Today Azure virtual machine (vm) supports common Linux distributions (Redhat, ubuntu, centos, etc). Around 60% of the azure marketplace images are Linux operating systems and used by Azure services. The ever-growing rise of Linux vm in Azure apparently empowers us to learn and use Linux. What better way to learn Linux than exploring the different options to use Azure Linux vm from Windows. In this article, you find options to connect to Azure Linux vm. There are predominantly two ways to connect to Linux vm i.e; SSH and graphical shell.
SSH – Secure SHell
This is the most preferred way to connect to Azure Linux vm. It allows us to connect the machines by convoluted public-private key-pair using SSH protocol in an insecure network. It provides a character user interface (i.e; command line) to set up communication with the Linux vm. Most of the Linux distributions come with SSH pre-installed, by default. To configure the SSH in Azure Linux vm with available options, please refer to the article Using SSH to connect Azure Linux vm from Windows.
Graphical Shell
Linux can support many graphical shells, unlike Windows. They are built on top of the Linux kernel and also known as desktop environments. It allows us to connect the machines using the remote desktop protocol (RDP). It is important to bear in mind that most of the Linux distributions don’t come with RDP and graphical shells pre-installed. To install and configure the required packages, please refer to the article Using RDP to connect azure linux vm. There are a plethora of choices for the graphical shell, you can choose from like
Understanding both options to connect to Azure Linux vm is quite important. I encourage you to read the related articles on SSH and graphical shell. Please note the article is specific to the Azure cloud and may differ for other cloud providers. If you enjoyed reading this article, share it with your friends and colleagues!