Proposed Pull Request Change
| title | description | ms.topic | ms.date | ms.service | zone_pivot_groups | ms.subservice | ms.author | ms.reviewer | author | ms.custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create a virtual machine on VMware vCenter using Infrastructure as Code methods | In this quickstart, you learn how to create a virtual machine on VMware vCenter using Azure Arc | tutorial | 02/10/2026 | azure-arc | vmware-bicep-terraform | azure-arc-vmware-vsphere | v-gajeronika | v-gajeronika | Jeronika-MS | ['build-2025'] |
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---
title: Create a virtual machine on VMware vCenter using Infrastructure as Code methods
description: In this quickstart, you learn how to create a virtual machine on VMware vCenter using Azure Arc
ms.topic: tutorial
ms.date: 02/10/2026
ms.service: azure-arc
zone_pivot_groups: vmware-bicep-terraform
ms.subservice: azure-arc-vmware-vsphere
ms.author: v-gajeronika
ms.reviewer: v-gajeronika
author: Jeronika-MS
# Customer intent: As a self-service user, I want to provision a VM using vCenter resources through Azure so that I can deploy my code
ms.custom:
- build-2025
---
# Create a virtual machine on VMware vCenter using Infrastructure as Code methods
::: zone pivot="bicep"
This article describes how to provision a VM using vCenter resources using a Bicep template.
## Create an Arc VMware machine using Bicep template
Use the following bicep template to create an Arc VMware machine. [Here](/azure/templates/microsoft.connectedvmwarevsphere/2023-12-01/virtualmachineinstances?pivots=deployment-language-arm-template) is the list of available Azure Resource Manager (ARM), Bicep, and Terraform templates for Arc-enabled VMware resources. To trigger any other Arc operation, convert the corresponding [ARM template to Bicep template](/azure/azure-resource-manager/bicep/decompile#decompile-from-json-to-bicep).
```bicep
// Parameters
param vmName string = 'contoso-vm'
param vmAdminPassword string = 'examplepassword!#'
param vCenterId string = '/subscriptions/aaaa0a0a-bb1b-cc2c-dd3d-eeeeee4e4e4e/resourceGroups/contoso-rg/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/vcenters/contoso-vcenter'
param templateId string = '/subscriptions/aaaa0a0a-bb1b-cc2c-dd3d-eeeeee4e4e4e/resourceGroups/contoso-rg/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/VirtualMachineTemplates/contoso-template-win22'
param resourcePoolId string = '/subscriptions/aaaa0a0a-bb1b-cc2c-dd3d-eeeeee4e4e4e/resourceGroups/contoso-rg/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/ResourcePools/contoso-respool'
param datastoreId string = '/subscriptions/aaaa0a0a-bb1b-cc2c-dd3d-eeeeee4e4e4e/resourceGroups/contoso-rg/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/Datastores/contoso-datastore'
param networkId string = '/subscriptions/aaaa0a0a-bb1b-cc2c-dd3d-eeeeee4e4e4e/resourceGroups/contoso-rg/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/VirtualNetworks/contoso-network'
param extendedLocation object = {
type: 'customLocation'
name: '/subscriptions/aaaa0a0a-bb1b-cc2c-dd3d-eeeeee4e4e4e/resourceGroups/contoso-rg/providers/Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations/contoso-customlocation'
}
param ipSettings object = {
allocationMethod: 'static'
gateway: ['172.24.XXX.1']
ipAddress: '172.24.XXX.105'
subnetMask: '255.255.255.0'
dnsServers: ['172.24.XXX.9']
}
resource contosoMachine 'Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines@2023-10-03-preview' = {
name: vmName
location:'westeurope'
kind:'VMware'
properties:{}
tags: {
foo: 'bar'
}
}
resource vm 'Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/virtualMachineInstances@2023-12-01' = {
name: 'default'
scope: contosoMachine
extendedLocation: extendedLocation
properties: {
hardwareProfile: {
memorySizeMB: 4096
numCPUs: 2
}
osProfile: {
computerName: vmName
adminPassword: vmAdminPassword
}
placementProfile: {
resourcePoolId: resourcePoolId
datastoreId: datastoreId
}
infrastructureProfile: {
templateId: templateId
vCenterId: vCenterId
}
networkProfile: {
networkInterfaces: [
{
nicType: 'vmxnet3'
ipSettings: ipSettings
networkId: networkId
name: 'VLAN103NIC'
powerOnBoot: 'enabled'
}
]
}
}
}
// Outputs
output vmId string = vm.id
```
::: zone-end
::: zone pivot="terraform"
This article describes how to provision a VM using vCenter resources using a Terraform template.
## Create an Arc VMware machine with Terraform
### Prerequisites
- **Azure Subscription**: Ensure you have an active Azure subscription.
- **Terraform**: Install Terraform on your machine.
- **Azure CLI**: Install Azure CLI to authenticate and manage resources.
Follow these steps to create an Arc VMware machine using Terraform. The following two scenarios are covered in this article:
1. For VMs discovered in vCenter inventory, perform enable in Azure operation and install Arc agents.
1. Create a new Arc VMware VM using templates, Resource pool, Datastore and install Arc agents.
### Scenario 1
For VMs discovered in vCenter inventory, enable them in Azure and install Arc agents.
