine whether to use a Password or an SSH public key.  In this example we are using the simpler Password option, however, SSH public keys provide a greater degree of security.

  10. Username - As previously iterated, the username MUST be softnas.

  11. Password - Provide and Confirm your desired password.

    Password Requirements

    • The value must not be empty.
    • Must have 3 of the following:
      • 1 lower case character
      • 1 upper case character
      • 1 number
      • 1 special character
    • The value must be between 12 and 72 characters long.


Setting Size

Microsoft Azure includes a variety of pricing tiers designed to group compute resources together in bundles. To simplify your deployment, SoftNAS provides recommended sizes for the average general purpose deployment which can be viewed via the aforementioned drop down. If you have specific requirements for your deployment, view more sizes by clicking See all sizes.

Ephemeral Storage

Ephemeral storage offered on Azure is for caching purposes only, NOT for storage. When planning your deployment, do not consider ephemeral storage as part of your storage requirement calculations. Ephemeral storage is used to improve read and write-cache performance for your instance. Ephemeral storage is listed as Local SSD in a given VM Size.

Prices

Prices might have changed.

  • On the Select a VM size page, choose the size that you want.
  • Press Select once your selection is made.

Optional Features (Settings and Virtual Networks)

You can now apply optional settings, including Disk Type, Storage Account, Networking, and more.

Here we will focus on associating the SoftNAS® VM to an existing virtual network or creating a new virtual network specifically for the SoftNAS® VM.

  • From the Create a VM , select the Networking tab.

  • From within the Networking tab, select an existing Virtual network from the drop down menu or Create a new Virtual network by clicking on Create new.
If creating a new network, simply provide a name for the virtual network. It is feasible to use the default CIDR block and to use the default Microsoft Azure DNS server.

In addition to naming your Virtual Network and assigning a CIDR block, you can also apply a subnet, a public IP Address, a security group, and more. The menus are very similar in layout, and highly intuitive to use.

 Configure your instance as required, using Azure Help Menu > Help + support if you have any problems or questions.

Review and Create Instance

  • After performing optional configuration, select Review + create tab.
  • Review all settings on this page and ensure everything looks correct.
  • Click Create.

  • This will take you to a Deployment is in progress page that will display the status of your deployment.
  • A green checkmark will appear once the deployment is complete.
  • To be taken to your Virtual Machine, click on Go to resource.