Creating Your SoftNAS® VM in Azure

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Last updated: Dec 31, 2019

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

Create the SoftNAS® VM


  1. From the Azure Management Portal, click on Marketplace.



  2. Search for SoftNAS in the provided field. Choose the available SoftNAS® release version that best fits the deployment scenario and IT budget. 



  3. Choose the available SoftNAS® release version that best fits the deployment scenario and IT budget. 



  4. Ensure the Resource Manager deployment model is selected, as it is required in order to provide for SoftNAS' advanced features, such as high availability. Click Create.




    Note:     As of version 3.4.8 SoftNAS does not support launching SoftNAS VMs on the classic portal. The Azure Resource Manager (ARM) is the only supported platform. 


Configuring VM Name/User Name and Authentication

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 UI after initial configuration.

To make the required settings, configure the network settings as described in the table below.

Parameter

Description

Host Name

Provide a unique name for the Host.

User Name

Set to softnas. The User Name of softnas is required to login to the virtual machine. 

Note: As best practice for security, the password for the softnas account should not be set through the Azure interface. SSH will be used to access the SoftNAS® VM as a Linux login. The password will be created then.

Password

You can set the Authentication type to Password, and provide a simpler password for your initial SoftNAS login, but this is not as secure a method.

SSH

Paste in the public key for an SHH key pair. For example, use ssh-keygen on Linux or OS X, or Putty on Windows. For more information, see section Generating SSH Keys.



Choose your subscription, if you have more than one.

Select existing resource group if you have an existing resource group, if not, select create new, and provide a name.

Select the location of the virtual machine you wish to create.

Setting Size

Microsoft Azure includes a variety of pricing tiers designed to group compute resources together in bundles. For an Essentials instance to be used in a backup solution, a key consideration is memory, or RAM. For this reason we recommend filtering the available sizes based on a Compute Type of 'Memory Optimized'. For information on other considerations for your Veeam/Essentials solution, see Selecting Your Instance Size: Essentials on Azure.

  1. Click on Size. The Size screen is displayed.



    Note: 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.

  2. Use one of the suggested Size, or browse other pricing tiers to meet budgetary and data needs. Click Select when your selection is made. 

Optional Features (Settings)

You can now apply optional settings, including Disk Type, Storage Account, Network, and more. Here you can associate the SoftNAS® VM to an existing virtual network or create a new virtual network specifically for the SoftNAS® VM.

  1. From the Create VM Blade, click on Settings.
  2. Under Settings, high availability will be one of the first considerations. Depending on the size of the instance selected, and it's location, you may be able to select an Availability zone or Availability set within the current Availability zone. For most simple archive/backup solutions from on-premise to , this can be ignored. Keep the default Availability Zone, if the option to change it is provided, and select "None" for Availability Set. If leveraging high availability for your backup solution, consult with SoftNAS Support for further guidance.




  3. Under Settings, click on Virtual Network. The network settings are displayed. 



  4. Associate the SoftNAS® VM to an existing virtual network, or create a new virtual network.

     Note: 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, etc. The menus are very similar in layout, and highly intuitive to use. Configure your instance as required, using Azure Help Menu if you have any problems or questions. 

Purchase

After performing optional configuration, validate and purchase the VM.


  1. Click OK to accept any settings changes, and click OK again to validate the settings in Summary.




  2. On the next screen, review the purchase details and then click Purchase.



    A new SoftNAS® instance will launch into Microsoft Azure.