#### Step 1: Define variables in a variables.tf file
Create a file named `variables.tf` and define all the necessary variables.
```terraform
variable "subscription_id" {
description = "The subscription ID for the Azure account."
type = string
}
variable "resource_group_name" {
description = "The name of the resource group."
type = string
}
variable "location" {
description = "The location/region where the resources will be created."
type = string
}
variable "machine_name" {
description = "The name of the machine."
type = string
}
variable "inventory_item_id" {
description = "The ID of the Inventory Item for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "custom_location_id" {
description = "The ID of the custom location."
type = string
}
variable "vm_username" {
description = "The admin username for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "vm_password" {
description = "The admin password for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "resource_group_name" {
description = "The name of the resource group."
type = string
}
variable "location" {
description = "The location/region where the resources will be created."
type = string
}
variable "machine_name" {
description = "The name of the machine."
type = string
}
variable "vm_username" {
description = "The admin username for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "vm_password" {
description = "The admin password for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "inventory_id" {
description = "The Inventory ID for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "vcenter_id" {
description = "The ID of the vCenter."
type = string
}
variable "custom_location_id" {
description = "The ID of the custom location."
type = string
}
```
#### Step 2: Create a tfvars file
Create a file named *CreateVMwareVM.tfvars* and provide sample values for the variables.
```terraform
subscription_id = "your-subscription-id"
resource_group_name = "your-resource-group"
location = "eastus"
machine_name = "test_machine0001"
inventory_item_id = "/subscriptions/your-subscription-id/resourceGroups/your-resource-group/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/VCenters/your-vcenter-id/InventoryItems/your-inventory-item-id"
custom_location_id = "/subscriptions/your-subscription-id/resourceGroups/your-resource-group/providers/Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations/your-custom-location-id"
vm_username = "Administrator"
vm_password = " The admin password for the VM "
```
#### Step 3: Modify the configuration to use variables
Create a file named *main.tf* and insert the following code.
```terraform
terraform {
required_providers {
azurerm = {
source = "hashicorp/azurerm"
version = ">= 3.0"
}
azapi = {
source = "azure/azapi"
version = ">= 1.0.0"
}
}
}
# Configure the AzureRM provider with the subscription ID
provider "azurerm" {
features {}
subscription_id = var.subscription_id
}
# Configure the AzAPI provider with the subscription ID
provider "azapi" {
subscription_id = var.subscription_id
}
# Retrieve the resource group details
data "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
name = var.resource_group_name
}
# Create a VMware machine resource in Azure
resource "azapi_resource" "test_machine0001" {
schema_validation_enabled = false
parent_id = data.azurerm_resource_group.example.id
type = "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines@2023-06-20-preview"
name = var.machine_name
location = data.azurerm_resource_group.example.location
body = jsonencode({
kind = "VMware"
identity = {
type = "SystemAssigned"
}
})
}
# Create a Virtual Machine instance using the VMware machine and Inventory Item ID
resource "azapi_resource" "test_inventory_vm0001" {
schema_validation_enabled = false
type = "Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/VirtualMachineInstances@2023-10-01"
name = "default"
parent_id = azapi_resource.test_machine0001.id
body = jsonencode({
properties = {
infrastructureProfile = {
inventoryItemId = var.inventory_item_id
}
}
extendedLocation = {
type = "CustomLocation"
name = var.custom_location_id
}
})
depends_on = [azapi_resource.test_machine0001]
}
# Install Arc agent on the VM
resource "azapi_resource" "guestAgent" {
type = "Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/virtualMachineInstances/guestAgents@2023-10-01"
parent_id = azapi_resource.test_inventory_vm0001.id
name = "default"
body = jsonencode({
properties = {
credentials = {
username = var.vm_username
password = var.vm_password
}
provisioningAction = "install"
}
})
schema_validation_enabled = false
ignore_missing_property = false
depends_on = [azapi_resource.test_inventory_vm0001]
}
```
#### Step 4: Run Terraform commands
Use the `-var-file` flag to pass the *.tfvars* file during Terraform commands.
1. Initialize Terraform (if not already initialized):
`terraform init`
1. Validate the configuration:
`terraform validate -var-file="CreateVMwareVM.tfvars"`
1. Plan the changes:
`terraform plan -var-file="CreateVMwareVM.tfvars"`
1. Apply the changes:
`terraform apply -var-file="CreateVMwareVM.tfvars"`
Confirm the prompt by entering **yes** to apply the changes.
### Best practices
- **Use version control**: Keep your Terraform configuration files under version control, such as Git, to track changes over time.
- **Review plans carefully**: Always review the output of `terraform plan` before applying changes to ensure that you understand what changes will be made.
- **State management**: Regularly back up your Terraform state files to avoid data loss.
By following these steps, you can effectively create and manage HCRP and Arc VMware VMs on Azure using Terraform and install guest agents on the created VMs.
### Scenario 2
Create a new Arc VMware VM using templates, resource pool, datastore, and install Arc agents.
