VM commands (create, start, stop) in Azure - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ service_behavior

intermediate

What happens after running this Azure CLI command?

You run the command to create a VM:

az vm create --resource-group MyGroup --name MyVM --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser --generate-ssh-keys

What is the state of the VM immediately after this command completes successfully?

Azure

az vm create --resource-group MyGroup --name MyVM --image UbuntuLTS --admin-username azureuser --generate-ssh-keys

A The VM is created and running, ready to accept SSH connections.

B The VM is created but remains stopped until manually started.

C The VM is created and in a provisioning state, not yet usable.

D The VM creation fails because SSH keys are not provided explicitly.

💡 Hint

Think about what the 'az vm create' command does by default regarding VM state.

The 'az vm create' command creates and starts the VM by default, so it is running and ready for SSH after completion.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Which command correctly stops a running Azure VM?

You want to stop a VM named 'TestVM' in resource group 'TestGroup' using Azure CLI. Which command will stop the VM and deallocate its resources?

A az vm deallocate --resource-group TestGroup --name TestVM

B az vm stop --resource-group TestGroup --name TestVM

C az vm shutdown --resource-group TestGroup --name TestVM

D az vm poweroff --resource-group TestGroup --name TestVM

💡 Hint

Stopping a VM does not always free resources; deallocating does.

The 'az vm deallocate' command stops the VM and releases compute resources, which stops billing for the VM compute.

❓ Architecture

advanced

What is the effect of starting a deallocated VM in Azure?

You have a VM that was previously deallocated. You run:

az vm start --resource-group ProdGroup --name ProdVM

What happens to the VM's IP address and resources after this command?

A The VM starts with the same public IP address and resources as before deallocation.

B The VM starts with a new dynamic public IP address and allocated compute resources.

C The VM fails to start because deallocated VMs cannot be restarted.

D The VM starts but loses all data on the OS disk.

💡 Hint

Consider what happens to dynamic IP addresses when a VM is deallocated.

When a VM is deallocated, dynamic public IP addresses are released. Starting the VM assigns a new dynamic IP and allocates compute resources.

❓ security

advanced

Which command sequence ensures a VM is stopped and cannot be accessed until restarted?

You want to stop a VM named 'SecureVM' in resource group 'SecureGroup' so that it is completely offline and inaccessible. Which sequence of commands achieves this?

A az vm stop --resource-group SecureGroup --name SecureVM && az vm deallocate --resource-group SecureGroup --name SecureVM

B az vm stop --resource-group SecureGroup --name SecureVM

C az vm deallocate --resource-group SecureGroup --name SecureVM

D az vm shutdown --resource-group SecureGroup --name SecureVM

💡 Hint

Stopping a VM does not release resources or IP addresses.

Deallocating a VM stops it and releases compute resources and IP addresses, making it inaccessible until started again.

✅ Best Practice

expert

What is the best practice to minimize cost when a VM is not in use but you want to keep its data intact?

You have a VM that you do not need running 24/7 but want to keep all data and configuration intact. Which Azure CLI command should you use to minimize cost while preserving data?

A az vm stop --resource-group CostGroup --name CostVM

B az vm restart --resource-group CostGroup --name CostVM

C az vm delete --resource-group CostGroup --name CostVM

D az vm deallocate --resource-group CostGroup --name CostVM

💡 Hint

Stopping a VM does not release compute resources, but deallocating does.

Deallocating a VM stops it and releases compute resources, reducing cost, while preserving disks and data.