#### Step 1: Define variables in a variables.tf file
Create a file named `variables.tf` and define all the necessary variables.
```terraform
variable "subscription_id" {
description = "The subscription ID for the Azure account."
type = string
}
variable "resource_group_name" {
description = "The name of the resource group."
type = string
}
variable "location" {
description = "The location/region where the resources will be created."
type = string
}
variable "machine_name" {
description = "The name of the machine."
type = string
}
variable "vm_username" {
description = "The admin username for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "vm_password" {
description = "The admin password for the VM."
type = string
}
variable "template_id" {
description = "The ID of the VM template."
type = string
}
variable "vcenter_id" {
description = "The ID of the vCenter."
type = string
}
variable "resource_pool_id" {
description = "The ID of the resource pool."
type = string
}
variable "datastore_id" {
description = "The ID of the datastore."
type = string
}
variable "custom_location_id" {
description = "The ID of the custom location."
type = string
}
```
#### Step 2: Create tfvars file
Create a file named *CreateVMwareVM.tfvars* and provide sample values for the variables.
```terraform
subscription_id = "your-subscription-id"
resource_group_name = "your-resource-group"
location = "eastus"
machine_name = "test_machine0002"
vm_username = "Administrator"
vm_password = "*********"
template_id = "/subscriptions/your-subscription-id/resourceGroups/your-resource-group/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/virtualmachinetemplates/your-template-id"
vcenter_id = "/subscriptions/your-subscription-id/resourceGroups/your-resource-group/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/VCenters/your-vcenter-id"
resource_pool_id = "/subscriptions/your-subscription-id/resourceGroups/your-resource-group/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/resourcepools/your-resource-pool-id"
datastore_id = "/subscriptions/your-subscription-id/resourceGroups/your-resource-group/providers/Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/datastores/your-datastore-id"
custom_location_id = "/subscriptions/your-subscription-id/resourceGroups/your-resource-group/providers/Microsoft.ExtendedLocation/customLocations/your-custom-location-id"
```
#### Step 3: Modify the configuration to use variables
Create a file named *main.tf* and insert the following code.
```terraform
terraform {
required_providers {
azurerm = {
source = "hashicorp/azurerm"
version = ">= 3.0"
}
azapi = {
source = "azure/azapi"
version = ">= 1.0.0"
}
}
}
# Configure the AzureRM provider with the subscription ID
provider "azurerm" {
features {}
subscription_id = var.subscription_id
}
# Configure the AzAPI provider with the subscription ID
provider "azapi" {
subscription_id = var.subscription_id
}
# Retrieve the resource group details
data "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
name = var.resource_group_name
}
# Create a VMware machine resource in Azure
resource "azapi_resource" "test_machine0002" {
schema_validation_enabled = false
parent_id = data.azurerm_resource_group.example.id
type = "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines@2023-06-20-preview"
name = var.machine_name
location = data.azurerm_resource_group.example.location
body = jsonencode({
kind = "VMware"
identity = {
type = "SystemAssigned"
}
})
}
# Create a Virtual Machine instance using the VMware machine created above
resource "azapi_resource" "test_vm0002" {
schema_validation_enabled = false
type = "Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/VirtualMachineInstances@2023-10-01"
name = "default"
parent_id = azapi_resource.test_machine0002.id
body = jsonencode({
properties = {
infrastructureProfile = {
templateId = var.template_id
vCenterId = var.vcenter_id
}
placementProfile = {
resourcePoolId = var.resource_pool_id
datastoreId = var.datastore_id
}
osProfile = {
adminPassword = var.vm_password
}
}
extendedLocation = {
type = "CustomLocation"
name = var.custom_location_id
}
})
depends_on = [azapi_resource.test_machine0002]
}
# Create a guest agent for the VM instance
resource "azapi_resource" "guestAgent" {
type = "Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere/virtualMachineInstances/guestAgents@2023-10-01"
parent_id = azapi_resource.test_vm0002.id
name = "default"
body = jsonencode({
properties = {
credentials = {
username = var.vm_username
password = var.vm_password
}
provisioningAction = "install"
}
})
schema_validation_enabled = false
ignore_missing_property = false
depends_on = [azapi_resource.test_vm0002]
}
```
#### Step 4: Run Terraform commands
Use the `-var-file` flag to pass the *.tfvars* file during Terraform commands.
1. Initialize Terraform (if not already initialized):
`terraform init`
1. Validate the configuration:
`terraform validate -var-file="CreateVMwareVM.tfvars"`
1. Plan the changes:
`terraform plan -var-file="CreateVMwareVM.tfvars"`
1. Apply the changes:
`terraform apply -var-file="CreateVMwareVM.tfvars"`
Confirm the prompt by entering **yes** to apply the changes.
### Best practices
- **Use version control**: Keep your Terraform configuration files under version control, such as Git, to track changes over time.
- **Review plans carefully**: Always review the output of `terraform plan` before applying changes to ensure that you understand what changes will be made.
- **State management**: Regularly back up your Terraform state files to avoid data loss.
::: zone-end
## Next steps
[Perform operations on VMware VMs in Azure](perform-vm-ops-through-azure.md).
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